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How do I update to Windows 10 21H2 without Windows 11 sneaking in? How would you go about it?

David Geer
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    Downgrading your processor to an unsupported one worked for me... – Mokubai Dec 17 '21 at 20:11
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    When it was offered to me on one of my laptops, I had the option to decline for now. – Jeff Zeitlin Dec 17 '21 at 20:17
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    You tell it not to install Windows 11. Seriously people – Hong Ooi Dec 18 '21 at 06:52
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    @Mokubai When I tried to do this exact thing, it didn't work for me: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FE05V8NVgAIQCvs?format=jpg&name=large – Corey Ogburn Dec 18 '21 at 18:04
  • @CoreyOgburn - Sounds like you have a completely different question. – Ramhound Dec 20 '21 at 13:23
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    @HongOoi "you tell it" + "Windows" sometimes goes with "It does whatever it wants anyway". The question is pretty much reasonable. – fraxinus Dec 20 '21 at 14:49
  • @fraxinus paranoia is always reasonable to the paranoid – Hong Ooi Dec 20 '21 at 15:01
  • @Ramhound, Nope, I joined the Beta preview channel because I wanted to reach the minimum build number that supported WSL+GUI and Windows 11 got installed. My processor is marked as incompatible but it installed Win 11 anyway. To be fair, it's been pretty stable. – Corey Ogburn Dec 20 '21 at 16:12
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    @CoreyOgburn - Installing Windows 11 Insider Preview and the stable Windows 11 build are two very different things. You still opted into installing Windows 11, otherwise, it wouldn't have been installed. You most definitely have a entirely different question though. I also suspect `AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU` is set to `1` on your machine. My answer does not apply if you manually opted into the Insider Preview program and, elect to install Windows 11. It's also possible if you were already elected into the Beta channel thats the reason the requirements were ignored. – Ramhound Dec 20 '21 at 18:08
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    @HongOoi Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you. – user3067860 Dec 20 '21 at 21:16
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    @HongOoi paranoia is always reasonable when Microsoft is involved. Windows has a vast history of user complaints of being slammed with major version upgrades they didn't want or expect. There has been a long running battle between manufacturers pushing updates and users not wanting their stuff broken, even with Apple - it takes constant vigilance to stop devices from auto updating. Heck, Windows would try to auto-**vaccinate** its users if that were technically possible. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Dec 20 '21 at 23:08
  • @Harper-ReinstateMonica did you try to tell it not to install Win 11? – Hong Ooi Dec 20 '21 at 23:19
  • @HongOoi You're missing the point. If telling Windows not to install 10 wasn't sufficient to prevent 10 from being installed, why should we trust Microsoft to honor our requests now? Maybe asking nicely not to install 11 works today, but Microsoft's history tells us they won't honor that for long. – Carl Kevinson Dec 21 '21 at 15:12
  • @CarlKevinson when MS starts forcing Win 11 on you in 2030 or whatever, feel free to post an appropriate answer then – Hong Ooi Dec 21 '21 at 15:45
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    @HongOoi Didn't work for people who had Windows 7. – user253751 Dec 21 '21 at 17:21
  • @user253751 hint: support expiry date – Hong Ooi Dec 21 '21 at 17:31
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    @HongOoi microsoft was secretly pushing windows 10 onto windows 7 users before support expired. People would wake up in the morning to find their computer suddenly had windows 10 – user253751 Dec 21 '21 at 17:36
  • @user253751 nonsense. people didn't know how to drive their computers – Hong Ooi Dec 21 '21 at 17:37

4 Answers4

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How do I update to Windows 10 21H2 without Windows 11 sneaking in?

When notified that your device is compatible with Windows 11, simply choose the option, to stay on Windows 10. At this point, you will have to manually elect to upgrade to Windows 11.

enter image description here

How would you go about it?

When prompted to upgrade to Windows 11 decline the upgrade. It’s unnecessary to disable TPM support to block Windows 11. At this time Windows 11 is still an optional upgrade and Windows 10 is fully supported until 2025 so there is no reason that will change.

If you really want to make it impossible for Windows 11 to be installed. You can configure the Select the target Feature Update version group policy to 21H2. The first field should be set to Windows 10 while the second field should be set to 21H2. This policy will prevent Windows Update from installing Windows 11.

enter image description here

Registry Key:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate]
"ProductVersion"="Windows 10"
"TargetReleaseVersion"=dword:00000001
"TargetReleaseVersionInfo"="21H2"
Ramhound
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I have used Windows Update to upgrade to Windows 10 21H2, and Windows 11 didn't sneak in.

If Windows Update proposes "Feature update to Windows 10, version 21H2", then you are good to go.

If it doesn't, you may still download directly the upgrade from Microsoft's page of Download Windows 10, where you can choose between doing the upgrade from there, or to create a Windows 10 installation media and use it instead.

harrymc
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2

I used gpedit.msc to disable automatic updates and select the target feature update version, 21H2. I also set AUOptions in the registry to 2 so the system will notify me before downloading updates.

Didier L
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David Geer
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Simply disable TPM (in BIOS).

Whether you have a laptop or a desktop PC, they all feature a toggle switch in BIOS. It's how I "upgraded to Windows 10". I simply prepared the Windows 10 installer, rebooted into BIOS, turned off TPM, installed Windows 10 and now I live a much happier life.

Please only follow this suggestion if you don't rely on TPM. In my case, it was not enabled on any of my business, home machines and only got enabled so I could upgrade to Windows 11. Thus, disabling it to prevent Windows 11's forced upgrade - is an option in my case.

Apache
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    But then you have to type your encryption password at each boot. – user000001 Dec 18 '21 at 07:13
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    And you may also lose whatever certificates were stored in the TPM, perhaps even without your knowledge. – harrymc Dec 18 '21 at 08:42
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    This is a terrible suggestion – Hong Ooi Dec 18 '21 at 09:55
  • @HongOoi - Yeah I added a note to cover that. Sorry. I've (falsely) assumed most people had it disabled by the factory because that was just my experience. HP ZBook, Lenovo ThinkPad, desktop motherboards (B450, X570), all came with TPM disabled in BIOS. So in these cases, I had to enable TPM by hand only to experience the disappointment that is Windows 11. – Apache Dec 19 '21 at 00:28
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    The upgrade to Windows 11 isn't forced. – Ramhound Dec 19 '21 at 02:09
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    @Ramhound ALL updates are forced. Windows Update will fight you to the death. – Dev Dec 19 '21 at 04:05
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    Yet the upgrade to Windows 11 can easily be prevented – Ramhound Dec 19 '21 at 07:30
  • @dev all updates to _Windows 10_ are forced. Upgrading to Win11 is not. This question is based on nonsense. – Hong Ooi Dec 20 '21 at 00:44
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    @HongOoi I don't think so, considering how Microsoft has forced updates to Win10, it's not unreasonable for people to be weary of it happening again. Turns out when you violate people's trust, they don't trust you. – At0micMutex Dec 21 '21 at 14:35
  • @At0mic did you try to tell it not to install Windows 11? – Hong Ooi Dec 21 '21 at 14:40