Microsoft closes off a Windows 11 requirements workaround

Microsoft has finally patched a workaround exploited by users seeking an upgrade path for Windows 11 that dodged the company’s hardware requirements.

The tweak arrived without fanfare in the Windows Insider build 27686. There were a few neat tweaks in the build, including updates to the Windows Sandbox Client preview and a much-needed bump from 32 GB to 2 TB for FAT32 when running the command line format function.

However, the documentation did not mention an apparent end to one workaround that bypasses Microsoft’s requirements check for Windows 11. According to X user @TheBobPony, the “setup.exe /product server” workaround is not supported in the latest build.

The Register contacted Microsoft to understand its intentions with the change. The switch still works in the Windows 24H2 update, but the hardware check appears to no longer be bypassed in the latest Canary channel build (27686). The company has yet to respond.

The Canary channel represents the bleeding edge of publicly available Windows development, so this could simply be a bug. Or a fix for a bug that allowed the desktop installer to behave like a server installer. The hardware requirements for Windows Server 2025 are less onerous than those for the desktop operating system. As Microsoft notes: “A TPM chip is required in order to use certain features.”

Therefore, a lack of a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip will not stop Windows Server 2025 from installing (but will prevent certain features, such as BitLocker Drive Encryption, from working). So a server-type requirements check on a machine lacking TPM hardware would allow Windows 11 to install.

Or, at least, it did. Installing build 27686 means either making sure the hardware is compliant or going through the pain of digging up another workaround.

The workaround has been known for a few years and was welcomed by users eager to upgrade to Windows 11 but frustrated by Microsoft’s seemingly arbitrary PC requirements, which included a GHz or faster processor with two or more cores on a compatible 64-bit CPU, 4GB of RAM, 64GB or larger storage device, TPM version 2 and to be UEFI and Secure Boot capable.

With 14 months left until support for most versions of Windows 10 is due to end, Windows 11 continues to trail its predecessor, although the gap is shrinking.

Removing the loophole indicates that Microsoft is getting serious about those requirements. ®