Windows 11 adoption has been way slower than Microsoft would like, no doubt, and part of the reason for that is that some PCs (particularly older models) can’t upgrade due to system requirements – and if you fall into that boat,

Microsoft has given itself a seemingly impossible race against time. With almost exactly a year to run before Windows 10’s unpopular end-of-life hits users in October 2025, Windows 11 is still failing to hook the hundreds of millions more users it needs to prevent a generational support nightmare coming true.

If you're currently using any version of Windows other than Windows 11, then your system is either already unsupported (Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8.1), or soon to become unsupported (Windows 10). And Microsoft's best advice for anyone in that situation is "move to Windows 11 by buying a new PC".

Microsoft is pushing users to buy new PCs to get Windows 11. Despite Microsoft's efforts, people prefer to dodge Windows 11's system requirements over buying new PCs. Microsoft's attempts to get people to ditch perfectly good hardware are wasteful.