Windows 11 shows a ‘System requirements not met’ warning on unsupported PCs | Digit

Windows 11 has had a debatable set of minimum system requirements like the supported processor, the presence of Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0, as well as an internet connection and a Microsoft account during its setup. While the company has updated the prerequisites a few times, it still doesn’t cover the older machines in the market that may otherwise be running fine. Still, with some workarounds, you can still get it to working and the experience must have been at least passable till now. However, with the latest Windows 11 update, Microsoft will start to annoy you with a “System requirements not met” watermark in an attempt to urge you to upgrade your PC.

Windows 11 “System requirements not met” message: What does that mean?

Microsoft has started pestering its users with a “System requirements not met” watermark on the Windows 11 desktop. The line appears towards the bottom right corner, right above the taskbar. 

This means you might not be having a Windows 11 PC with the following system hardware:

• 1 GHz or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC).
• 4 GB RAM
• 64 GB or larger storage device
• UEFI, Secure Boot capable
• Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0
• Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver
• High definition (720p) display that is greater than 9” diagonally, 8 bits per colour channel
• Windows 11 Home edition requires internet connectivity and a Microsoft account to complete device setup on first use.

Either you know your device status or can check the eligibility using the PC Health Checkup tool or better WhyNotWin11. You can also check the compatible CPU list from Microsoft too.

Now, if you don’t meet the so-called system requirements, you will be intimated about them being unmet. Starting Windows 11 build 22000.588 (beta), you’ll see the aforesaid warning. It may soon surface on stable Windows 11 too. This is reminiscent of other Windows watermarks like “This copy of Windows is not genuine” and “Evaluation copy“. If you have any of these phrases hardcoded onto your Windows desktop, then, expect the new message in the same area, possibly above these other lines.

Windows 11 system requirements not met watermark | Source: XenoPanther (Twitter)​

The complete message is — “System requirements not met. Go to settings to learn more” and if you go to the Settings app, therein too, you will see the same warning.

So, either you can ignore the tattooed up desktop or upgrade to a newer PC that supports the basic system requirements of Windows 11. Also, the clever Windows community might come up with some hack to remove this watermark just like there are ways around the other similar warnings.

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