Written by
Amanda Wong
[Tutorial]Install Windows 11 on Intel/Apple Silicon Mac
Summary: One of the differences between Windows 11 and Windows 10 is the requirement for TPM support. Read this post to know whether you can and how to install Windows 11 on Intel Macs and Apple Silicon Macs. If you need to free up space on your Mac to install Windows 11, try iBoysoft DiskGeeker.
On October 5, 2021, Windows 11, the most recent significant upgrade to the Microsoft Windows NT operating system, was made available. Some Mac users who enjoy dual-booting Windows and macOS are interested in learning how to install Windows 11 on Mac running macOS Sonoma, Ventura, and earlier.
| Ways to install Windows 11 on Mac | Applied to Mac Models | Cost |
| Install Windows 11 on Mac using Boot Camp Assistant | Intel-based Macs | Free |
| Run Windows 11 on Mac with a virtual machine like Parallels | Intel Macs, M1/M1 Macs | Free or paid |
In this post, we will walk through:
- 1. Can I install Windows 11 on Mac
- 2. How to install Windows 11 on Intel Mac
- 3. How to install Windows 11 on Apple Silicon Mac
Can I install Windows 11 on Mac
The answer is YES, you can install Windows 11 on Mac even with the latest macOS Sonama installed, however, it is a little different from installing Windows 10 on Mac due to the new Windows 11 system requirements.
Windows 11 only functions on systems equipped with a Trusted Platform Module 2.0 security coprocessor as part of the minimum system requirements. The TPM 2.0 coprocessor, according to Microsoft, is a "critical building block" for defense against firmware and hardware assaults.
Unfortunately, there is no TPM integrated into the motherboard of an Intel, Apple Silicon Mac. Apple hasn't updated macOS to support TPM and Windows, even though some Intel Macs have a TPM incorporated into the CPU, which in principle would allow those Macs to officially support Windows 11. The current phase-out by Apple of all Intel Macs in favor of the new Apple Silicon M1/M2 Macs may be the cause.
Nevertheless, by making a change to the Windows registry during the installation process, You can install Windows 11 on Intel-based Macs using Apple's free Boot Camp Assistant tool. As for an Apple Silicon Mac that doesn't support Boot Camp, you will need third-party software such as Parallels.
Share this post with people who want to install Windows 11 on Intel/M1/M2 Mac!
How to install Windows 11 on Intel Mac
Boot Camp Assistant is Apple's solution to free install Windows on Mac so that you can switch between macOS and Windows on the same Mac device. It is only available for Intel-based Macs. Although it seems high that Apple wouldn't update macOS to support Windows 11 on Intel Mac, you can also bypass the TPM check during the installation.
What you need:
- 64GB or more free storage space on your Mac startup disk. The best experience needs at least 128GB of free storage space. That much or more space is needed for automatic Windows updates. (How to free up space on Macintosh HD?)
- An external USB flash drive with a storage capacity of 16GB or more if you need it, and make sure it is formatted as MS-DOS(FAT).
- A USB stick with at least 5GB of storage space to put the Windows 11 ISO file on.
- Back up your Mac with Time Machine or other solutions to avoid unexpected data loss.
Steps to install Windows 11 on Intel Mac with Boot Camp:
- Download Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft. Scroll down the page to the third option "Download Windows 11 Disk Image(ISO)," click the Select Download box and choose Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO), then click Download.
- When it asks to Select the Product Language, expand the Choose One box to select English, and click Confirm. Click the 64-bit Download to start the process.
- Insert the USB stick into your Mac and launch Boot Camp Assistant from Finder > Applications > Utilities.
- Click the Continue button, and choose both "Create a Windows 10 or later install disc"(this includes Windows 11) and "Install Windows 10 or later version."
- Click Continue again, it automatically browses to the downloaded Windows 11 ISO to create the installer on the USB drive.
- To adjust the Windows partition size, click and drag the slider. Once more, give Windows at least 64 GB of space.
- Click the Install button and Boot Camp will restart the Mac and take you through the Windows 11 installer.
- If the message prompts "Can't install the software because it is not currently available from the software server," then restart the Mac and Boot Camp, and head to Action > Download > Windows Support Software.
Now, there is an essential step before you set up Windows on Mac, which is to bypass the TPM check in the Windows 11 installer otherwise you may receive the message "This computer is incompatible with Windows 11."
- When you come to the Windows 11 setup screen, press "Shift + F10" to open the Command Prompt instead of clicking Install Now.
- Type the command low to open the Registry Editor in Windows 11. regedit
- In the Registry Editor browse to the following location, right-click on the Setup folder, and select New > Key. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup
- Name the key LabConfig, right-click it > New > DWORD(32-bit), and assign it the name BypassTPMCheck.
- Repeat the above process to bypass the RAM check and Secure Boot check, separately naming the keys ByPassRAMCheck and ByPassSecureBootCheck.
- Double-click on these three values and set them to 1.
- Quit the Registry Editor and Command Prompt to continue the Windows setup by clicking Install Now.
If anyone around you wants to install Windows 11 on an Intel Mac with Boot Camp, share this method!
How to install Windows 11 on Apple Silicon Mac
The first Macs built with the Apple M1 chip were announced on November 10, 2020. As of June 2023, the entire Mac lineup uses Apple silicon chips. Given that M1/M1 Macs don't support using Boot Camp Assistant, you can't use this free method to install Windows 11 on an Apple Silicon Mac. Therefore, it is strongly necessary to find a way to install Windows 11 on Apple Silicon Macs.
We will utilize virtualization software to run Windows 11 on M-series Macs, which enables us to build a virtual machine that simulates a separate physical environment for the guest operating system. There are free and paid virtualization software you can choose from such as UTM, Parallels, VMware Fusion, etc. By the way, you can also install Windows 11 on Intel Mac using virtualization.
Compared to a free virtual machine for M1/M1 Macs, third-party hassle-free software is more recommended. The ARM version of Windows 11 can now be downloaded and purchased inside of Parallels itself thanks to Parallels Desktop 18's release in 2022. Finally, in February 2023, Microsoft even granted its support for Parallels for Windows on M1 and M2 Macs, effectively allowing users of Parallels Desktop 18 to run Arm versions of Windows 11 Pro and Windows 11 Enterprise.
Here's how to install Windows 11 on your M1 or M2 Mac with Parallels:
- Visit the official Parallels website and download the app from there.
- Grant the necessary permissions and wait for the installation to complete.
- Click on Install Windows when it asks to begin downloading.
- When the Windows 11 ISO download completes, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation within a few minutes.
Let more people know how to install Windows 11 on Apple Silicon Mac!
