When using PC Health Check to see if you can upgrade Surface to Windows 11, you get a negative answer. Microsoft doesn’t allow upgrading older Surface devices to the new operating system. From this post, you can know much information.
Can’t Upgrade Surface to Windows 11
On June 24, 2021, Microsoft announced its next generation of Windows operating system – Windows 11. It isn’t released yet and will come this year. But you can use its app called PC Health Check to see whether your current computer meets the system requirements of Windows 11. If so, you can get a free upgrade while it rolls out.
But the error message “This PC can’t run Windows 11” always appears after checking some devices. Although all the devices have TPM 2.0 and support Secure Boot, and far surpass minimum system requirements, you cannot run Windows 11 on these machines. Even for Microsoft Surface devices, Windows 11 cannot be run.
Older Microsoft Surface Devices Cannot Upgrade to Windows 11
Can I upgrade my surface to Windows 11? If you want to know the answer to this question, proceed to this part.
When asked which Surface devices would be eligible for Windows 11, a Microsoft representative mentioned the names of just five legacy devices and the most modern revisions of each Surface lineup in an email.
By far, Microsoft has shipped about 25 different models of Surface devices. In these devices, only 13 models support Windows 11. As for most Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablets, they are not eligible for Windows 11 updates. Also, if you own a Surface Hub or Surface Studio, you cannot install Windows 11 on the machine. Simply speaking, any Surface devices shipped before 2017 don’t support Windows 11 updates.
Surfaces That Can Upgrade to Windows 11
The following list is about the Surface devices that are eligible for Windows 11:
- Surface Pro 7+
- Surface Pro 7
- Surface Pro 6
- Surface Pro X
- Surface Laptop 4 13.5”
- Surface Laptop 4 15”
- Surface Laptop 3 13.5”
- Surface Laptop 3 15”
- Surface Laptop 2
- Surface Laptop Go
- Surface Book 3
- Surface Book 2: only the models with 8th-gen Intel CPUs
- Surface Go 2
How to Upgrade Surface to Windows 11
If you are running a Surface machine that is in the list, you can upgrade it to Windows 11. Although the new operating system isn’t released officially, there is a leaked preview build on the Internet. You can download the ISO file of Windows 11 and then install it on your machine to enjoy features in advance.
How to install Windows 11 on your Surface device? Create a bootable USB flash drive using the ISO file, boot the PC from the drive, and then start a clean installation.
1. Choose a language, time and currency format, as well as keyboard or input method.
2. Click Install Now.
3. Choose I don’t have a product key.
4. Decide where to install Windows 11.
5. Choose an edition of Windows 11.
6. After accepting license terms, choose Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).
7. Wait some time. After finishing the installation, set up the computer.
To know more information, refer to [Graphic Guide]: What’s Windows 11 & How to Install Windows 11.
Final Words
Microsoft cannot upgrade some older Surface devices to Windows 11 and this post lists some details. If your Surface meets the requirements, follow the steps above to upgrade Surface to Windows 11 easily.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Vera is an editor of the MiniTool Team since 2016 who has more than 7 years’ writing experiences in the field of technical articles. Her articles mainly focus on disk & partition management, PC data recovery, video conversion, as well as PC backup & restore, helping users to solve some errors and issues when using their computers. In her spare times, she likes shopping, playing games and reading some articles.