How To Upgrade Windows 10 To Windows 11 Without Losing Data

It’s been a few days since Microsoft released Windows 11 RTM. Windows 11 is a free upgrade to Windows 10 users who have a PC that supports Windows 11’s minimum hardware requirements.

Although users can upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 via the Windows Update service, Microsoft is rolling out Windows 11 in a phased manner and because of this reason not everyone is able to upgrade to Windows 11 right away. That said, if you cannot wait to upgrade to Windows 11, you can use other options.

One can use the official Windows 11 Installation Assistant tool to upgrade your existing Windows 10 installation to Windows 11 without losing data. Here is how to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11.

Upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 without losing files

NOTE: You do not need a product key to upgrade from an activated Windows 10 installation to Windows 11.

Step 1: The first step is to make sure that your computer is compatible with Windows 11. The easiest way to do that is to download, install and run the official PC Health Check app.

After running, click on the Check now button to check if your PC can run Windows 11.

Step 2: If your PC supports Windows 11, get the official Windows 11 Installation Assistant from this page.

Step 3: Run the Windows 11 Installation Assistant tool. If you get the following screen “Use the PC Health Check app to check compatibility” message instead, please run the PC Health Check app again and click on the Check now button (refer to Step 1 for directions) to make sure that your PC is compatible with Windows 11.

Step 4: Now that you have run the PC Health Check app again, on the Windows 11 Installation Assistant tool, click on the Refresh button to see the license agreement screen. Click the Accept and Install button to continue.

Step 5: The Windows 11 Installation Assistant software will begin downloading Windows 11 installation files from Microsoft servers. Depending on your internet connection speed, the download process might take a few minutes to hours.

Step 6: Once the required files are downloaded to your PC, the Installation Assistant will automatically start installing Windows 11.

Here, it might take tens of minutes to complete the installation.

Step 7: Next, once the installation reaches 100%, you will see the following screen. Click the Restart now button to restart your PC.

Step 8: Upon restarting your computer, you will get this screen with “Working on updates. Please keep your computer on” message.

Your PC will automatically restart a few times. Do not panic. Again, you might see this screen for several minutes.

Step 9: Finally, your PC will restart again and show you the Windows 11 lock screen. Sign in to your PC to see the “Hi. This might take a few minutes” screen.

Step 10: Once the setup is complete, your will see the Windows 11 Desktop. You can start using your computer. Enjoy Windows 11!

We suggest you check your Windows 11 activation status.

If for any reason, you want to downgrade, you must perform the downgrade within 10 days of upgrading to Windows 11. Post that, you will have to perform a clean install of Windows 10.