As you may be aware, Windows 10 is approaching the end of its Supported lifespan with Microsoft, with this no longer being officially supported on the 14th of October 2025. You and your staff will likely be receiving prompts from the Operating System in relation to this, note that there is no need to take any immediate action given that there are still 8 months to this deadline.
Pathway to Upgrading
First off, Windows 11 is a Free upgrade, so for any computer already running Windows 10, you have an upgrade path without any cost implications.
Windows 11 has some restrictions on which devices can be upgraded. The key one of these is the restriction to a set number of supported CPUs. Generally speaking, this means that PC devices (laptops, desktops, Windows tablets) purchased prior to 2018 are unlikely to be supported, and devices purchased after 2019 should be supported, with some exceptions either way. Our general guidance is that laptops should be replaced every 3-4 years, and desktops every 4-6 years, so we’d expect most of your supported equipment to be eligible for upgrade.
The easiest way to confirm compatibility is to run Microsoft’s PC Health Check App – which can confirm whether your PC will support Windows 11. This is likely already installed on your PC, just search for “PC Health” on the Search bar usually located in the bottom left of your screen.
If you don’t have the PC Health app installed, you can download and install this (without the need for admin credentials) from https://aka.ms/GetPCHealthCheckApp. This will download directly in your browser.
Next Steps
We don’t recommend jumping to Windows 11 without first ensuring that you’ve tested all your important business applications and devices. Our recommended process is as follows:-
- Check that all your important applications have confirmed that they are supported for Windows 11.
- Check that any connected hardware (e.g. printers, scanners) are supported for Windows 11.
- For a small test group of 1-5 staff, upgrade to Windows 11 and use it for 2-4 weeks, testing all important applications and connected devices.
- If no problems are picked up during the test phase, upgrade all further devices to Windows 11.
How we can help
We can assist with the process of trialling and deploying the upgrade to Windows 11 to your devices, so you can ensure the minimum of disruption to your staff. If you’d like to discuss with us how best to plan your upgrade, then please contact us and we can help you plan the best path for your business.
If you have concerns that you have incompatible hardware, then please talk to us about how we can help you check these devices. If it is the case that you need to replace devices, we can recommend and supply the new hardware.