The company says it expects all eligible devices will see the option to upgrade “by mid-2022.” While I imagine the bulk of those who want to upgrade will see the option well before that, half a year could be a long time to wait. Microsoft is also making this a very gradual rollout. Long story short, Windows 11 has some very specific requirements which mean many older PCs won’t be supported even if they technically have the power to run the OS.

The app will let you know if your PC is officially supported, and if not, it’ll tell you why. If the option doesn’t show up, you should install Microsoft’s new and improved PC Health Check app.

If it is, you should be able to install the OS like any regular Windows 10 update, although you should probably back up your important files just to be extra safe. You can simply head on over to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and check to see if there are any updates available. Via Windows UpdateĪlthough the OS won’t be available to all Windows 10 users, if you have a relatively recent PC, there’s a good chance Windows 11 is already available for you to download. There are actually a few different ways to install the OS, from a straightforward update to some more circuitous methods. The official release date is October 5, and though it’s October 4th where I’m sitting, it’s already the future in other parts of the world. Windows 11 is finally here - and a little bit ahead of schedule., depending on where you are in the world.

Windows 11 download