After all, your PC will be able to upgrade to Windows 11, assuming you’re part of a subset of users with a fast processor. Before you get excited, this is rarely an update to Microsoft’s policy regarding the minimum formula requirements for Windows 11. Instead, it’s a fix for a bug that required a compatibility hold to ensure certain formulas didn’t have issues. Once the bug was fixed, the suspension was lifted.
In 2021, shortly after the release of Windows 11, Microsoft and Intel discovered compatibility issues with Intel Smart Sound Technology (Intel SST) on 11th Gen Core processors running Windows 11. Microsoft has implemented a compatibility hold on the affected systems, preventing those PCs from upgrading to Windows 11. Now, more than two years later, Microsoft has solved the challenge and paved the way for those computers to run Windows 11.
Microsoft explains the path to upgrading to Windows 11 after updating Windows Smart Sound Technology drivers:
“Once you’ve upgraded to a supported edition of the driving forces of Intel Smart Sound technology, you deserve to be able to upgrade to Windows 11. Please note that if there is no other coverage affecting your device, it may take up to 48 hours for the update to take place. Upgrade to Windows 11 is offered. We suggest that you do not attempt to manually update the “Update Now” button or the media creation tool until you have completed the mandatory device updates.
As Microsoft noted, it may take up to two days for your PC to see the option to upgrade to Windows 11 after updating the device’s Intel SST drivers.
Windows 10 will arrive at the end of October 2025. Microsoft encourages users to upgrade their systems to Windows 11, but it’s not an option for everyone. Windows 11’s strict minimum requirements prevent some relatively new PCs from being able to upgrade to Microsoft’s newer operating system.
Recently, Microsoft revealed how much it would charge advertising consumers to continue receiving security updates for Windows 10 after it ends. Pricing starts at $61 per device for the first year, but temporarily increases after that. It will charge $122 per device to get security updates for a second year, and then $244 per device for a third year. Microsoft will calculate how much it will charge Americans to continue receiving security updates for Windows 10, but it shouldn’t be cheap.
Microsoft has been transparent about when support for Windows 10 would end. The challenge for many is that their PCs can’t be upgraded to the newest operating system. Microsoft, strangely, started running full-screen classified ads for Windows 11 on Windows 10 PCs that couldn’t. be updated.
The announcement thanks users for their loyalty, warns about the end of Windows 10, and encourages others to prepare for the transition to Windows 11. Of course, for other people, the transition to Windows 11 requires the acquisition of a new PC and, most likely, a new Windows license. As a reminder, OEMs pay Microsoft for Windows licenses and this charge is built into the price of a new PC.
Sean Endicott brings nearly a decade of delight covering Microsoft and Windows news to Windows Central. He joined our team in 2017 as an app reviewer and now leads our news coverage. If you have a tip or app to check out, tap on sean. endicott@futurenet. com.
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