Microsoft has long been putting up a “System requirements not met” watermark on the unsupported Windows 11 versions, trying to force users to upgrade their hardware.

While it’s slightly intriguing to watch it every time you turn on the system, there’s an official workaround to remove this watermark – for all the versions of Windows 11. If you’re a victim of this constant upgrading pressure, here’s how to avoid it;

Removing Unsupported Hardware Watermark

One of the many ways Microsoft wants you to do so is to run their latest software, Windows 11, as recommended. But this is hard for many who tried to upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 10, as Microsoft stated serious requirements for the Windows 11 OS.

The OEM listed TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module), 8th gen or newer processors, and more for upgrading to Windows 11, which may not be available for everyone. Though users tried installing through various means, they’re stuck with the “System requirements not met” tag in the desktop and Settings app.

Microsoft is hoping that this watermark may intrigue some people and force them to upgrade their hardware for good. Well, this may not be hard for tech-savvy people, who often face similar situations with no shame. And they have listed a number of ways you can remove this, even though an official workaround from Microsoft. Here’s how to do it;

  1. Open Windows Start Menu or Search.
  2. Search for Group Policy.
  3. Upon finding it, hit on Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System.
  4. Enable the policy “Hide messages when Windows system requirements are not met”.

This should remove the watermark from your Windows 11 system. Well, this method is only for Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise editions since they are with Group Policy Editors. If you’re running other versions like Windows 11 Home, you may remove this watermark from the Windows Registry. Here’s how to do it;

  1. Open the Registry Editor from Windows Search.
  2. Click “HKEY_CURRENT_USER”.
  3. Expand the Control Panel.
  4. Click on the UnsupportedHardwareNotificationCache folder.
  5. Right-click on the SV2 entry.
  6. Click “Modify” and change the value to “0”. Hit OK.
  7. Reboot your PC to see the watermark disappear.

Make sure to take a backup of your Windows Registry before doing the above changes. Also, Microsoft may not entertain these workarounds for a longer time, so you’re advised to leverage them now or suffer later.