Even though Windows on Arm has been around for a long time, Microsoft never officially released a downloadable ISO up until now. After announcing last month that a Windows 11 ISO for Arm64 devices was coming soon, Microsoft has finally released the Windows 11 disk image for Arm64 devices, much like the new Snapdragon X laptops. Here are the details.
Windows 11 ISO for Arm PCs
Users can head to the Windows 11 ISO download page for Arm64 to download the ISO and use this disk image to install Windows 11 on a virtual machine inside Windows or create a bootable media for installing Windows 11 on Arm-based laptops or PCs.
The Windows 11 ISO for Arm64 should be used with a tool like Rufus to make a bootable Windows 11 USB for Arm64 devices. Microsoft notes that this ISO can be used to create a bootable USB drive manually, but users would need to include drivers from device manufacturers for it to boot successfully.
However, as noted by Microsoft, devices with Snapdragon X Series processors are supported out of the box, and the ISO can be used to install Windows 11 without additional drivers. However, the device will not have complete functionality (like Wi-Fi, sound, etc.) and needs the rest of the drivers installed using Windows Update over an ethernet connection. Older Snapdragon-based processors and other Arm-based processors would require driver packages to be added to the ISO using a command prompt.
How to Download Windows 11 ISO for Arm PCs?
Here are the steps to download Windows 11 ISO for Arm64 from Microsoft:
- Visit the Download Windows 11 Arm64 page on the Microsoft website.
- Select Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO for Arm64) from the list.
- Click Download Now.
- Choose the product language from the list and click Confirm.
- Click Download Now and the ISO will start downloading.
Note: Use this ISO only if you know what you’re doing. This ISO isn’t bootable on most Arm64 devices without appropriate drivers from the device manufacturers. Using incompatible drivers might damage the devices.
