How to Install or Upgrade to Windows 11 for Free

Ever since Windows 11 was released to public, many readers are asking lots of questions related to the clean installation of Windows 11 and upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10 operating system. Many people have asked me same question, is Windows 11 free for Windows 10 users, if yes, how to upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10?

The answer is YES. Windows 10 users can upgrade to Windows 11 for free if their devices fulfill a few conditions or requirements which we are going to discuss in this article.

If you also want to upgrade your Windows 10 computer to Windows 11 without losing data or you want to clean install Windows 11 in your computer, this article will help you.

Let’s discuss in details:

You can Install or Upgrade to Windows 11 for Free if Your Device contains Windows 10 Activated

The first condition is very clear. If you have Windows 10 activated in your computer system, you can upgrade it to Windows 11 for free.

Similarly, if you installed and activated Windows 10 in your device in past and now don’t have Windows 10 installed in your device, you can still install Windows 11 in your device for free as the activated license information is stored in BIOS/UEFI firmware and Windows setup wizard can automatically detect and retrieve it at installation or upgrade time.

Now the question comes how to check if Windows 10 is activated and genuine in your computer system? Here is the quick and easy method to check Windows 10 activation status in any computer system:

1. Open Settings app from Start Menu or by pressing WIN+I keys together.

2. Now go to Update & Security -> Activation section.

PS: Alternatively, You can directly launch this page using “ms-settings:activation” command in RUN dialog box as mentioned here.

3. Here you’ll see the installed edition type of Windows 10 such as “Windows 10 Home Single Language”, “Windows 10 Pro” or any other edition of Windows 10.

You need to check the Activation status which should be mentioned as “Windows is activated with a digital license” as shown in following screenshot:

If you see the above mentioned message on Activation page, you have genuine Windows 10 activated successfully in your device and you can install or upgrade to Windows 11 for free.

Your Computer must Meet Windows 11 Hardware Requirements for Free Upgrade or Installation

The second condition to install or upgrade to Windows 11 for free is that your device which contains Windows 10 activated, must meet the minimum system requirements of Windows 11.

Windows 11 requires TPM 2.0 chip and Secure Boot features enabled in the device. Also the processor must be present in the supported CPU list.

Following page contains details about the hardware requirements of Windows 11:

Windows 11 System Requirements or Hardware Specifications

You can also take help of official Windows 11 PC Health Check app to know whether your PC supports Windows 11 or not:

Download PC Health Check App to Know Whether Your PC Meets Windows 11 System Requirements

If your Windows 10 device is activated and fulfills Windows 11 system requirements, you can install or upgrade to Windows 11 for free.

TIP:

There are ways to install or upgrade to Windows 11 on unsupported or incompatible devices which don’t meet Windows 11 hardware requirements. You can try these methods given in following article:

[Tip] Bypass Windows 11 TPM and Secure Boot Requirements Check to Install on Unsupported Hardware

How to Upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 for Free

Once your computer fulfills both the above mentioned conditions, you can go ahead and upgrade to Windows 11 for free.

To upgrade to Windows 11, first visit following official webpage at Microsoft website and download “Windows 11 Installation Assistant” tool.

Download Windows 11 Installation Assistant

After downloading the tool, run it and it’ll help you in upgrading your Windows 10 device to Windows 11 for free without losing any installed programs and important data.

The installation tool provides a step-by-step setup wizard to assist you in upgrade process. You just need to click on a few buttons (most of the times “Next” button) and your device will be upgraded to Windows 11.

How to Clean Install Windows 11 for Free

If you don’t want to upgrade to Windows 11 but want to perform a clean or fresh installation of Windows 11 from scratch, following steps will help you:

First of all your device must meet first and second conditions to clean install Windows 11 for free.

If your device is eligible for free Windows 11 installation, you can download Windows 11 offline ISO and create bootable USB drive to clean install Windows 11 in your system.

[Tip] How to Download Windows 11 Offline ISO Files

Or you can use Microsoft’s official media creation tool to directly create a bootable USB drive to install Windows 11 in your system:

How to Create Bootable USB Drive to Install Windows 11

Once your bootable USB drive is ready, you can restart your computer system and boot using USB drive to fresh install Windows 11 in your device.

Also Check:

[FAQ] Installing Windows 11 on Unsupported Hardware Devices

[Tip] How to Go Back to Windows 10 After Upgrade to Windows 11

[Tip] How to Install Windows 11 With Local User Account

[Tip] How to Complete Windows 11 Setup Without Internet Connection