If your PC has a 7th Generation (or earlier) Intel CPU, its CPU is unsupported, which means you won't be offered an upgrade at all. The biggest hurdle is the CPU compatibility requirement, which rules out most PCs that were designed before 2019. Most people will do just fine off sticking with the OS, hardware drivers, and utility software that their PC was designed to use.įor older PCs, the story is complicated by the hardware requirements for Windows 11.

If that's the case, you have the option to downgrade to Windows 10, but I don't recommend it. If your PC is brand new, it might have come with Windows 11 preinstalled. Your hardware might not support Windows 11 Before you do that, though, consider what can go wrong. If you're ready to upgrade, you can kick things off by clicking the big Download And Install button. If you're not ready to upgrade, all you have to do is click 'Stay on Windows 10 for now.' That action hides the upgrade option and removes the associated notification icon from the taskbar. Not ready to upgrade yet? Click that faint link to stay on Windows 10

Howto upgrade to windows 11