10 big reasons why you shouldn’t upgrade to Windows 11

You’ll never see a Microsoft Windows upgrade that isn’t met with severe negative reactions, and while Windows 11 doesn’t experience as much vitriol as some previous operating system versions, that doesn’t mean all evenly pink. The main beef was requested for its hardware. Fewer complaints about interface changes meant “someone moved my cheese”, but still infuriated longtime users. In many ways, Windows 11 works just like Windows 10. It runs all the same software and it supports all the same hardware peripherals. However, there are quite a few valid reasons not to upgrade to Windows 11.

As is the case with most desktop operating systems, whether from Apple or Microsoft, the purpose of a new version is to help you buy a new computer. These tech giants have little interest in you upgrading your existing hardware, as it doesn’t bring them any revenue.

I still primarily use Windows 10 by choice, but have also used Windows 11 extensively, and I’m here to tell you that switching between the two isn’t a big deal. That said, there are reasons you might prefer to stick with the tried Windows 10 and rather move to Windows 11. Many of the reasons lead to the fact that Windows 10 got a lot of things right and Windows 11 broke. damage them. Please add your own reasons for not upgrading in the comments section below.

1. You may have to buy a new PC for Windows 11

Windows commentators caused the biggest stench at the launch of Windows 11 related to its new hardware requirements. The need for TPM security chips has taken a lot of digital ink, while in my experience the increasingly widespread barrier to upgrading is the requirement for a newer CPU. I’ve tested three or four PCs all with TPM chips, but with CPUs that aren’t recent enough to upgrade. You also cannot install an OS in the unlikely event that your PC is still running a 32-bit processor; it only runs on 64-bit Intel/AMD and Arm chips.

It’s all about upgrading existing PCs. If you’re looking for a new computer, there are still other reasons you might buy one running Windows 10, as you’ll see below. There are still many PCs with Windows 10 pre-installed and you can downgrade from Windows 11 to Windows 10.

2. Better Windows 10 Taskbar

Windows 10 lets you display wider, more informative taskbar buttons, and lets you place the taskbar on the side or top of the screen as well as at the bottom – a big deal for a number of users. Windows 11 too. In 10, the items are always in the same place. But in 11, if you use the default center alignment, the icon positions, even the Start button, will change when you open and close the app. You’re so lucky maybe left-aligning the taskbar in Windows 11, solves that last problem, but other problems persist.

Another bug is that the Taskbar calendar doesn’t let you add or view events like in Windows 10. Another point is that it doesn’t fully support drag and drop like its predecessor. However, Microsoft is working on a fix for this bug, returning this capability in future versions of Windows 11, but I still see the Uncommon icon when I try to drag a file to the application icon on the taskbar.

The new Windows 11 Start menu doesn’t show recently installed apps or frequently used apps. It offers vague “Recommended” apps maybe based on those criteria, but I don’t find it as useful as the obvious sections of Windows 10 for those categories. The icons in 11 don’t show any information about the app like Windows 10’s tiles do. The previous operating system also provided immediate access to Power (Shutdown, Restart, Sleep) and apps. Setting.

4. Windows 11 doesn’t have an always-on search box

Yes, you can tap the Taskbar icon or use Windows Key-S to bring up the search box in Windows 11, but nothing like having the search box always there, in the same place, waiting your queries. Windows 10 offers that, right next to the Start button. The company has even started decorating the right side of the box with cute themed illustrations, rare proof that Microsoft continues to improve Windows 10.

5. Windows 11’s tablet experience isn’t as good as Windows 10′

I wrote about the frustrating experience of using Windows 11 on a tablet, and although Microsoft claims to have improved it, I find the opposite. In Windows 10, swiping from left and right brings up the very useful Tasks and Action Center views (another hugely useful feature already in Windows 11; see below). You can close apps by dragging your finger down from the top of the screen, and apps default to full screen, which makes sense on tablets. Windows 11 introduces brand new gestures that require multiple fingers. While these are more like Apple, I question whether they will convert many iPad users to Surface Go users.

6. Windows 11 Requires Sign in to Microsoft Account

You won’t find any Mac users who aren’t signed in to an Apple account, let alone any Chromebook or Android users who aren’t signed in to a Google account. But some Windows users are vehement about not wanting to log into accounts on their PCs. If you’re one of these people, there’s a reason you shouldn’t upgrade to Windows 11. Well, at least to the Home edition. The Pro version does not have this requirement, although it seems likely that the vulnerability will go away in the future, based on preview releases.

For the Home version, you only have to sign in to your account during the setup process. You can then choose a local account to use your PC normally. As with other operating systems, signing in to a Microsoft account offers many benefits, including OneDrive backups, Store apps, Xbox games, parental controls in Microsoft Family, and Phone Link to use Android phone functions on your PC.

7. Action Center is no longer in Windows 11

Instead of a neat all-in-one Action Center for notifications and quick settings, Windows 11 divides its functions in a discrete, somewhat illogical arrangement, like a bunch of jumbled message boxes. clutter you see in macOS (not too bad though). In Windows 10, you tap the speaker icon to adjust the sound, the Wi-Fi button to change Wi-Fi, and the battery icon to see your power status. In Windows 11, these utilities are grouped together, so tapping the sound icon brings up battery and Wi-Fi options that you shouldn’t worry about. Windows 11 is less efficient here.

8. You Miss Timeline and Deprecated Features in Windows 11

As with all major OS updates, some features come, some disappear. The biggest things that leave Windows in version 11 are Timeline, Live Tiles, and Internet Explorer. However, if you run an old business application that requires IE, you can still run Internet Explorer mode in the Microsoft Edge browser. The timeline, however, is now relegated to the fog of past time. I do not use it so many, but sometimes find it useful.

For this, I’m going to play the devil’s advocate, as I loathe the endlessly deep right-click context menus that any application can add to the File Explorer right-click context menu in files. previous version of Windows. You can still access them by clicking the Show More Options menu item. If that annoys you (as do some users, based on web forums and comment sections like ours), you have one more small reason not to upgrade.

10. There’s no rush: You still have three years left

Windows 11: Review

Microsoft will continue to support Windows 10 until October 2025, so what’s the hurry to jump to Windows 11? If you’re happy with Windows 10, like me, there’s little reason to upgrade. I’ve even seen new features added to version 10 since the release of version 11. That said, some people like to always have the latest stuff and the latest designs. I’ve had no issues using Windows 11 — I’ve only been using it for a month while working remotely — and there’s definitely something appealing about it, like the updated design and softer system sound. . But you can keep Windows 10 for now if you want, and many of us will.

Still on the fence?

Maybe you are not convinced by the above reasons and want more information about Windows 11. We will help you. For a contrasting argument, read Reasons to upgrade to Windows 11. And follow all the latest news and tips on our Windows 11 home page.