Microsoft silently removes official bypass method to upgrade to Windows 11 on PCs that don't meet minimum system requirements

Microsoft provided an official bypass method to allow users to use Windows 11 on PCs that do not meet the system requirements for the operating system. However, it has been revealed that Microsoft has quietly removed this bypass method from its support page.

Microsoft quietly deletes official Windows 11 CPU/TPM bypass for unsupported PCs - Neowin

https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-quietly-removes-official-windows-11-cputpm-bypass-for-unsupported-pcs/

In October 2021, Microsoft released Windows 11 version 21H2 to the public. At this time, Microsoft began providing a bypass method to install Windows 11 on devices that do not meet the system requirements for Windows 11. Regarding this, overseas media Neowin points out that 'It can be assumed that there was opposition to the strict system requirements of Windows 11 at the time.'

The bypass method for installing Windows 11 on PCs that don't meet the system requirements included a 'registry key tweak' to bypass CPU and TPM checks, but Neowin found that this information had been removed from the support page at the time of writing.

Below is the support page from which the registry key adjustment information has been removed.

Ways to install Windows 11 - Microsoft Support
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ways-to-install-windows-11-e0edbbfb-cfc5-4011-868b-2ce77ac7c70e

If you check a previous version of the support page above on the Internet Archive, it says, 'We recommend that you do not install Windows 11 on devices that do not meet the minimum system requirements for Windows 11. If you choose to install Windows 11 on a device that does not meet the system requirements and you are aware and understand the risks, you can create the following registry key to bypass the TPM 2.0 (which requires at least TPM 1.2) and CPU family and model checks,' and lists ' HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup ' as the registry key for the bypass.

Originally, Microsoft listed the above bypass method on a support page, but did not recommend it, and its removal 'means that Microsoft doesn't want you to install Windows 11 on devices that don't meet the system requirements,' Neowin points out.

Microsoft also announced the AI PC ' Copilot+ PC ' at CES 2025 held in January 2025. Guests from Microsoft's partners Dell and AMD also appeared in this keynote speech, and Sam Bird, president of Dell's Client Solutions Group, pointed out that many systems running Windows 10 are not supported by Windows 11. Furthermore, he said that PC users who do not meet the minimum system requirements for Windows 11 will have to consider purchasing a new Copilot+ PC, and he expected demand for Copilot+ PCs to increase.