Broad deployment: Windows 11 is now available for everyone

Microsoft announced entering the final phase of rolling out Windows 11 on eligible devices via Windows Update. Almost four months since the initial launch, everyone with a compatible computer can download the latest operating system from Microsoft using Windows Update.

Microsoft did not want to rush Windows 11 update. Instead of forcing all users to jump off Windows 10 to 11, the company decided to release Windows 11 in waves.

Microsoft used machine learning algorithms to detect computers with the best compatibility (mostly devices with the newest hardware). Those devices received an offer to update to Windows 11 first. Microsoft has been slowly increasing the rollout pace to make Windows 11 available on more devices with time.

According to the original plan, Microsoft wanted to complete Windows 11 availability expansion by mid-2022. The company says it has seen "strong demand and preference for Windows 11," which moved it to advance the pace of the rollout faster than initially planned. Now Microsoft is ready to update every computer that meets minimum hardware requirements. The upgrade offer is designated for broad deployment for eligible devices.

To install Windows 11 via Windows Update, you need a computer with the following specs (or better):

• CPU: Intel 8th gen CPU and newer or AMD Zen+ (2nd gen Ryzen) and newer.
• At least 4 GB of RAM.
• At least 64 GB of Storage.
• A motherboard with UEFI support, Secure Boot, and hardware or software-based Trusted Platform Module 2.0.

If you have a computer with older specs, you can still install Windows 11, but the procedure requires installing the operating system from scratch. Microsoft also says it will not support Windows 11 on aged computers, although those systems still receive monthly cumulative updates. It remains unknown whether Microsoft will offer Windows 11 feature updates to systems with unsupported hardware.