Can you downgrade a Windows 11 system to Windows 10? (and will it activate?)

Testing if you can downgrade a new system with Windows 11 pre-installed to Windows 10, and whether or not the Windows 10 install will activate.
Tested both running the Windows 10 installer from within Windows 11, and via clean install.
Download Windows 10 using the Create Windows 10 installation media tool at www.microsoft.com/en-gb/softw... and a

[@WaterDrinker7777]

Probably gonna do this soon, too many blue screens with windows 11 that i never had with any previous versions

[@inorite4553]

Does your version of Win 11 need to be activated to downgrade to 10? I have a new laptop that for some reason, didn't have Win 11 (OEM) activated and i'm currently dealing with problems activating it.

[@nerdd0g_yeah]

is it required or strongly recommended to reset anything/delete before downgrading to windows 10? what are so things i should do before i downgrade? i really want to but dont want to take any risks.

[@eightLives_forever]

Were the computer hardware drivers an issue when downgrading to Windows 10?

[@swiftflickz6077]

@Bruce Computing if you take out the USB will windows 10 go away or stay

[@novashadow3704]

Super useful information, I was worried if I bought the disk and activation key for windows 10 pro that it wouldn't let me downgrade from a new computer that already had windows 11 and never had 10!

[@BrueComputing]

Glad I could help!

[@1234combo]

Hey I'm just wondering if anyone knows a fix, when i downgraded a little x appeared by the volume button and I couldn't adjust it so its stuck at mute, I've tried everything but nothing works. Another issue I'm facing is that my trackpad doesnt work anymore, anyone know fixes?

[@AL-np1im]

No you're right before Windows 10 is an upgrade

[@jackrea7213]

I have been stuck so long and finally decided to check youtube. Thank you so much!

[@BrueComputing]

You are so welcome!

[@1234combo]

Hey I'm just wondering if anyone knows a fix, when i downgraded a little x appeared by the volume button and I couldn't adjust it so its stuck at mute, I've tried everything but nothing works. Another issue I'm facing is that my trackpad doesnt work anymore, anyone know fixes?

[@Migdalow]

Hello , i wanted to ask , are you doing it without flash drive or with a flash drive , because in this moment i don't have one is it a problem ?

[@cantbuyfreedom7850]

Is it deleting all partitions? Including partitions that have nothing to do with the windows installation?

[@slowyota_rolla]

I just got a new laptop with windows 11 home and I'd like to get windows 10 pro on it. Would it be the same steps ?

[@FixMyPcc]

Can this process be done without usb? By disk partitions? And can you expalin the process a little bit?

[@RobinBarnhart]

I'm not techy at all and bought a laptop, have been using it for a few weeks so have info installed. I do not like Windows 11. Can I still download Windows 10? Also, how do you do the 'clean install' you talked about at the end?

[@krivey]

I have a question. When I download the windows 10 installation media tool, do I pick "upgrade this pc" or do I pick the one with usb/iso option? And if the second one, do I pick USB or ISO? And where do I put them? I don't really know that much about it so it'd be great if you could help me.

[@BrueComputing]

Use the media creation tool, save the ISO file, open it (double click to mount it as a virtual DVD drive) and run Setup.exe

[@krivey]

@@BrueComputing Do I need a DVD or a USB to save it on? Or can I just save it in the C:?

[@Drago1995]

will my files in others drives be ok, and won't the file son the drive where windows is go to a folder called "Windows Old"

[@Obito_Playzz]

Will it cause any problems while claiming the warranty of the laptop? And can i just downloaded the setup on the laptop instead using a pendrive for it ?

[@saucedry]

whats the difference between downgrading to windows 10 by USB and by installer? do both of them give me a clean 100% installation of windows 10?

[@GAMIR_SFM]

Well, makes sense that windows activates itself anyways, i think since Windows 8 all laptops got their keys store on the motherboard and automatically gets loaded when windows installs or something.

[@cyberaxe_lznj]

You don't talk about drive encryption at all. Does this turn if off? Did you already turn it off?

[@erwingamez]

If I select keep user data and apps will it keep itself or not because I want to do this on my main pc (which used to have windows 10)

[@mikulastursky1114]

Hello there, i have question, will this work on brand new laptop ? (Asus)

[@davidcaple5547]

Great video, thanks. I just bought a new laptop with Win 11 Pro loaded and ... I hate it! Why did they remove the ability to have the taskbar vertical on the left of the screen? And I don't know why but simple tasks that seemed to be immediate on my old Win 10 Home laptop running a Gen 3 P7 with 16GB now take a frustrating few seconds on the replacement running Ryzen 7 5800HS with 24GB so I intend to make the swap before I load too much under Win 11 but one question ... should I be able to upgrade back to Win 11 Pro if I need to in the future?

[@prudhvisai1436]

Now that is a new question, but I think we can use win 10 untill there is a new windows OS release (like win 12), cause even now win 10 is more than sufficient with timely security updates which will be given by Microsoft even after 2025😊

[@ch56qar-sc2vd]

​@@prudhvisai1436can you help me i have a acer laptop win 11 preinstalled i want to install win 10 or win 7 in it but boot menu f12 not opening why ? is there other method by i can install?

[@arubaguy2733]

I have tried all this using a purchased, legal Win 10 USB stick with activation code. I got into EUFI and changed the boot sequence to read the USB stick first. The Win 11 machine tells me the install failed every time I try. Do I need to wipe Win 11 before I try again?

[@khooricky-be5bz]

if i choose that options to keep all the preinstalled application and files ,will this really work ?! because i am buying new gaming pc ,and gaming pc required many gaming system requirements application and driver ! so if i doing this and choose this options ,will this really keep all preinstall application and files ,and also the os activated ?!

[@noormalik2521]

after downgrading from windows 11 to windows 10 as I am facing the problem of products key in windows 11 do you confirm this problem will be solved by downgrading as I need activated windows?

[@yummygoy5138]

My question to you is would it be better to downgrade to Windows 11 via the Installer or by Booting from USB? You know, for long term stability. Or are both methods identical in assuring you get Windows 10 smoothly?

[@BrueComputing]

Shouldn't make a great deal of difference. Personally I'd normally go for a clean install from USB, but for the sake of demonstration (and convenience for most users) I demonstrated via the installer.

[@d00ro779oi]

@@BrueComputing what would downsides of using the installer be?

[@yeetmaster2510]

Question is it to download the iso first then you click on setup ?

[@OAS56]

i have a question do you drivers get erased if you downgrade from wn11 to wn10

[@homosapiens...]

when you did it via installer , were the pre installed drivers there that comes with laptop ? or it was like a fresh copy without the manufacturer drivers ?

[@BrueComputing]

Fresh copy without drivers, but Windows Update will fetch any of them.

[@mugunthm111]

Hi. Very useful content. But, I'm confused that whether I need to downgrade or not because I have a bit of personal data in my c drive. I'm thinking to take a backup and do the downgrade process, would you recommend it?

[@BrueComputing]

Yes, you need to back it up and restore it - it won't be kept during the downgrade.

[@defooster2757]

yes please always have a backup regardless of what ur doing with your laptop

[@jacobdevries980]

@@BrueComputing I can’t keep it during downgrade..? Why exactly? I’ve used 1tb and want to go to windows10 so I can use certain games and apps

[@kingyehudha]

@@jacobdevries980 because when you downgrade, you basically doing a fresh install which will delete everything in drive C

[@dyl_nnn]

My windows 11 keeps on 14% checking for updates? Should I do something?

[@Rj-Vivek]

Hiii mate am from india and i need a help in my dell 3400 it had gone into boot mode and there are no sequence in it and also legacy boot is not supported so my lap didnt get started for past 2days pls help me through it....

[@trickle4995]

I have a question. Should I install through the ISO file or by USB Drive, because when I install through USB, it shows "enter product key". Please tell me the way through which way should I install. I am afraid about windows 10 not being activated.

[@Bonedown530]

I'm also wondering about this

[@jonathantheyorkie]

I tried that on my 2022 Lenovo Legion 7, and the trackpad, speakers, and fingerprint scanner didn't work.

[@queskiscool3406]

Late but does this cost money to do this? Also will I we able to update back to 11 in the future?

[@sir.z9759]

Is there a way to download it but keep your files? and if i login in a brand new user will it affect the other user?

[@ciorc]

does keeping personal files and apps affect games like Valorant?

[@PrivateOGITH]

Will the Drivers from your PC Still Work' Like Will your WIFI Still Work ???

[@rtxanwaargaming6967]

Can I Ask Dell Os Recovery Tool Working In It Or Not?

[@quan1600]

I recently just purchased a pc with windows 11 already installed and I have never had windows 10, can I still go down to it or will I have to buy it? …. And is it worth doing

[@smartchandru4720]

I have a doubt. I am using windows 11 home, but i want to switch back windows 10 pro. It is possible? Using this method

[@bozo2032]

I have a question i downgraded activated windows 11 to windows 10 and it then it says its not activated what should i do?

[@user-rb9qd6vl5b]

can i do it without a usb or cd ? upgrade from w11 to w10 ? so i mean if i need any of that or if i can just upgrade ?

[@TheONEHD1762]

Yes, I can confirm that it works, if you follow every step shown in this video. I bought a brand new Lenovo IPG 3-15IAH with windows 11 pre-installed. Then downloaded windows 10 from official microsoft website and installed it as shown - everything works an the licence is also there... Thanks for the video, awesome work

[@Eunuch_Custodian]

Jesus saved me from buying windows 10

[@sly_cat]

@@Eunuch_Custodiansame

[@aarishahmad7819]

Hey i needed some insights, can i ask you a question?

[@rayyanYT]

Wont work for OEM Laptops, It will delete the OEM Apps but not the logo, Which causes the all the pre-installed applications to be gone.

[@BrueComputing]

This was done on a brand new Dell. And yes, it removes all applications.

[@SarmadTechLab]

On some ASUS laptops it automatically installs myasus

[@yobro8347]

​@@BrueComputing 😂

[@pulzeshabs6390]

What exactly is an OEM laptop?

[@Rafay7001]

​@@pulzeshabs6390a laptop from a oem such as hp or Dell or asus

[@khooricky-ne6eb]

i also not very like windows 11 ,but the new laptop is windows 11 ,i can't just do clean windows 10 on it ,because this is gaming laptop ,all of the preinstalled software driver ,especially the many of the gaming required software driver will be gone ! what should i do if i want to using windows 10 on new gaming laptop with windows 11 os ?! how to do to keep all the preinstalled gaming system required software driver ?!

[@omarhu1578]

hey . i did evreything but after the windows 10 download it says : windows 10 failed or eror or windows 10 cant downlaod.... does anyone knows how to solve the problem? thx

[@kaz99003]

just to be clear, if I get a windows 11 laptop, one that never upgraded, and only ever had windows 11, I can use the windows 10 media tool to downgrade and it will still activate? On an OEM machinr with a digital license and no product key?

[@mokisan]

Yes

[@HypeCrazed]

Can you open the media creation tool and do "Upgrade this PC"? Is that any different or will it work the same? Will it slow my PC down or brick / damage it?

[@BrueComputing]

Should be fine.

[@poris4291]

should i make the usb stick into bootable drive?

[@dasfx2895]

Hello Sir, I have an Asus Zenbook 14 Q408UG with AMD Ryzen 5 & nvidia mx450 card 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM that comes stock with Windows 11 out the box. I got it recently and it started having this blue screen error: video TDR failure. Please what do you advise, as I tried the recommended fixes like reinstalling nvidia drivers and others, to no avail. I was told I could downgrade from win 11 to 10 and it could work better so I'd like your expert advice. I've a 64GB USB drive I can use for the installation. I'm worried about product keys if I'm grabbing a windows ISO from Microsoft site.

[@sushantshahane5563]

i have same question, if i downgrade from stock windows 11 to windows 10 via media creation tool, do I need to compromise with product key?

[@cj_mac87]

Thanks for the video, very helpful. I got a new gaming PC in January and have had some issues with Win11, which I am now fed up with so going to try this today and hopefully be up and running with Win10.

[@BrueComputing]

Glad it helped

[@ItsKimbi]

Let me guess. Couldn’t play Valorant

[@cj_mac87]

@@ItsKimbi Valorant was a simple fix, can't play halo infinite without crashing every single game

[@dgamernoob1766]

@@cj_mac87 Is everything working good now that u are with windows 10?

[@SwiftyWest]

@@cj_mac87 now working ?

[@larsznd3455]

I downgraded to windows 10 after having windows 11 for almost a year. Is it possible to go back to windows 11 without any trouble

[@mikestckl6939]

thx for that video ! i tried downgrading with the media tool directly on the new pc and it just exits when its finished downloading ... now i want to try a clean install from a boot drive but wasnt sure about the license stuff , that video shows that it will most likely work !

[@BrueComputing]

Glad it helped!

[@bryanincredible4550]

Hi just to clear, since my laptop has windows 11 out of the box. all i need to do is to download a windows 10 right and just install it? i dont need a product key for the windows 10 ?

[@BrueComputing]

Correct.

[@TruthSeeeker777]

There is multiple windows n10 download...which one?

[@bluedrake6381]

Can i upgrade after this back to windows 11 after some time ?

[@Blitzzerryy]

Thank you but, Can you help me. After its done it will just close and do nothing

[@poyocru]

Very helpful content, I am having problems with virtual machine, so home version from w11 came in the laptop, I will install W10 pro, I couldn't run vmware on w11 with old w7 VM applications

[@calculator4796]

How big should the USB be? And is there anything we need to do to the USB to make it a flash drive? What file format should it be?

[@Ak.x.sh.]

At least 8gb of size

[@BrueComputing]

You don't need a USB stick, you can just mount the ISO and run the installer. If you want to create a bootable USB stick it needs to be 8GB at least - the Windows 10 Media Creation tool handles formatting it, etc. It will wipe the contents of the drive.

[@mrcmox0]

Also I need usb stick?

[@Tendo_1]

can i do this on a msi gaming laptop? will it break the laptop?

[@odumb9029]

If I bought a laptop with windows 11 s mode, and I turned off s mode, would that still carry over to windows 10?

[@BrueComputing]

I think so, but you can always do the same in Windows 10 anyway.

[@bmw_vr]

i need help it says couldnt install windows 10 what do i do please help.

[@checkm4ted]

Thanks for the information I am downgrading pre-installed windows 11 on my HP laptop and wanted to know exactly what to do and if I would have to buy an new activation code

[@BrueComputing]

Glad it helped!

[@mickeyrakgotla7831]

Hi, is it necessary to format the partition with the old OS or it's just optional?

[@BrueComputing]

Necessary.

[@baacmontreux7776]

​@@BrueComputing Hello, thank you very much for showing us how it is done. If we may, do we format the Windows partition then install Win 10 on it? Or is it better to delete all partitions - including the "System", "MSR (Reserved)" and "WinRE_DRV Recovery" partitions - then create a new one to perform a clean Win 10 install? Thank you again for your attention and help.

[@blackbear92201]

Very helpful - thanks for posting! :D

[@ryanmuhadi4951]

Hey, I wanna make sure before downgrade to windows 10 using the media tools. So, I bought my laptop 1 month ago with pre instralled windows 11 and office 360, so if I downgrade to windows 10 will my license still activated? and the license office 360 also activate or no? thankss

[@olivierdanjou6129]

According to what other people are saying, the Windows licence should be activated. As for your Office, it depends if you bought it or not. Generally, when you buy a new computer, Office comes preinstalled with it in trial version. That means that it will eventually expire if you don't buy it.

[@mokisan]

Can i install windows 10 ltsc 2021 the same way?

[@arnabdas1994]

Last time when i downgraded it to windows 7 my laptop was facing lagging issue, is that same problem here?

[@BrueComputing]

Shouldn't be.

[@yosafire]

I've bought a device that came with Windows 11 and I have had it since February and I'm sick of it! I want to go back to Windows 10, but I would like to know if it will still use my Windows 11 key that came with it instead of having to buy a new key (I know it does with a new device, but I want to know if it still does even after waiting so long with all the updates it has had or something.)

[@mokisan]

Yes you can

[@madguy5181]

Do I lose all of my applications?

[@chillaxination4572]

Where did you find the iso file with included product key?

[@chillaxination4572]

Nvm just now seen your link in description…TY!!🙏🏽

[@liftylu]

Hello, I discovered that I was able to do this with success using the media creation tool, but I was able to keep all of my files. I’m surprised yours didn’t give you that option.

[@BrueComputing]

Thanks for sharing!

[@mr.marmar9252]

I get a error code can you try telling me how to fix it

[@AllGloryToGod__]

I recently downgraded windows 11 to windows 10 and when I did I’m left on a black screen after it finished downloading

[@sammifitzs]

My job isn’t compatible with windows 11, will this work on a brand new computer that had windows 11 pre installed and fully downgrade for compatibility?

[@yummygoy5138]

I have the same problem as you. I bought a new HP laptop with Windows 11 pre-installed. I followed the first part of the video (the media creation tool method), and it turned out fine. It does factory reset your computer, so back up any info you have.

[@BrueComputing]

Yes, that is what the video is showing.

[@harris6821]

hi brue i downgraded my pc to w10 but for some reason my pc turns on but i have no signal on my monitor. please help because i’m so scared thanks

[@DreamerRoal]

Don't panic in this matter there are many people and include me who got panic of windows but nothing disaster happens be positive

[@moumitaroy8998]

Is it possible in my new Laptop?

[@6adass]

How long does it takes

[@groovygringo3747]

Do I have to have a USB stick?

[@1ppowerteam885]

I have an issue, my monitors aren’t working with my pc anymore after I downloaded windows 10. I’m getting pretty worried about this, can someone please help me?

[@TheAlexagius]

you need to update your graphics drivers

[@mokisan]

Update your graphic drivers

[@jailbreakoverlander]

Did you remove win 11 off laptop or just install win 10 right over it? Im going to try this on a new razer blade pro 18

[@waswaaa2215]

How did it go ?

[@jailbreakoverlander]

@@waswaaa2215 razer blade 18 is now running win 10 no issues

[@UsmanAli-ue9yj]

@@jailbreakoverlanderhey man, I just got a new ASUS laptop and it’s got bloatware windows 11, would there be any issue if I were to format and fresh install windows 10 pro like driver or bios issues? Thanks

[@vortex3915]

I have windows 11 home pre-installed on my brand new laptop, can I downgrade to windows 10 home only or windows 10 pro and other versions too

[@BrueComputing]

If you do the downgrade it will give you Windows 10 Home - you can upgrade it to Windows 10 Pro by entering a 10 Pro product key afterwards though.

[@brilliantmove13]

There is an error in the title, it should be how to upgrade windows 11 to windows 10

[@user-ls3wd7mu5j]

why does mine instantly close when i open it

[@randomusernamedbryan]

Is there any risk or smth? thx

[@maxplays9187]

Is windows 10 free to download now?

[@danielbelandres4700]

can I downgrade my windows 10 pro (unactivated license) to windows 10 home? and get free windows 10 home license key?

[@Ars0_]

I got new laptop like 4 months ago and I have win 10 activation key,when I was setting it up i clicked win 11 instalation and I cant activate windows. Thanks mate :D now I can do it

[@BrueComputing]

Glad it helped.

[@PraveenAkuthota18]

My laptop came with windows 11 installed, can I downgrade it to windows 10, and is there any issue will face if downgraded??

[@BrueComputing]

You should be able to, yes. You may have to source some drivers and doing it this way removes applications and user data.

[@rajkishoreprasad7553]

I have msi mordern 14 win 10.msi gave me with 14gb of recovery drive in ssd with win 10...if I upgrade to win 11 will I get recovery for win 11 too or I loose all recovery drive and in case of situation where I cannot recover i am spending buying new win

[@BrueComputing]

It won't be updated, but personally I'd just remove the recovery partition. The Windows license is stored in the UEFI firmware, so you just clean install from USB.

[@HannanIrfann]

did your data safe or not?

[@RestoreTechnique]

Thankyou very much 😍

[@Pietr0_Way-of-Tomoe]

but then can i download windows 11 again?

[@underdoomtramm]

mine dosent show countinue

[@isrnmn]

Thank you, it is just what I was looking for. I also consider upgrading the SSD at the same time. means: downloading the WIN10 ISO to the USB stick, shutting it off, changing the SSD, rebooting and installing the WIN10 to the brand new SSD. What do you reckon? Do you see any issues with my plan? Cheers

[@BrueComputing]

Sounds good to me.

[@kaoticwatching]

This only wipes everything on c drive if you have other drives it won’t touch those right?

[@Javlin2OP]

Same question

[@Krampy2]

Am I able to do this just by downloading the installer to my computer from the Microsoft website and running it?

[@BrueComputing]

Yep.

[@maka8551]

@@BrueComputing What was the usb stick then for? Im confused

[@Cynz9999]

it says i got to do i product key