Home laptop doesn't meet Windows 11 requirements

[vickster]

Apparently... i5-6200U CPU @2.30ghz isn't enough to support Windows 11 which I think I need to be able to access work email, Teams etc on it. It was a decent laptop about 8 years ago, don't use it much (probably needs a new battery, works ok plugged in).
Can this be rectified by a clever IT guy or do I need a new up to date machine (or I can just use my phone, iPad, work laptop to access work stuff)?
Thanks

 

[Drago]

A clever IT person can sort that I'm sure.

 

[annedonnelly]

Are you sure you need Windows 11? When we first were locked down and working from home I used my personal PC running Windows 10 to access Teams, Office 365 etc. It's an elderly machine that had been upgraded from Windows 7. I had no problems with that.

If you've got a work laptop you might be better off using that. Employers seem to get a bit uncomfortable with people using personal stuff - I assume cos they can't be sure what security, virus checking, etc is going on.

 

[vickster]

Are you sure you need Windows 11? When we first were locked down and working from home I used my personal PC running Windows 10 to access Teams, Office 365 etc. It's an elderly machine that had been upgraded from Windows 7. I had no problems with that.

If you've got a work laptop you might be better off using that. Employers seem to get a bit uncomfortable with people using personal stuff - I assume cos they can't be sure what security, virus checking, etc is going on.

Apparently it doesn't meet security requirements...
Can sometimes be useful to access email, Teams. 99% of the time I do use my work laptop, or phone (personal), iPad (personal) if I'm away from my desk. Not looking to work on files etc.
Didn't use to be an issue, maybe started last year, hence thinking it's the lack of Win 11 (I'm not actually sure if my work laptop has 11 now! )

 

[annedonnelly]

Hmm. Worth checking the setup of the work one before you go rushing off spending money. Do you have IT support that you can actually talk to? They'll likely know what you need.

 

[Dadam]

Windows 10 is still in full support from Microsoft so any restrictions on that can only be ones imposed by your IT dept, and probably fairly spurious ones if they exist. I'm not sure it's an issue yet though, pretty sure some of my colleagues still running W10 on their machines for Teams etc

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/new-teams-desktop-admin
Says the "new Teams client" is not supported on W10 versions before 10.0.19041, so you may just need to run windows update.
Also, even if you can't run the latest client, you should still be able to run the web Teams in your browser.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

It’ll be what is called a TPM chip that is preventing W11. The TPM chip handles securely storing cryptographic keys etc. Your work thing will be a company policy rather than a hardware limitation. The software you mention certainly runs on W10 well enough.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

@vickster it's your work not giving you access from your personal hardware.
I had similar in a previous job, just like @annedonnelly.
Bet if you load teams on your laptop to chat with a friend (not a colleague), it will work.
My work teams wouldn't even let me invite a person to a team if they didn't have a company email address.

 

[vickster]

Hmm. Worth checking the setup of the work one before you go rushing off spending money. Do you have IT support that you can actually talk to? They'll likely know what you need.

Yes they live on the floor above and are friendly enough

 

[Jameshow]

Yes they live on the floor above and are friendly enough

I thought they were in the basement?!🤣

 

[icowden]

Apparently... i5-6200U CPU @2.30ghz isn't enough to support Windows 11 which I think I need to be able to access work email, Teams etc on it. It was a decent laptop about 8 years ago, don't use it much (probably needs a new battery, works ok plugged in).
Can this be rectified by a clever IT guy or do I need a new up to date machine (or I can just use my phone, iPad, work laptop to access work stuff)?

You don't need a new up to date machine and the hardware is absolutely fine. The issue is the installation requirement for TPM2 support.
Tom has a guide here on how to bypass it:-

https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/bypass-windows-11-tpm-requirement

If you are upgrading from Windows 10 and don't want to to a complete new install, go about half way down and look for AveYo. There is a microsoft approved way of your laptop supports TPM1.2 rather than 2.

 

[wafter]

Unless it's a work dictat that's causing an issue, there's no obvious reason why 10 should be any less secure than 11 - certainly not to the point where it prevents access to other MS products.

10 continues to be supported and we'll continue to use / support it at work until this ends. Are you accessing your work stuff from synced desktop apps on your laptop or going via the web browser? If it's the latter I think it's especially unlikely that your choice of OS would influence your ability to use the apps and access content.


Seems to me the whole "Oh noes, your PC isn't good enough for W11" is a load of tosh designed to push you towards new hardware.

My desktop is still running 7

 

[si_c]

You don't need a new up to date machine and the hardware is absolutely fine. The issue is the installation requirement for TPM2 support.
Tom has a guide here on how to bypass it:-

https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/bypass-windows-11-tpm-requirement

If you are upgrading from Windows 10 and don't want to to a complete new install, go about half way down and look for AveYo. There is a microsoft approved way of your laptop supports TPM1.2 rather than 2.

That particular CPU should have TPM 2.0 support, it's been in most modern Intel CPUs since 4th Gen intel. The issue is that Microsoft have set their supported CPU list at 8th gen or later due to hardware features required to ensure the system is running securely. As others have noted above you can force the installation anyway and it should work without issues, but if there are problems you are unlikely to find any support for it.

A better option might be to see if there is web access to your Teams and Email, then you can access it through a browser with no issues.

 

[albion]

https://www.mirror.co.uk/tech/windows-10-fee-microsoft-support-32517258

Unless there is specific reason, buying Microsoft device is not recommended for consumers. They are moving to ever faster paying updates.Luckily many businesses replenish hardware in a 3 year cycle ensuring good 2nd hand availability.

Whilst the 11 hardware requirement being a semi scam, you can still buy an awful N4020 new Windows 11 laptop for £50 deld (Geobook).
Whilst for this it is probably not recommended doing the one way switch out of S mode it would be sufficient for email.
The N4020 whilst being basic does have TPM, TPM simply being there to make everything else obsolete

 

[Time Waster]

We're not allowed to do anything work related except on work provided hardware, unless we get authorisation from IT&Security department. My advice is stick with company policy. If you can't access emails on personal tech just leave it until you get onto your work tech. 1% of your need to use is not that significant potentially. If it is keep your work tech to hand.

You might be able to make something personal to work but if it seems like work criteria is making that difficult or costly then I would take that as a big hint not to use it.