What’s happening?

Windows 11 has been available for over two years and since May 2023 all new Trinity computers purchased from Dell come with Windows 11 as standard.

As Windows 10 will go out of support in October 2025, IT Services will now start to automatically upgrade any existing computers, on the networks listed below, that are still running Windows 10.

How will the upgrades be rolled out?

Upgrades will automatically be rolled out, over the coming months, via the IT Services managed Software Center application on each Windows computer.

All Windows computers, which are currently running Windows 10, and are on any of the following networks will be targeted for an upgrade:

  • The wired network in offices and labs
  • The Staff Wi-Fi
  • The Staff VPN

Postgraduates who only connect their Windows 10 computer to the Student Wi-Fi will not be targeted for an upgrade.

What will the upgrade look like?

Upgrades will be installed silently on your computer. Once the first phase of the upgrade is complete, you will see a notification that a restart is required.

You will be provided with a 4-hour countdown, at the end of which, an automatic restart of the computer will happen. This countdown will only begin after 4 pm on the day of the installation.

Once this restart countdown begins, it cannot be postponed or deferred by you or IT Services.

You can choose to manually restart the computer at any point during the countdown or wait for the countdown to finish, at the end of which the automatic restart will happen.

After the computer restarts, the next phase of upgrade takes place. This phase can take up to 60 minutes or more depending on the age of the computer. During this phase, the computer will not be usable.

Will everything work the same on Windows 11?

After the upgrade completes, the main differences you will notice will be changes to the Windows user interface. For example, the Windows start menu will be centred on the screen.

The functionality of all existing software applications will remain the same, but you will notice differences to certain operating system settings and options.

Older computers that can't upgrade

Computers purchased prior to 2019 are unlikely to meet Microsoft's hardware requirements for Windows 11. On these older computers, the Windows 11 upgrade will simply fail, with no interruption or error.

As these devices will be out-of-warranty when Windows 10 support ends in October 2025, then plans should now be made to replace these older computers prior to October 2025.

More help

Should you encounter any problems or need more information, please contact the IT Service Desk.