Microsoft seems to be accidentally offering a Windows 11 upgrade to PCs that don’t meet the system requirements, but installing the update fails.
Among the reports, Twitter user @PhantomOfEarth mentioned that the update was offered to a Windows 10 virtual machine without a TPM (another one of the requirements for Windows 11) and with only 2GB of RAM. Another user on Reddit also claimed that their school computer with 2GB of RAM was offered the upgrade, even though it already has poor performance on Windows 10.
This all appears to be an error, however, as the upgrade doesn’t actually go through. If the user tries to take the offer, the system compatibility check will run and indicate that the computer in question isn’t supported, so it still can’t install Windows 11. There are workarounds to install Windows 11 on unsupported PCs, but this isn’t one of them. We also wouldn’t necessarily recommend upgrading your PC if it doesn’t meet the minimum requirements, particularly those related to RAM or the CPU, as you’ll probably get less-than-ideal performance. Microsoft claimed at one point that PCs with older CPUs experienced over 50% more crashes, which is why they weren’t approved to begin with. You also shouldn’t expect this to mean Microsoft will be changing the system requirements in a big to get more users on Windows 11.
If you’ve been offered the upgrade and you know your PC isn’t supported, the best option for now is to simply ignore it. We’ve reached out to Microsoft to clarify why the upgrade is being offered, and whether the issue will be rectified anytime soon.
Source: PhantomOfEarth (Twitter), Reddit