There’s already a way to remove Windows 11’s watermark – here’s how
Clear desktop ahoy!
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Microsofthas recently added a ‘feature’ toWindows 11 that will show a watermark message on the desktop if the PCit’s running on does not meet the system requirements, but there’s already a hack available to get rid of it.
Windows 11 has some weird system requirementsthat has meant some perfectly powerful and relatively modern PCs are deemed unable to run the newoperating system. However, it’s relatively easy to getWindows 11to run on these devices anyway, and while it all seems to work fine, Microsoft has warned against doing this.
The company now seems even more determined to dissuade people from runningWindows 11on unsupported hardware by adding a watermark that appears on the desktop that says “System requirements not met.” While this doesn’t prevent the PC from being used, it’s pretty annoying, so it comes as little surprise to find thatsomeone at Deskmodder.dehas already found a way to remove the watermark.
How to remove the Windows 11 watermark
If the watermark appears on your PC, here’s the steps you need to take to remove it. This process involves editing Windows 11’s registry, and if this is done incorrectly, there’s a danger your PC may not work correctly – so only do this if you’re confident, and follow the instructions exactly.
If you can’t see UnsupportedHardwareNotificationCache, right-click on the Control Panel folder and select New > Key. Name it UnsupportedHardwareNotificationCache, then in the new folder right-click and select New > SV2 DWORD. Right-click it and select ‘Modify’ and change the value from 1 to 0.
Once your PC restarts, the watermark should be gone.
Analysis: Is this legal and should you do it?
This hack is relatively straightforward, but does that mean you should do it? In the past, Microsoft used watermarks like this when devices were running a copy of Windows that hadn’t been activated (so possibly hadn’t been paid for). Removing a watermark to make an non-activated version of Windows appear to be activated would almost certainly be illegal – as well as ethically wrong.
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Things aren’t quite as straightforward here, as if you have an activated version ofWindows 10, you should be eligible for afree upgrade to Windows 11. However, part of the licence agreement is that you run Windows 11 on supported hardware.
While you may get away with it for personal use where you just want to remove the watermark for aesthetic reasons, if someone were to use it to make a PC appear to support Windows 11 when it doesn’t (and then sells it on that basis), again, that’s likely to be illegal.
It’s also worth considering that while this hack removes the watermark, it doesn’t mean the device now meets the Windows 11 system requirements. Microsoft does not recommend running Windows 11 on systems that don’t meet requirements, and it may mean that future updates, including important security fixes, won’t be compatible.
For that reason alone, the safest thing you can do if you get this watermark is touninstall Windows 11and stick withWindows 10.
Matt is TechRadar’s Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there’s no aspect of technology that Matt isn’t passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he’s reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.
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