As you may be aware, Microsoft Windows 11 operating system was released at the end of 2021. After internal testing and checks, Schools ICT are now happy to start rolling out the new operating system to replace Windows 10. Additionally, Microsoft Windows 10 end of life date is 14th of October 2025 and will stop being supported by Microsoft, and receive no more updates, after this date.
Potential Issues
In a change from previous major updates to the Windows operating system, Windows 11 has some minimum hardware requirements. Broadly speaking, we expect nearly all devices manufactured with an Intel “i” series processor since the second half of 2017 to meet these requirements. We are unsure how many of the devices given out by the DFE during the lockdowns will be compatible.
While it appears to be possible to install Windows 11 on a small percentage of devices that do not meet the minimum requirements, Microsoft have stated they will not offer support, updates, or guarantee functionality on such devices. Because of this, Schools ICT also cannot offer support for devices that do not meet the minimum requirements but have Windows 11 installed.
What is happening now?
Schools ICT will be auditing devices, on a site-by-site basis, to determine whether they meet the minimum requirements. Once devices have been identified as suitable or unsuitable we will inform the relevant contacts at the school. While scheduling for this work has yet to be determined, by doing this sooner rather than later we hope to give schools as much time as possible to plan for Windows 10 end-of-life and any device retirement. Identifying devices in this way also allows us to plan the necessary work involved in upgrading suitable devices to Windows 11. Windows 11 is a free upgrade to all devices that meet the minimum requirements and have a W10 license.
We understand that some schools may be more affected by this change than others so please contact your LST or log a job via the Service Desk if you would like to continue this conversation. We will, of course, support you in any way we can through this transition. We will be in contact with scheduling information and more details when we have them.
If you have any other questions or issues please let us know