How to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 for free

Microsoft’s free Windows 11 upgrade from Windows 10 is now rolling out. Microsoft is starting to offer the free upgrade to new devices that are still shipping with Windows 10, before making the OS available to other eligible existing hardware.

Not every existing PC running Windows 10 will be able to upgrade to Windows 11, though. Windows 11 will require Intel 8th Gen Coffee Lake or Zen 2 CPUs and up, TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module) support, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. That leaves millions of PCs unable to officially upgrade to Windows 11, although there will be unsupported workarounds if you really want Windows 11.

Microsoft is also gradually rolling out Windows 11, so the free upgrade won’t be offered to all existing PCs that are officially supported just yet. All existing and eligible PCs should be offered the Windows 11 upgrade by mid-2022, according to Microsoft.

Here’s how to get Windows 11 today, if you have a new PC that just shipped with Windows 10 or a device that’s allowed to upgrade to Windows 11.

Check that your PC is officially supported through Microsoft’s PC Health Check app.
Back up all of your important documents, apps, and data.
On your Windows 10 PC, head into Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.
Check for updates.
If the free Windows 11 upgrade is available, you’ll see an option to download and install.

The Windows 11 upgrade prompt. Image: Microsoft
Click download and install.
Follow the on-screen prompts and configure Windows 11 settings.
If you don’t see the free Windows 11 upgrade, and your PC is supported, then you might be able to avoid the wait using Microsoft’s new Installation Assistant.