Unsupported Windows 11 PCs might still get updates after all

Microsoft has been pretty uncompromising about the minimum requirements for Windows 11, even if it means leaving many completely capable Windows 10 PCs out in the cold. Despite the still ongoing confusion, Windows 11's security and CPU requirements are set in stone, at least as far as "officially supported" machines are concerned. Microsoft, however, isn't moving to block unsupported installations and might even continue supporting these "non-compatible" Windows 11 with critical updates during the operating system's lifetime.

To be clear, Windows 11's strict system requirements really only apply to PCs that will be marked as eligible for upgrading from Windows 10. There are other official ways to install Windows 11, though, particularly from media provided by Microsoft itself. The company even provided instructions on how to bypass Windows 11's TPM 2.0 check when it really comes down to it.

Of course, Microsoft wants people to know that these alternative methods come with risks, and there was a point in time when it was believed it would be using a scare tactic to get users to stay away from those. Although it was never officially confirmed, a Microsoft representative was quoted saying that unsupported Windows 11 machines won't be getting updates. That was seemingly confirmed by Microsoft's warning to Insider testers, but those play by different rules anyway.

According to tech site HTNovo, however, that hasn't come to pass, at least not yet. Their Windows 11 computers that didn't meet the minimum requirement were able to receive the first set of "Patch Tuesday" updates. They even got daily updates from the Windows Security suite.

It's definitely reassuring to see that Microsoft won't abandon Windows 11 users who got there using alternative but still official methods. It's unclear, however, if this is really Microsoft's official policy moving forward or if it's just waiting for things to settle down. If it does withhold updates, however, it could find itself in legal trouble as it can be easily accused of forcing people to buy new computers just to stay protected on Windows 11.