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FETC 2025: Do Your Devices Meet the Requirements for Windows 11?

As schools move to upgrade before support ends for Windows 10, they must first ensure that their technology can run on the new OS.

If schools are still running Windows 10, they’ll need to make a plan before Microsoft stops supporting the operating system on Oct. 14, 2025. For many districts, this means upgrading to Windows 11.

The upgrade itself can be time-consuming — especially if it needs pushed out to thousands of student devices — and many K–12 IT departments are working to find the time and manpower to make the switch.

In an FETC 2025 session titled “Windows 10 End of Support,” CDW Microsoft Consultant for Education Jorge Quinones discussed another challenge school leadership may need to overcome: Do their current technologies support Windows 11?

Know the Hardware Requirements for Windows 11

To run Windows 11, each device needs 64 gigabytes of storage or more on its hard drive, a processor that is at least 1 gigahertz and Trusted Platform Module 2.0.

Quinones told attendees about a school that tried to upgrade its operating systems despite not meeting the minimum specifications for Windows 11. “They decided to bypass the requirements, especially the TPM,” he said. “Then, they wanted to implement Windows Hello. Guess what? Windows Hello only works if you have TPM 2.0.”

Find out which devices in your organization can be upgraded to Windows 11. However, “if you have TPM disabled, it’s going to give you a false positive,” Quinones warned.

Cover All Bases With Software Requirements and Assessments

While hardware requirements are the biggest technical hurdle to implementing Windows 11, schools should also check their application compatibility with their vendors. Most programs won’t pose an issue, Quinones said: “Ninety-eight percent of the software that runs in Windows 10 will run in Windows 11.” But if it isn’t updated to run with Windows 10, it could start crashing in Windows 11.

“Now that you know the minimum requirements, the next piece is a hardware and software assessment,” Quinones advised. School IT leaders can use an assessment to determine whether they will need to invest in new solutions to run Windows 11.

While an assessment can help make the argument to administration that new tech is necessary, there is a different route schools can take with regard to Windows 10’s end of support.

Schools Can Opt for Windows 10 Extended Security Updates

Extended security updates are another option for schools that aren’t ready to update to Windows 11. 

Schools don’t always have the budget for new devices, so Microsoft is offering continued updates (for security only) at a low price for education institutions. The updates cost $1 per device for the first year. The price rises in year two to $2 per device and jumps to $4 per device in year three.

While relying on these extended security updates shouldn’t be a school’s primary security plan, they can help IT departments guarantee that devices running Windows 10 are secure, Quinones said.