Some PCs turned out to be 'Windows 11 installed even though they do not support TPM 2.0', is it a product for China or Russia?

On June 25, 2021, Microsoft announced the next major version of Windows, Windows 11 . Windows 11 requires ' Trusted Platform Module (TPM) support ' as a mandatory system requirement, but it is clear that 'Windows 11 can be installed without TPM support with Microsoft approval' became. It is reported that PCs that do not support TPM but have Windows 11 installed may be products for China and Russia.

Windows 11 to Ship Without TPM Requirement for'Special Purpose' Systems | Tom's Hardware
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-11-to-ship-without-tpm-requirement-for-special-purpose-systems

Windows 11 processor requirements from Intel, AMD, Qualcomm • Pureinfotech
https://pureinfotech.com/windows-11-processor-requirements-intel-amd-qualcomm/

As requirements for a PC that can introduce the next major version of Windows 'Windows 11', in addition to specifications such as '64-bit compatible processor or SoC with 2 cores or more at 1 GHz or more', 'memory of 4 GB or more', 'storage device of 64 GB or more', Announced that 'TPM 2.0' is also required. A TPM is a chip built into the motherboard or added separately to the CPU, which plays the role of hardware protection of sensitive data such as encryption keys and user authentication.

What is the 'TPM' that Microsoft requires in Windows 11? Why is it essential? --GIGAZINE

However, in the '3.6.1 Trusted Platform Module (TPM)' section of 'Windows 11 Minimum Hardware Requirements' published by Microsoft, 'A UEFI firmware option to turn off the TPM is not required. Upon approval from' Microsoft, OEM systems for special purpose commercial systems, custom order, and customer systems with a custom image are not required to ship with a TPM support enabled. If you have a customer system with an OEM system, custom order, or custom image for a special purpose commercial system, you do not need to enable TPM support before shipping) ', TPM for some systems licensed by Microsoft. It is clearly stated that Windows 11 can be installed and shipped on a PC that does not have 2.0 enabled.

Minimum Hardware Requirements for Windows 11.pdf
(PDF file) https://download.microsoft.com/download/7/8/8/788bf5ab-0751-4928-a22c-dffdc23c27f2/Minimum%20Hardware%20Requirements%20for%20Windows%2011.pdf

From this, IT news site Tom's Hardware pointed out that 'there must be a special ISO that allows you to install Windows 11 without TPM 2.0, or some way to bypass the TPM restrictions during installation.' He argued that these workarounds might be in place for countries like China and Russia.

The reason Tom's Hardware says the TPM 2.0 evasion version of Windows 11 is for China and Russia is because these countries have banned TPM. In China, the government-regulated 'Trusted Cryptography Module (TCM)' is used instead of TPM, and TPM is illegal. Although there is no equivalent to TCM in Russia, cryptographic products with a specific strength level are required to be reviewed and approved by Russian authorities, not just TPM.

Of course, it is possible that a TPM 2.0 evasion version is available for some purpose that is not for China or Russia, so Tom's Hardware is contacting Microsoft, but as of June 27, 2021, 'Answer 'Wait'.

The 'CPU requirements' linked from 'Windows 11 minimum hardware requirements' are as follows.

◆ Intel processor
・ 8th Generation Coffee Lake
・ 9th Generation Coffee Lake Refresh
・ 10th Generation Comet Lake and Ice Lake
11th Generation Rocket Lake and Tiger Lake
・ Pentium Gold and Silver
・ Xeon's Skylake-SP, Cascade Lake-SP, Cooper Lake-SP, Ice Lake-SP

The list is below.

Windows Processor Requirements Windows 11 Supported Intel Processors | Microsoft Docs
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/minimum/supported/windows-11-supported-intel-processors

◆ AMD processor
・ Ryzen2000, 3000, 4000, 5000
・ Ryzen Threadripper 2000, 3000, Pro 3000
・ EPYC 2nd and 3rd generation
・ Athlon Gold, Silver, 3xxx, 300x

The list is below.

Windows Processor Requirements Windows 11 Supported AMD Processors | Microsoft Docs
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/minimum/supported/windows-11-supported-amd-processors

◆ Qualcomm processor
・ Snapdragon 850
・ Snapdragon 7c
・ Snapdragon 8c
・ Snapdragon 8cx
・ Snapdragon 8cx (2nd generation)
・ Microsoft SQ1
・ Microsoft SQ2

The list is below.

Windows Processor Requirements Windows 11 Supported Qualcomm Processors | Microsoft Docs
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/minimum/supported/windows-11-supported-qualcomm-processors

For these official Windows 11 CPUs, Tom's Hardware says, 'Mysteriously, Skylake-X supports TPM, but it's not on the list.'

The following article describes a tool to check if your PC is compatible with Windows 11.

I tried using the PC spec check tool 'WhyNotWin11' that also shows the reason why Windows 11 can not be introduced --GIGAZINE