Summary
- Microsoft removes support for dodging Windows 11’s TPM 2.0 requirement.
- Flyby11 is now flagged as malware by Microsoft Defender.
- Flyby11’s developer is working to resolve this issue.
In just over eight month’s time, Windows 10 will fall out of support. Once this happens, Microsoft is giving people still using the operating system a choice: either continue using Windows 10 without any future support, upgrade to Windows 11, or buy a new PC if their hardware can’t support Windows 11’s TPM 2.0 requirement.
For a few years now, people have been working on a fourth, unofficial option. This lets you upgrade to Windows 11 on hardware that’s not supported by dodging the system requirement check during installation. However, it seems that Microsoft is no longer playing nicely with people who want to skirt the restrictions.
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Microsoft removes its documentation about dodging Windows 11’s TPM 2.0 requirement
In the first instance of Microsoft stopping people performing unsupported upgrades, Neowin spotted that the company had removed a block of text from its “Ways to install Windows 11” page. Previously, the page stated the following:
Microsoft recommends against installing Windows 11 on a device that does not meet the Windows 11 minimum system requirements. If you choose to install Windows 11 on a device that does not meet these requirements, and you acknowledge and understand the risks, you can create the following registry key values and bypass the check for TPM 2.0 (at least TPM 1.2 is required) and the CPU family and model.
Now, both this description and the registry keys are missing, which hints that Microsoft doesn’t want to advertise dodging TPM 2.0 anymore.
Microsoft Defender now flags Flyby11 as potential malware
Two days after Neowin reported the change, the website spotted a new post on Flyby11’s GitHub page. The update claims that Windows Defender now identifies the app as potential malware. Flyby11 is a popular third-party tool that allows people to dodge the TPM 2.0 requirement and install Windows 11 on any machine, so Defender suddenly taking a dislike for the app does raise a few eyebrows.
As stated on Flyby11’s GitHub page:
The app is now flagged as PUA:Win32/Patcher by Microsoft Defender. You can safely ignore this if you wish to proceed with the upgrade. I will contact Microsoft to verify whether this is an official classification or a false positive
It’s unsure if other antivirus apps have the same reaction, but hopefully, the developer can get things worked out with Microsoft. In the meantime, check out our guide on how to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware for all the known methods.
