Windows 11 on unsupported hardware - will it update?

trevorwat

As title - if I install Win 11 on an unsupported computer will it continue to receive all updates or be stuck on the version I installed?

Neil_Jones

Officially:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-11-on-devices-that-don-t-meet-minimum-system-requirements-0b2dc4a2-5933-4ad4-9c09-ef0a331518f1

The reality - maybe, maybe not.  Who knows?

There is nothing to stop you installing the updates yourself if they don’t' come down automatically.  They are cumulative.

HillStreetBlues

trevorwat said:

As title - if I install Win 11 on an unsupported computer will it continue to receive all updates or be stuck on the version I installed?

If you get update 25H2 when it's released,  it's possible it will be stuck on that version, but even if that happened  that would take you up to Oct 27

Newcad

The way it has been working is that you got the monthly updates, but not the yearly "##H2" updates.

The yearly updates did (still do?) a new hardware compatibility check.

So to update Windows 11 on unsupported hardware from 23H2 to 24H2 meant a whole new reinstall of 24H2 using Rufus or similar.

I'm not sure how it will be with 25H2 but would expect similar.

TBH I have/had an unsupported laptop on Win 11 23H2 which was slow but OK, I then installed 24H2 on it and it was too slow - I put it back to Win 10 and it runs fine.

(Linux Mint also ran/runs fine on it, not tried Chrome Flex yet but may do).

trevorwat

Newcad said:

The way it has been working is that you got the monthly updates, but not the yearly "##H2" updates.

The yearly updates did (still do?) a new hardware compatibility check.

So to update Windows 11 on unsupported hardware from 23H2 to 24H2 meant a whole new reinstall of 24H2 using Rufus or similar.

I'm not sure how it will be with 25H2 but would expect similar.

TBH I have/had an unsupported laptop on Win 11 23H2 which was slow but OK, I then installed 24H2 on it and it was too slow - I put it back to Win 10 and it runs fine.

(Linux Mint also ran/runs fine on it, not tried Chrome Flex yet but may do).

Thanks. That’s what I suspected would be the issue….