Those that used an ISO to install Windows 11 on an unsupported device are still getting updates, contrary to Microsoft promises.<\/b>
\nWhen Microsoft announced Windows 11, one thing that people quickly discovered is that it significantly bumps up the minimum hardware requirements. Specifically, you need pretty new CPUs. The company eventually said that you\u2019d be able to install Windows 11 on unsupported PCs by using an ISO; however, you won\u2019t get updates. As it turns out, people that used this method are getting updates. This week was Patch Tuesday, and that\u2019s the day that all supported Microsoft products get updates. With the Windows 11 updates, unsupported devices found themselves on the same track as everyone else. Despite the fact that Microsoft all but said that unsupported devices wouldn\u2019t get Windows 11 updates, this isn\u2019t entirely surprising. The Redmond firm has a support page dedicated to installing the new OS on devices that don\u2019t meet the minimum requirements. The key phrase that relates to this is the following: What this basically means is that Microsoft is washing its hands of your PC. It takes support seriously, which is why all of its products have end of life dates. If you install Windows 10 on a PC right now, you are guaranteed updates through October 2025. What this is saying is that if you don\u2019t meet the Windows 11 requirements, it\u2019s not guaranteeing anything. You may get updates for a time, you might not, or you might stop getting them entirely. Microsoft is saying it\u2019s not concerned, because your device isn\u2019t supported. The reason that it\u2019s not particularly surprising that unsupported devices on Windows 11 are still getting updates is because there\u2019s really only one production channel. The requirements for what Windows 11 can technically support are dual-core 64-bit chips with 1GHz minimum clock speed. It will not run on a single-core or 32-bit processor. The rules for an Intel eighth-gen or AMD Zen 2 processor are more arbitrary, and if they\u2019re not built into the ISO, it\u2019s not super surprising that they\u2019re not built into the OS. More importantly, you should not take today\u2019s news as it being safe to install Windows 11 on your unsupported hardware. Microsoft could shut down these updates when it feels like it. Maybe you won\u2019t get next year\u2019s feature update, and you\u2019d be out of luck when the 24-month support period for version 21H2 ends. The future could not be more uncertain for unsupported devices on Windows 11, yet you\u2019re guaranteed another four years of updates if you stick with Windows 10.<\/p>\n