Microsoft Denies Windows 11 CPU Requirements Have Changed After 22H2 Gaffe

On Tuesday, Microsoft started to roll out Windows 11 22H2 to the release preview channel for enrolled insiders. It noted that this update was going to be offered to Windows 11 insiders only. However, NeoWin reports some Windows 10 users have been taken aback as the 22H2 update has been offered to them, even if their hardware is too old to meet Windows 11 hardware requirements.

Microsoft's official blog post about the release preview of Win 11 22H2 says "Insiders currently in the Release Preview Channel that meet the Windows 11 hardware requirements can go to Settings and Windows Update and choose to download and install Windows 11, version 22H2 Build 22621 if they want." This statement makes no mention of Windows 10 Insider testers, but it seems like updates have slipped through the net to offer updates to the newest build of Windows 11.

Several social media posters say they have been offered the headlining update for PC systems using Windows 10. A Twitter user noted her Windows 10 release preview machine got offered Windows 11 version 22H2, as did a Reddit user and a number of people who replied to their post.

Many of the users inexplicably offered the latest Windows 11 insider update were running 7th gen Intel Core processors (Kaby Lake), which are just one generation below qualifying for support by this metric. There were reports of 7th gen and 6th gen (Skylake) Intel Core processor based machines being offered the update and going ahead with it, with no known issues to date. Those with even older gen hardware appear to have had had less success with fewer update offers, and the chance of update success seems to be diminished the further a machine wanders away from the official supported specs.

Microsoft: Its "A Bug," Not a Feature

With the above posts circulating and discussion threads growing, people started to speculate whether this was an intended change from Microsoft, to boost the adoption / popularity of its latest OS. Sadly, this isn't the case. Microsoft's official Windows Insider Program Twitter account has replied to the Twitter post linked above to assert "it’s a bug… requirements have not changed". The development teams are apparently investigating what has happened, and one must assume Microsoft will be changing the bug which was offering Windows 11 updates on unsupported hardware.

Those who have upgraded systems via this bug may wish to roll back within 10 days of the update. If not, as users of unsupported systems, they might not be offered Microsoft's regular security patches.