Windows 11 is now reliable enough for everyone according to Microsoft. Yesterday, the company quietly announced on its Windows Health Dashboard (via Neowin) that Windows 11 was now “designated for broad deployment,” which means that all Windows 10 users with eligible hardware can now install it.
To install Windows 11 from Windows Update, you’ll need to be running Windows 10 version 2004 or newer and have no safeguard hold applied to your PC. As of today, the only remaining hardware block is a compatibility issue with an Intel SST driver, but it can be easily resolved by installing an updated driver.
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Windows 11 is still being offered as an optional update for Windows 10 users, who can also install the latest version of Windows 10 (21H2) if they haven’t done it yet. Windows 10 will be supported until 2025, though it’s probably not going to receive big new features as Microsoft is now focusing its resources on Windows 11.
There are a lot of things to like on Windows 11 including a more coherent design and new power-user features like Snap Assist. However, some changes like the new taskbar and Start Menu that lost its Live Tiles have received a polarized reception. The OS is still a work in progress, but Microsoft has already confirmed that it’s working on much-requested features such as File Explorer Tabs.
Even though Windows 11 is now ready for broad deployment, the minimum hardware requirements for the OS have left many Windows 10 PCs on the sidelines. While it’s still possible to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware, Microsoft doesn’t guarantee that these devices will continue to receive updates forever, and you’ll be on your own if you encounter any issues.