[German]Microsoft does not have its processes under control at the back and front. After I was offered a "You are ready for Windows 11" in the Windows 10 21H2 update page on a Dell OptiPlex 7040 SFF weeks ago, it continues. Late this week, there appears to have been a "broad upgrade" offer for owners of older Windows 10 systems, even though they don't meet Windows 11 system requirements. Microsoft has admitted "the mistake."
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My old case
I picked up a refurbished Dell OptiPlex 7040 SFF at the end of 2022 to have a system for various tests. The computer was previously on Windows 10 21H2 (the upgrade to 22H2 is currently running). A few weeks ago I booted the system again to experiment with Hyper-V and various guest operating systems. When I took a look at the Windows Update page, I was amazed to see that I could upgrade to Windows 11 22H2.
My first thought was "is the OptiPlex 7040 SFF Windows 11 compatible? Of course it isn't, the part ships with 6th generation Intel Core processors and is not compatible with Windows 11 requirements from that perspective alone (see also Windows 11: Hardware requirements).
I just booted up the Dell Optiplex and had it show me the Windows Update page. Now it says "This PC does not currently meet the minimum system requirements to run Windows 11." – see above screenshot. I am offered to retrieve the PC Integrity Check – this is bullshit, of course. The machine will never be "Windows 11 compatible" unless Microsoft cashes in on the Windows 11 compatibility requirements. But this way, millions of Windows 10 users may be sent into a pointless update attempt.
I remember several cases during the last year, where blog readers told me, that a Windows 11 upgrade has been offered for a couple of days on their machines, but was then pulled, because the machine never fits the hardware requirements.
The new case from Feb. 2023
I came across the next case of a "faulty Windows 11 upgrade offer" on Feb. 24, 2023, at both German deskmodder.de and neowin.net. neowin.net wrote on Feb. 23 that Microsoft threw its users into confusion with an "upgrade offer for Windows 11" because this notice appeared on incompatible Windows 10 machines. Microsoft has since admitted the whole thing in the Windows 10 Health dashboard in the post Windows 11 upgrades were offered to ineligible devices.
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Some hardware ineligible Windows 10 and Windows 11, version 21H2 devices were offered an inaccurate upgrade to Windows 11. These ineligible devices did not meet the minimum requirements to run Window 11. Devices that experienced this issue were not able to complete the upgrade installation process.
This issue was detected on February 23, 2023, and resolved on the same day.
Resolution: This issue is resolved. It might take 24 to 48 hours to propagate to all affected devices. Affected users do not need to take any steps.
Affected platforms: Client: Windows 10, version 22H2; Windows 11, version 21H2; Windows 10, version 21H2; Windows 10, version 20H2
In a nutshell, systems running Windows 10 and Windows 11 21H2 that do not meet the hardware requirements were incorrectly offered an upgrade to Windows 11 22H2. The upgrade then fails. The bug was noticed on February 23, 2023 and corrected on the same day. Users reportedly do not need to do anything, Microsoft's fix would be rolled out to affected devices within 24-48 hours.
Can it happen once?
It can happen, of course, and I would accept an one time incident. But "it could happen" happens too often for me. There is the case I (and observations from blog readers) mentioned above that disturbs. Now we have the just admitted case I outlined in the previous paragraphs. Its a chain on incidents, that drive me nuts. In the blog post Windows 11 22H2 in Release Preview channel, bug shows update on unsupported hardware I had pointed out a similar case in June 2022.
The above tweet had come to my attention in this regard. MVP Barb Bowman had also wondered why her 7th generation Intel Core was suddenly compatible with Windows 11. The Windows Insider development team's response: the requirements haven't changed, we're looking at why this build is being offered on the machines in question.
Is Microsoft acting mindless?
I became aware of how Microsoft is acting in the meantime when I played the "naive user" for once while writing this article. After Windows 10 told me that the machine was not compatible with Windows 11, I would know why. But I wasn't told, why my machine isn't compatible. I should run anonother compatibility check using a link. I selected the offered link for the PC health check on the Dell Optiplex, to see what's next.
Advertising for Edge and Microsoft 365
Then my jaw simply dropped. Calling up the PC health check link opens a web page in Edge. The first thing that started was some animation in the page that wanted to tell me how ingenious this Edge was – with overlays and such things.
At the same time, the "You are ready for Microsoft 365" was shown on the Edge page with a wide download button. Since I was writing this article at the same time, I didn't have time to immediately read through the rigmarole on the Edge page about the PC Helath Check in more detail – I was constantly switching back and forth between two computers. But at the first moment caught "they offer a PC Health Check download in this banner".
Only when I took a second look at the text, I realized my mistake – Microsoft sails on the same level as scam sites that want to sell their PC optimization software or bloatware to unsuspecting users and distribute all kinds of "download buttons" over their site. I would have liked to make a screenshot.
When I then took a third look at the page, the Edge explanations and associated text were gone, and the "You are invited to try Microsoft 365 for free" had now moved to the top of the page with an Unlock Now (Jetzt freischalten) button (see screenshot of the German site above).
In the follow-up text, I learn what the app does, and how I could possibly access this feature via Windows search. If this app is not installed, I should download and run the CheckHealth app.
Is there still any plan?
Just for the record: Microsoft is using telemetry within Windows to excess, puffs up its cheeks about how great it is and what it can do with Windows. And then they don't even manage to tell the user via this great ML model after an update scan why his Windows 10 is not compatible with Windows 11?
There can be reasons that you can't determine this so exactly in the ML model – whereby I then ask myself what the whole nonsense is about. But thats not the end of the line. Redmond ships all kinds of crap (bloatware) from "Teletubbies" (aka Candy Crush Saga) with Windows 10. But to integrate the PC health chek feature into the current Windows 10 build, which tells the user: "Your Windows 10 is not suitable for Windows 11 for such and such reasons", that's something the strategists from Redmond haven't been able to do for years, or don't want to.
I would still nonchalantly forgive such things, if Microsoft would otherwise work cleanly, mistakes just happen. But in combination with the annoying advertising for Edge or Microsoft 365, and under the aspect of what other crap including bugs is shipped to Windows systems, it's a no go.
Well, I could understand if an administrator or IT decision maker in a company says: "I am currently still forced to rely on Windows for such and such reasons, but I am working on alternatives". But how naive or brainwashed do you have to be to hotly defend Windows 11 as having no alternatives and being the best "OS in the world"? I slowly despair of both Microsoft and their clientele.
Similar articles:
Windows 11: Hardware requirements
Windows 11: Microsoft specifies hardware requirements, no blocking on incompatible devices
Windows 11: Most hardware don't fulfill the minimum requirements, Microsoft reveals by-passing trick
Windows 11 22H2 in Release Preview channel, bug shows update on unsupported hardware
Microsoft employees also use Windows 11 on unsupported hardware
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