Windows 11 is now in use by more than 400 million monthly active devices, the media has reported. According to a report by Windows Central, which cited “Microsoft internal data”, Windows 11 is likely to touch 500 million monthly active devices by early next year. Previous rumours have pointed at a slower rate of adoption of Windows 11 than its predecessor Windows 10 that hit 400 million active devices just over a year after release. This is 115 per cent faster than Windows 7.


The Windows 11 OS has been around since October 2021, which means it took the software giant almost two years to hit 400 million monthly active devices with Windows 11 OS. It should be noted that Windows 11 was only officially supported on PCs made in 2018 onwards (due to TPM), which cut out all those older Windows 7 and 8 PCs that upgraded to Windows 10 and the first three years of new Windows 10 PCs.


This, in turn, limited the growth Windows 11 could sustain, and Microsoft knew this, the Windows Central report added.


Windows 11 has actually been more successful than the company expected from a user base standpoint. As per Microsoft’s internal metrics, Windows 11 is going strong, the report said.


Microsoft rolled out Windows 11 in October 2021 with strict hardware requirements.Microsoft rolled out Windows 11 in October 2021 with strict hardware requirements.The company's support for Windows 10 is set to end on October 14, 2025 that will stop security updates and fixes for millions of machines.


The upcoming Windows 12 OS is anticipated to bring an updated desktop interface. Microsoft is expected to launch Windows 12 in 2024. Intel recently teased a “Windows refresh” for 2024 which, it hopes, will boost its revenues.


Meanwhile, you will not be able to activate Windows 11 with older keys from Windows 7 anymore as Microsoft has now completely blocked those from activating a copy of latest Windows 11. This loophole existed for years and people upgraded from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10 or 11 free of charge.


Last month, Microsoft had announced to block Windows 7 and Windows 8 keys from activating Windows 11.