We’re excited to announce that Windows 11, Microsoft’s newest Operating System, is now available in LSA! Windows 11 brings with it a number of new features along with continued vendor support for a number of years.

Throughout the next year, LSA Technology Services will be upgrading our approximately 6,500 LSA Managed Windows computers used to teach, research, learn, and work. Windows 11 has some exciting new features and updating to this operating system ensures our environment stays secure and within U-M security compliance. We have a plan to make this transition as seamless as possible. This is also an important project because Windows 10 is nearing end of life and Microsoft will stop delivering updates in the next three years. LSA must upgrade (or secure) all Windows 10 devices by that deadline per U-M SPG 601.27.

LSA Technology Services will be upgrading these devices:

• LSA classrooms, labs, and conference room computers will receive upgrades starting in summer 2023. New faculty and staff computers will now be Windows 11 by default.

• LSA staff will begin receiving communications to run Windows 11 upgrades on their devices in fall 2023.

• LSA Technology Services staff will schedule time to upgrade faculty and lab devices in 2024–June 2025.

• These upgrades will continue with research computers with a complete date of July 1, 2025. This allows for work to begin on computers that need Extended Security Updates (ESU).

• All devices that cannot upgrade beyond Windows 10 due to hardware, software, or instrumentation limitations are to be secured with ESU and/or other security mitigations prior to October 14, 2025 (official Windows 10 end-of-life date).
  

We’re going to make this easy! Here’s how:

• Implementing Windows 11 in our classroom, lab, and conference room environment first, and in alignment with previous new Windows operating system rollouts. This allows our community a chance to learn Windows 11 ahead of their device changing.

• Upgrading computers to Windows 11 that are due for faculty and staff upgrades in late 2023 and 2024 versus migrating existing machines.

• Opting in staff, faculty, or researchers who are interested in upgrading to Windows 11 starting now. Let us know if you’d like to upgrade early or test the new operating system! We’ll begin reaching out to early adopters this summer to schedule upgrades.

• Delivering self migration communications and support for all staff devices and any faculty or researchers who wish to perform their own upgrades.

• Providing supported migrations for faculty and researchers with complex data configurations that need technology support for upgrade efforts.

If you would like to know more about the project please visit our Windows 11 Project Website.