Windows 11 gets a new desktop watermark on unsupported hardware

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Microsoft wants to warn Windows 11 users that they have installed the operating system on unsupported hardware. There is a warning on the landing page of the settings app and a watermark on the desktop wallpaper for unsupported systems in the new update to Windows 11.

Microsoft had been testing these changes last month, but they are now rolling out Release Preview just ahead of a full release to all Windows 11 users in the coming days. The addition of a watermark in the list of improvements for this update has been noticed by the testers.

A new desktop watermark will state that the system requirements are not met if Windows 11 is running on unsupported hardware. If you haven't activated the OS, it's similar to the semi-transparent watermark that appears in Windows if you haven't.

It is possible to install the operating system without Microsoft's minimum hardware requirements. Millions of PCs are behind because Windows 11 only officially supports Intel 8th Gen Coffee Lake or Zen+ and Zen 2 CPUs and up. This warning will be seen in Windows 11 by anyone that has used the workaround.

Microsoft restricts features like dark mode, personalization settings, and themes from being modified until a system is activated in the past. Microsoft doesn't seem to be experimenting with any similar feature restrictions, and the desktop watermark can be disabled with some registry changes.