Microsoft is forcing watermarks on “unsupported” Windows 11 PCs, according to a report from The Verge. The software giant is using the Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology to enforce its licensing agreement with PC makers. The Verge reports that Microsoft is sending out emails to PC makers telling them that they need to add the watermark to their Windows 11 PCs in order for users to continue using the operating system. If a PC maker doesn’t add the watermark, then users will be unable to install or use certain Microsoft applications, including Office and Skype. PC makers have been resistant to adding the watermark because it would require them to make changes to their hardware and software designs. Microsoft has threatened to stop providing support for Windows 11 on PCs that don’t have the watermark, which would leave these machines unsupported and vulnerable. This move by Microsoft is likely in response to Apple’s recent decision not to include DRM in its new operating system, iOS 12. Apple has said that it wants users of its products “to be able to enjoy their content without having concerns about privacy or control over how it’s used.” ..
Windows 11’s system requirements have caused a lot of issues, as Microsoft required TPM support. Unfortunately, this left a lot of users unable to install the operating system officially. However, Microsoft did make it possible to install Windows 11 on unsupported PCs, which let more people sample the latest version of the OS.
Now, Microsoft is adding a watermark to some unsupported PCs running Windows 11, letting them know that their PC doesn’t meet the minimum requirements. It’s similar to the watermark that would appear if you run the OS without activating it, but it reads “System requirements not met” instead.
Additionally, there’s a “System requirements not met” warning in the Settings app that also has a link to “Learn More.”
Thankfully, these warnings are just warnings, at least for now. Microsoft isn’t stopping users from running Windows 11 or making it run worse, at least for now. So, if you’re running Windows 11 on an unsupported PC and you see this warning pop up on your desktop, you can safely ignore it.
We’ll have to wait and see if Microsoft starts doing anything else to enforce its Windows 11 system requirements. For now, the company seems content with just a warning.
RELATED: How to Install Windows 11 on an Unsupported PC
