Which Microsoft Surface laptops are incompatible with Windows 11? A lot of people ask this question. And, they are more keen to know the options available for incompatible Microsoft Surface laptops.
Let us pay some consideration to Microsoft Surface laptops below. For the ease of your reference, we list both the compatible and incompatible Microsoft Surface laptops hereunder.
And, we also list the current status of Surface laptops running Windows 10.
For the fact of significance, let us reiterate that the first generation of Microsoft Surface notebook computers was unveiled in the year 2018. We have had 7 generations of Surface laptops until 2024. The 8th generation Microsoft Surface ought to reveal in 2025. But, it appears that the shortage of chips has forced the 8th generation Surface laptops launch to sometime later in the year 2026.
Microsoft Surface Laptops incompatible with Windows 11
The following Microsoft Surface Laptops or notebook computers are not compatible with Windows 11:
- Surface Book (1st Gen)
- Surface Go (1st Gen)
- Surface Laptop (1st Gen)
- Surface Pro (1st Gen)
- Surface Studio (1st Gen)
- Surface Book 2 (on 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U processor only)
- Surface Pro 2
- Surface 3
- Surface Pro 3
- Surface Pro 4
- Surface Pro (5th Gen)
Microsoft Surface Laptops compatible with Windows 11
The following Microsoft Surface laptops are compatible with Windows 11:
- Surface Book 2 (on 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U or i7-8650U processor only)
- Surface Book 3
- Surface Go 2
- Surface Laptop 2
- Surface Laptop 3
- Surface Laptop 4
- Surface Laptop Go
- Surface Pro 6
- Surface Pro 7
- Surface Pro 7+
- Surface Pro X
- Surface Studio 2
- Surface Hub 2S
What to do with Windows 11 incompatible Microsoft Surface Laptops?
If your Microsoft Surface Laptop is incompatible with Windows 11, you could realistically choose one of the following options:
- Windows 10 became end of life on 14 October 2025. So, you could choose to get extended security updates for Windows 10 based Microsoft Surface laptop. Extended security updates would allow access to security updates until October 2026. To enroll in Windows 11 Extended Security Update program, you could buy an ESU subscription. The cost is $30 for a retail computer and $61 for a business computer. Alternatively, you could participate in the Extended Security Update program of Windows 10 by encashing 1000 Microsoft reward points.
- You could continue to use Windows 10 on Windows 11 incompatible Microsoft Surface laptops. This is not a very secure option because your Surface laptop will not be protected against newly discovered security vulnerabilities.
- You could forcefully install Windows 11 on incompatible Surface laptops. But, it is unclear if the unsupported computers will get access to Windows 11 security updates.
- Or, you could exchange your Surface laptop for a newer version that is compatible with Windows 11 operating system.
Simplifying technology, one step at a time.