Run Windows 11 on Mac w/ free VMware Fusion Pro license

[@powerpia2000]

Watched the video - didn't search for it. But it came up in my feed. I have had a Parallels demoversion installed. Uninstalled it after trial. Price is too high for my limited use. When I watched this video, I wasn't home. But I had my macbook air m1 in my bag. Time was 02:00 am. I watched the video. Noted the main points of the very easy installation point. Followed the guide. And within an hour after, I had full working installation of Fusion VMware and Windows 11 pro. Great guide. Great tip. And divine timing. Everything is working THANKS MAN!

[@Emu_Emu]

Make sure to set up time machine to exclude the virtual machine

[@alafenetre81]

Why?

[@Emu_Emu]

@@alafenetre81 otherwise your time machine will keep a full duplicated copy of the virtual machine every time you start it

[@brs5543]

how to do that?

[@Emu_Emu]

@@brs5543 in time machine setting you can exclude folder. It is designed for this scenario. Exclude the virtual machine drive folder

[@brightboxstudio]

The tip about how to bypass the Microsoft account login is very helpful. Thank you!

[@MiggittyMiggz]

I am unable to get passed this part. Shift + F10 does nothing...im not a magic keyboard...any suggestions?

[@alchappers_g4ptv]

@@MiggittyMiggz even though it’s not a magic keyboard still try holding the function key while doing shift F10

[@brightboxstudio]

@@MiggittyMiggz The issue with the Magic Keyboard is not really about the Magic Keyboard. It can apply to ANY keyboard on ANY platform (usually compact keyboards) where the function keys are also media keys and being function keys is not the default. For a keyboard like that, do what he showed and also hold down the Fn key. The Fn key swaps the purpose of the function/media keys. For example, if on a laptop the keys with the F1, F2… labels are actually set to be media keys (brightness, volume…), pressing Fn makes them function keys. If those keys currently work as function keys, pressing Fn makes them work as media keys. So even though he said Magic Keyboard, the Fn key toggle actually applies to all compact keyboards for both laptops and desktops, and not just on Macs.

[@MiggittyMiggz]

@@alchappers_g4ptv Got it! I did that and it all is working perfectly. Excellent Video

[@chaersi71]

But not required, just need to choose Work setup(needs to be Pro), then choose Domain Join instead of MS account, will let you setup a local account. Not sure why all these tutorials insist you do the workarounds when you shouldnt need to.... maybe needed for Home edition, but not Pro.

[@BrittanieReyes]

it feels like it's only by chance that I found this video cause I only decided the day you uploaded it that I needed to download windows11 THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@piergiocofasullo9308]

I discovered this guide by chance, and it was all very easy, now I'm subscribed to your channel. Thank you very much.

[@TheDumontShow]

this was an amazing guide. thank you so much. i followed it alongside installing everything. you are very thorough

[@yogajoeguy]

It's nice to hear your voice again Jeff, it's been a while 🙂

[@bbartky]

Jeff, Great video! I just clicked *Like* to help me find it again. 😀 It reminds of that great video you did years ago about installing Windows on Intel Macs that got millions of views. I plan to buy my Apple Silicon Mac by December and this will come in really handy since I need to run MadCap Software Flare, which is Windows only.

[@laurin9215]

Are there any disadvantages to not entering the windows licence key during the setup process, such as some features not being available to you?

[@luxoaguila]

Thank u so much Jeff! Finally i can play AOE II again! 🎉

[@Klassico401]

very helpful and legit. i'm currently in school and i need Lenox and i needed this. This helped me so much truly.

[@Klassico401]

Also works on M1

[@daveure8184]

fantastic vid !! step by step easy to follow . Ive been a mac user for ages but somtimes for work I need windows and had to use my parteners pc. thanks a heap !! 😃

[@kevinstrident]

Very thorough and concise. Great work, Jeff!

[@empy7]

I prefer UTM. Works just fine.

[@Phan1hs]

@@empy7 but no 3d acceleration

[@9to5Mac]

I hate when I make a typo: "Micorosft" so cringe.

[@cmaus]

Well, you also told people to choose "Windows 11 Professional" when people should actually pick whatever it is they have a license for (unless you want to suggest something different…). Also, you called the backslash in the Windows command prompt a "slash", which is a critical mistake, since as far as I am aware, a slash will not work.

[@9to5Mac]

@@cmaus I mean, unless people are just listening to the tutorial instead of watching, they know what slash I'm talking about. But, you're right about the License.

[@anilutkulu]

Hope to see Boot Camp respawn after Windows ARM support! So we all can run things w breeze!

[@BaconFaceMcGee]

Very informative!

[@richardgeraghty4493]

Thanks for great guide!

[@pressrepeat2000]

Beautiful. I wish VMWare Fusion was available on the App Store.

[@am3thyst_doll]

This was such a great tutorial. So easy to follow. Thank you so much!

[@russellcooper153]

Tutorial worked exactly as advertised. Thank you!

[@losamigosmarket-on4pp]

DOS THE MICROSOFT STORE WORK ALSO ?

[@marcostchamo3894]

Jeff, The timming could me perfect just got a new job and requires to have a windows computer

[@movdqa]

Thank-you for a well-done video on getting the software, Windows and getting it all to work. I'm going to give it a try on my laptop for a trip. I have gotten this to work before the transition to Broadcom and also got UTM to work but it would be nice to get this set up in case I need Windows. Everything in the video works but I was hoping that shared folders works and I couldn't figure out how to do it. So I'm going back to UTM. Hopefully Broadcom adds this in a future version.

[@geapgr]

any drawbacks from not utilising a W11 product key?

[@malch2843]

You wont be able to customise the display such as change wallpaper, but otherwise no issues.

[@darkjames1983]

@@malch2843 You can change the wallpaper. Download a wallpaper and right click, set as wallpaper. But you can't change theme.

[@50k892]

U can change display image download from Google...it's easy ..don't need key

[@krakatoasundra]

Thank you very much Jeff!!!! this is awesome!!!!

[@monkmodelandon2024-kh6ot]

Thank you! I needed to install visual studio and this helps!!

[@theboxdudeph]

i missed the part where in it was mentioned that this is the arm version of windows 11 and thus not 'all' windows app will work contrary to what was mentioned in the last part

[@Rusty01]

if its a MS app itll work, and thanks to windows on arm push this year itll get better

[@brands1360]

Thank you buddy

[@gardychavez6299]

Thank you Jeff, Excellent and great video step-by-step, was very helpful, the best....

[@capone_rd_809]

I highly recommend you choose the right drive size on first setup because when you go to expand it and try to allocate it within Windows it won't work.

[@cliky1991]

amazing, thank you for sharing!

[@robertgleason2838]

Great tutorial. Not clear if you still have to purchase the windows license or if your steps bypass this.

[@seanchaney2546]

@@robertgleason2838 just look up mass grave windows script and put into powershell and you’ll get free windows

[@Bogomil76]

@@robertgleason2838 Of course you have to. Its not free.

[@DennisPellanda]

You don't need to purchase a license, but you will have the watermark on the bottom right corner of the display reminding you that windows is not activated. This restricts some of the customization options (background, some operations on the task bar) but other than that should allow you to still do whatever you need inside the windows environment.

[@robertgleason2838]

@@DennisPellanda great, thanks

[@patricbepunkt]

Thanks for the great video. Is it possible to install macOS in VMware Fusion?

[@deronbudy9279]

Is that free for life long? Or

[@toni30montana]

nice video! helped me a lot!

[@jamezpowell]

Will the free VMWare license allow for USB passthrough? I have a Win only program that requires the ability to communicate with hardware via a USB programming cable.

[@agj03921]

This is my exact same question.

[@brentsmithline3423]

Use to need a Windows host system to run applications that would only run under windows when I was working for a regional Internet Service Provider. This was our hosts systems ran Sun Solaris UNIX. Everything I did on them at the start was done from a command line. Now that I am retired my daily driver Apple MacBook Air M1 chip with 8‑core CPU, 7‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine, 16GB unified memory, 2TB SSD storage. With CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock. LG Ultra HD 5K Ultra Slim 27MD5KA-B Monitor on a black NB North Bayou VESA Monitor Arm Desk Mount. Runs macOS/UNIX. Can still run UNIX command line operations.

[@neetop1557]

Did you really just list all your hardware for absolutely 0 reason other than bragging?

[@mehmeh0815]

In the video you install the ARM version of Windows 11. Does VMware provide an emulation of Intel CPUs and support for those Windows versions? That might be nifty to use a larger palette of software than what currently exists for ARM CPUs...

[@movdqa]

Windows 11 ARM runs something similar to Rosetta 2 to translate x64 code to ARM. If you want to run with emulation, then UTM will do this but I've heard that it's really slow.

[@SahandRahmdel]

@@movdqa it is reaaaaallllyy slow. you might pull your hair out.

[@patrickguice]

@@movdqa Absolutely 💯 true..... I've used it and it's a really bad experience and I don't recommend it. I'm using an M1 MBP with 8GB of RAM & 512 GB SSD.

[@bobzwolinski3793]

Thanks Jeff, this was very helpful. I noticed they moved the Start button to nearer the bottom center. Clicking the leftmost icon brings up some service that MS wants you to signin for.

[@techhubwiltsuk]

Amazing guide thanks dude

[@RastaManVRFS]

I clicked the newest version and it says my mac needs to update but i try updating but it doesn’t show a new update

[@thesilentstreamer911]

hey Jeff, does camera and microphone work with this setup>??

[@ronnykhalil]

wow, super helpful. thanks!

[@jgil8216]

How do you get to the product download page? I can’t find it anywhere and it doesn’t show how you got there in the video

[@9to5Mac]

Links are in the description.

[@dolphinboy2u]

@@9to5Mac But the download link in the description is incomplete and does not work. :-(

[@victoriadechamps7171]

I am stuck on the 'Download Windows 11' stage. It has been 'downloading windows11 esd file from Microsoft' for so long and is stuck. Any idea why this might be happening?

[@anlethanhduy8038]

I have this problem too

[@ancyreveendran3297]

Great thank you

[@jrgarciab]

Wow, dude. T H A N K Y O U ! ! !

[@bastisk8]

If i set up a VM on an external Drive, will i be able to use it on another Mac as well? Also, is 8gb of RAM (baseline Macbook Air) sufficient for light tasks in Windows?

[@sameersheriff7078]

i've heard we cant move files between mac and VM windows ?

[@roneissac]

Thanks a lot man

[@ArthurGerhardt]

You have used a x86 Windows or arm64 Windows? I tried to install another software and only Parallels has sucessfull to install Windows 11.

[@marlon_guan]

Thank you so much Jeff, I’m wondering how many license can this method being used: i.e. if I totally erased my Mac, and buy a new one does this method still work,

[@user-007-wtf]

We all love windows 😊🎉

[@luis51785]

Is this a good way to play steam games on a Mac?

[@pwissink1]

I just installed all this and installed Steam on the virtual windows. So far none of my (old) games works

[@brutaldiabetes]

Random problem. When I get a confirmation code on my mail, I have to go into the mail app and then back to safari, then I get the code filled in like you did...

[@michaelhassinger]

already had windows 7 on an earlier version of fusion. updated to fusion 13 pro as you show in the first minutes of the video, but when it comes to select install method (around 2:30) i didn't get a pop up to "get windows from Microsoft". would you have any tips for installation of updated windows under those circumstances?

[@mvdutra]

When I reach the "Select the Installation Method" on VMware setup it doesn't show the option "Get Windows from Microsoft". Anyone knows why? I'm outta US but even using VPN doesn't show the option...

[@Supreme_Knowledge.]

same here and I'm in the US

[@tavedayl5394]

Me to

[@michaelhassinger]

me too

[@AnccomAdmin-mx9zw]

From my experience, VMWare Fusion Pro (free for personal use, version 13) didn't work well for 4K video on my Mac. I tried importing a Parallels VM and followed all the advice I could find, but it didn't resolve the issues for me, so I ended up uninstalling it. Personally, I find Parallels works better for my needs.

[@shaktishukla7558]

hii.... the right click is happening slowly. the context menu is not appearing as soon as I right click.. plz help

[@jsn593]

I can see myself switching to this it VMWare would work with 120hz displays like Parallels does on my devices. Or I can keep hoping bootcamp will one day come back.

[@9to5Mac]

I can't see boot camp happening again tbh, but maybe as Windows on ARM gains more popularity...Parallels is the go-to VM if you care about having the absolute best experience possible. But VMware is definitely good enough for my use-case.

[@anasdouma8458]

So, does it support 120Hz or no? Did anyone try? 👀 I also wish for bootcamp to come back for M-series macs!! Windows 10 and 11 ARM already exist. We just need some drivers and that’s all. 😢

[@jsn593]

@@anasdouma8458 VMware didn't support 120hz last time I used it a couple months back. I haven't touched it since. Parallels does and currently my only option to using Windows on my Mac.

[@mirna_plata]

The actual version doesn't give me the option of "get window from microsoft" :(

[@atziazas]

What do you use as your screen recording software?

[@alafenetre81]

Any reason a Windows only software would malfunction in that setup? Thanks!

[@AlexManMe]

Would it be better to run a more lightweight version of Windows 11 such as tiny 11?

[@cg.9186]

I’m getting “thread exception not handled” after is says press any key to boot from cd/dvd

[@RobbieCupples]

Pretty cool!

[@software93]

When are we getting run macOS alongside windows on Pc 😢

[@sam77uk]

I for some reason had to stop the install mid way and now I get NO file found when installing VMware. Tried to delete and reinstall but same issue

[@neel28sarkar]

I have tried this long before when previously you guys uploaded this video. Back then I was unable to connect windows to the internet.

[@josepadron7622]

the virtual hdd storage of the VM is able to be moved to a external USB/SDD/HDD portable? My Mac is only 512gb, i dont wanna store that virtual hdd of 64gb or more in my mac

[@rvgeerligs]

This was already possible for mere then 2 years using UTM!

[@pressrepeat2000]

Does UTM allow you to run the virtual machine from an external drive? As that would be ideal for me.

[@udvarhelyibalint]

I use UTM. It's fine but some apps have performance issues (like PowerBI, which doesn't have native arm support). Is this any better?

[@EdisonKong]

I've used Parallels in the past. I've gotten used to accessing the same files in both macOS and the Windows virtual machine, for example, editing something using Paint on Windows, and being able to put that same file on iMovie on macOS The files doesnt seem to sync anymore. Is there a way to enable file syncing on VMware?

[@shashankkooragayalu3255]

I am facing a Login issue when I give my details and click on login it populates "Redirecting to AuthHub customer Sign in". Can anyone please help with this issue? I am using MacBook Pro

[@mikehawk7307]

Mine keeps freezing up at the login screen. Macbook Air 8gb/256gb.

[@PatrickPecoraro]

Isn’t running windows 11 arm in a ARM against Microsoft’s license agreement?

[@50k892]

How to return from window 11 to mac os ...? Where is the option for change 😢

[@EricOnYouTube]

This did not work for me. It kept rebooting saying that WinSetup.dll was not found or corrupt. :(

[@webmaster.w]

is it full function windows and no need to input license any more ( no expire date ) ? thx

[@jayson4791]

I really cannot boot windows 11. It says "operating system cannot be found". but i already downloaded windows 11 iso. why?

[@sssnakeeye]

paid for parallel, but still useful. thx

[@theronaldbryan]

Is 8GB RAM on Macbook enough to run this VM?

[@vinodkannan8572]

I tried as you mentioned but i am seeing No operating system found

[@anoopm2022]

Can someone please tell me what is the total space it takes if I save the Virtual Machine in the main drive instead of external drive?

[@Al-Dhahabi04]

My own stuck after finishing downloading esd windows 😢😢😢

[@evilrellik]

wow. so you can do this on the M processors now? I thought windows was still restricted to Intel processors only.

[@kevinstrident]

This has been possible for years. Parallels, UTM, etc.

[@SahandRahmdel]

how does the performance compare to parallels?

[@EricBright250]

Great, but how can someone uninstall that Windows if he wants to? Thanks.

[@paulogic-ctraccs]

Windows ARM version?? not fully compatible with software on Intel processors.... My personal findings is that VM on M processors is not the same as on Intel Mac's. A petty ...

[@pablomedok]

Is it an ARM version of Windows11?

[@morganfranz3746]

I did everything that was said in this video but when I got to the installation method, I do not have an option that says “Get Windows from Microsoft”. What am I doing wrong?

[@RastaManVRFS]

Me too

[@MJHiteshew]

Why do I feel like I’m back in the 90’s???

[@Thulebeez]

Oh Man does this mean i don't have buy a New Surface Laptop 7, i can just get a cheaper M2 and run this VMware thanks Ben you just saved me a lot of Money i don't have to buy Parrales.

[@anoopm2022]

@Thulebeez it runs in virtual not physical main drive like intel mac bootcamp. Once mac released silicon chips no more physical Windows installation. If Windows is installed virtually performance wise it will be slow. It wont work faster as Windows installed natively. When u play games it gets stucked.

[@Thulebeez]

@@anoopm2022 thanks for heads up I am planning on gaming but how slow does it perform?

[@SahandRahmdel]

@@Thulebeez depends on your game. there are several methods to run SOME windows games on mac. Parallels, Crossover, Wine, etc. Search the titles you want to play on AppleGamingWiki to see how they perform on Apple Silicon macs.

[@shaktishukla7558]

hii... It does not run x64 apps... plz help because these are the apps why I want to have windows in my mac.

[@JohannTan]

Does this support clipboard sharing?

[@apeel2008]

Could you clarify something for me? I do NOT have a Windows 11 License but I do have a Microsoft Login Account for other reasons. Can I let it login to Microsoft Account and still used Windows 11 for free? Or must I use OOBE/BYPASSNRO command and not login to my Microsoft Account to use Windows 11 for free. If I do not log in, will Windows 11 updates occur, or will I always be on the current free version?

[@9to5Mac]

Hi appel. This tutorial isn’t about getting windows 11 free, but for getting VMware free. You technically still need a windows license, or else you’ll be presented with the watermark o shame after a while. Windows will still be usable, but it will lose customization features like changing wallpaper, etc.

[@apeel2008]

@@9to5Mac Thanks for the reply. I understand that the Windows 11 install (without a license) will have a watermark and miss some features, but I doubt I will actually use Windows very much. It could be handy to have just in case something comes up where I need Windows.

[@thorium9190]

I’m looking for a free method of running engineering programs like Solidworks on my M2 Pro MacBook, Parallels works but it’s just far to expensive for me as a student, VMware Fusion is halfway there, solidworks does install but the GPU drivers need to be worked on as doing anything in the app will make it get stuck for minutes and then graphical artifacting starts happening. I believe it’s an issue with the DirectX 11 feature set which is incredibly poorly optimised and is missing lots of features.

[@50k892]

R u cnc programmer

[@neetop1557]

@@50k892 wot do u mean?

[@KirbyJr]

bypassNRO actually works?

[@viratchopra]

hi, during my install on intel MacBook Pro, I am stuck at the step at 2:32 minutes , I am not seeing the option "Get Windows from Microsoft" , what am I missing. thanks

[@youngplacido2000]

Did you find a solution?

[@viratchopra]

not yet

[@michaelhassinger]

@@viratchopra me too

[@michaelhassinger]

me too

[@thefearlessduck]

Is this any better or different than for instance Parralels?

[@dePonce]

@@thefearlessduck Almost identical, but i’m not a heavy user. I first used Parallels and then switched to VMware Fusion … i haven’t had any issues whatsoever with Windows 11 on the new apple silicon computers … i use macos versions of apps 99% of the time, but there are a couple of apps that only run on windows like Bluebeam Revu which i absolutely need …

[@phanindrapathuri3374]

how much ram do i allocate i have only 8