Microsoft in its recent optional update for Windows 11, has started adding a watermark to all those ineligible desktop systems as “System requirements not met.”
People who have edited the Windows registry for bypassing Windows 11 hardware requirements should face this issue. And it’s according to Microsoft’s plan since it has long been asking users to upgrade instead of tweaking.
Windows 11 Unsupported Device Watermark
For a long, Microsoft had let the non-paying community tweak settings or used a pirated version of Windows OS to run on their systems. But with Windows 11, the OEM started levying tough hardware and security requirements rules.
Things like a TPM 2.0, the Intel 8th gen or higher processor, etc., have made many users ineligible to upgrade to Windows 11. But some started tweaking the Registry to bypass such restrictions. And this worked!
Also Read- How to Disable Ads in Windows 11 File Explorer
Though Microsoft knew this, it didn’t block them altogether and regularly supplied updates. But, this happy phase may soon end, as the OEM started watermarking such ineligible desktop systems with a tag of their shortage.
A recent optional update to Windows 11 has started displaying a watermark as “System requirements not met” right above the click section. And it directs users to Settings, where it states the same with a link support documentation on Microsoft’s website.
Microsoft has been A/B testing this watermark with Insiders for a few weeks and is now active in all the production devices (RTM). Yet, there’s still a workaround noted by Windows Latest. Here’s how to remove the watermark in Windows 11;
- Open Registry Editor.
- On the left-hand side, open HKEY_CURRENT_USER,
- Look for an entry called UnsupportedHardwareNotificationCache.
- Right-click it and change the SV2 DWORD value from 1 to 0.
- Restart your PC.
After rebooting, you should be able to use the system without any watermarks unless Microsoft revokes this method in the next update.
