Yes, you can still upgrade to Windows 11 for free. Windows 10 finally hits the wall tomorrow, officially retiring, and there’s now a surge in Windows 11 upgrades taking place. There is one check you need to do on your PC — and then you’re good to go.
Microsoft warns that Windows 11 can only run “on PCs that meet the minimum hardware requirements.” You can easily run the PC Health Check to ensure the specs of your PC match the menu of Windows 11 requirements that you can find here.
Microsoft tells users that “if your PC doesn’t meet the minimum system requirements to run Windows 11, consider moving to a new Windows 11 device.” That official advice to scrap/recycle PCs that are not that old but which don’t have the right hardware has triggered a backlash given the unprecedented scale of e-waste.
With 24 hours to run until the deadline, Windows 10 has dropped to its lowest market share almost since launch. It’s now down below 35% as tens of millions of PC owners take the Windows 11 plunge after holding out for so long.
If your PC does not meet the requirements for Windows 11, you can still get Microsoft’s free 12-month security support extension. You just need an account and OneDrive. You can actually enroll in the ESU all the way up until October 2026, although if you don’t do this by tomorrow, your PC is officially off support and at risk until you do.
You can also enroll in the Windows 10 ESU now and then upgrade the same PC to Windows 11 whenever you want over the course of the next year. It still needs to meet the eligibility requirements. That hurdle does not change.
Microsoft is keen to stress that Windows 11 is safer and more secure than Windows 10, ESU or not. But there are still around 500 million PCs running Windows 10, even with just hours until it officially retires. Nothing like this has happened before.
One word of caution for users upgrading to Windows 11. Per Windows Latest, “just as Windows 10 hits end-of-life, Microsoft accidentally broke the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool (MCT), which was one of the best ways for Windows 10 users to upgrade.”
Worry not, “if you still want a bootable USB or a clean install of the OS, the workaround that Microsoft mentions is to download the Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO).”
Whether the ESU or Windows 11 upgrade, just make sure you don’t lose your data. You should backup your PC or at least your files given the current state of flux.
