Non-Compliant Win11 Pcs Will Be Alerted by Desktop Watermark

For those unsupported Windows 11 PCs (system requirements not met), Microsoft is testing a new means of prompting - desktop watermark.

Consequences of installing Windows 11 on an unsupported PC

The system requirements for Windows 11 caused some controversy when it was released last year, and stopped many people who wanted to try the new system. But soon tutorials for bypassing TPM and CPU checks appeared on the web, helping many users to install Windows 11 on unsupported computers.

Microsoft of course noticed this phenomenon and also stated in a document that it does not guarantee that devices that do not meet the requirements will receive the update. They also point out that these requirements actually ensure better performance and security for Windows 11, and bypassing them could lead to many subsequent compatibility issues.

Microsoft also implemented a pop-up window that appears during the OS installation process to tell users about the drawbacks of installing Windows 11 on PCs that do not meet the minimum specifications. The pop-up clearly indicates that if you continue to install Windows 11 on an unsupported PC, compatibility issues, possible corruption and other problems may occur.

Now, they are pushing this "warning" further to users.

Microsoft is testing desktop watermark “System requirements not met”

If you've installed Windows 11 on an unsupported device, you may soon notice a new watermark on your desktop that says "System requirements not met". It looks similar to the "Active Windows" one, but does not affect applications, windows, or web browsers.

The alert will also appear in the Settings app, which will alert users that their device is not officially supported.

Microsoft is testing the new watermark in Windows 11 Build 22557, and it may appear in the production version of the Sun Valley 2 update. So far, we can safely ignore these notifications, as they are limited to the desktop or settings pages and don't affect overall functionality. But such an ever-present watermark is bound to annoy some users as well.