If you force a Windows 11 installation on unsupported hardware, you will now see a watermark in the lower right corner. Follow our guide to remove it quickly.

Microsoft set high system requirements when Windows 11 started to create a secure foundation for future updates. One of the most important requirements is Trusted Platform Module 2.0, better known as TPM. Only newer processors support this feature, leaving devices as young as four or five years old behind.

Those who followed the traditional update process received a message from Microsoft. However, it wasn’t long before other ways to update to Windows 11 were discovered, which Microsoft has so far left alone but has recently tightened the thumbscrews.

All PCs that did an official Windows 11 install without their system being compatible will now see a watermark in the bottom right stating that your PC does not meet the system requirements. “Go to the settings menu to learn more about it,” says the watermark.

Fortunately, for now, it only appears on the desktop of non-compatible devices and not everywhere like a non-genuine Windows 11 installation.

remove watermark

For now, anyone who sees the watermark on their desktop can easily remove it by following the steps below:

• Click on the start menu, type Registry Editor and open the application
• Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\UnsupportedHardwareNotificationCache
• right click SV2 in the right field and select Adjust
• Change the value to 0 and confirm with OK.
• Restart your PC

The minimum system requirements for Windows 11 are an 8th generation Intel chip or a 2nd generation AMD Ryzen chip, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage and a motherboard that supports UEFI and Secure Boot. Your graphics card must be DirectX 12 compatible.

Funnily enough, sometimes Microsoft decides to automatically update unsupported devices to Windows 11. Twice it was an accidental mistake, but you too might soon be greeted by a watermark on your desktop. With our guide, you now know how to remove this watermark (temporarily?).