How To Get Windows 11 For Free Now Prior To Microsoft's October Public Release

by Brandon Hill — Friday, September 24, 2021, 09:19 AM EDT

Yesterday, Microsoft made Windows 11 available to the Release Preview Channel, which means that the company is confident enough to ship this build (or slightly newer builds) to the public. We don’t know at this time if Windows 11 Build 22000.194 will be what ships on October 5^th, but it’s close enough.

For those that want to join in on the fun before October 5^th, here’s a quick guide to get you up and running with Windows 11 as soon as possible. First of all, here are the minimum specifications that Microsoft requires for Windows 11:

Processor: 8^th generation Intel Core or AMD Ryzen 2000 (and newer) processor
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB
System firmware: UEFI, Secure Boot capable
TPM: Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0
Graphics card: DirectX 12 compatible or later with WDDM 2.0 driver
Display: High definition (720p) greater than 9 inches diagonally, 8 bits per color channel

If you’re not sure that your system meets these requirements, we’d recommend that you download Microsoft’s newly available PC Health Check app to confirm if you’re ready for the upgrade. For example, I used the app to check on the status of an ASUS VivoBook 15 laptop running Windows 10 and was given the all-clear to begin to upgrade to Windows 11.

Next, if you haven’t already done so, you’ll want to join the Windows Insider Program. You can do so by registering directly with Microsoft on this page. You’ll now want to navigate to Settings --> Update & Security --> Windows Insider Program and then click the Get Started button. You’ll then be asked to link the account that you confirmed on Microsoft’s website. Once you’ve entered your credentials, you’ll want to choose the Release Preview Channel. Once you hit Confirm, you’ll be asked to restart your computer.

Once you reboot and log back into Windows 10, go to Settings --> Update & Security --> Windows Update. It might take a few minutes to a few hours for Microsoft to register your system into the Release Preview Channel, but when that happens, returning to Windows Update will show you the following screen:

Now you can click Download and install to update to Windows 11. And that’s all you need to know to upgrade your current [eligible] system to Windows 11. Of course, if you’d prefer to go the clean install route – which we’d recommend for advanced users and enthusiasts – you can download the Windows 11 Build 22000.1 ISOs directly from Microsoft.

Tags: Microsoft, (nasdaq:msft), windows 11

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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