Microsoft is moving forward with plans to alert users of Windows 11 who have installed the operating system on incompatible hardware. A new update to Windows 11 includes a watermark on the desktop wallpaper for incompatible computers, as well as a similar warning on the settings app’s main page.
Microsoft began testing these improvements last month and is now sending them out to Release Preview users in preparation for a general release to all Windows 11 users in the coming days. While Microsoft did not specifically mention the inclusion of a watermark in its list of “improvements” for this version, testers have observed it.
If Windows 11 is installed on unsupported hardware, a new desktop watermark with the phrase “System requirements not satisfied.” will appear. To understand more, navigate to settings.” It’s comparable, but much less noticeable, to the semi-transparent watermark that displays in Windows when the operating system is not enabled.
It has proven able to circumvent Microsoft’s Windows 11 minimum hardware restrictions and install the operating system freely. Due to the contentious hardware requirements, Windows 11 will officially support only Intel 8th Gen Coffee Lake or Zen+ and Zen 2 CPUs and above, thereby abandoning millions of PCs. Anyone who has taken advantage of the workaround will now see this warning in Windows 11.
Microsoft has previously used similar warnings for unactivated versions of Windows and limits users from modifying features such as dark mode, personalization settings, and themes until the system is activated. Microsoft does not appear to be experimenting with similar feature limits, and the desktop watermark can almost certainly be eliminated with registry modifications.
