Only these Surface devices can be upgraded to Windows 11, see if yours is on the list

It appears Microsoft wishes to make a new start with Windows 11 and leave much of their legacy base behind.  The OS has some specific requirements around security, and appears to support only modern processors.

PCWorld asked Microsoft which of their own-brand Surface devices will be getting the upgrade, and from the 25 released only around half are supported.

These are:

• Surface Book 3 (May 2020)
• Surface Book 2: only the models with 8th-gen Intel CPUs (Core i5-8350U or Core i7-8650U, not the Core i5-7300U) (Nov. 2017)
• Surface Go 2 (May 2020)
• Surface Laptop 4 13.5” (Apr. 2021)
• Surface Laptop 4 15” (Apr. 2021)
• Surface Laptop 3 13.5” (Oct. 2019)
• Surface Laptop 3 15” (Oct. 2019)
• Surface Laptop 2 (Oct. 2018)
• Surface Laptop Go (Oct. 2020)
• Surface Pro 7+ (Feb. 2021)
• Surface Pro 7 (Oct. 2019)
• Surface Pro 6 (Oct. 2018)
• Surface Pro X (Nov. 2019)

As can be seen from the list, extremely expensive devices such as the Surface Studio are not supported, and if your device is older than 3 years you are basically out of luck.

If you are desperate to run the new OS on your old device, one simple work-around will be to enrol in the Windows Insider program, where the OS will magically  gain the ability to circumvent all these issues.

Are any of our readers affected? Let us know your thoughts below.