In June 2021, it was leaked that Microsoft would release a successor version of Windows 10. Even though Windows 11 had been on the market since October 2021, this came as a surprise to many, as Microsoft had announced back in 2014 that it would not release another version of Windows. Instead, it would only release updates every six months as part of Windows-as-a-Service. Microsoft had apparently committed itself to the continuous further development of Windows in small steps. Seven years later, things were to turn out differently.

Tech journalists are still busy publishing articles about the benefits of switching from version 10 to 11 for Windows users, discussing old and new problems with Windows, the system requirements for version 11, or information about the TPM 2.0 module.

In terms of actual user acceptance, the market is speaking a clear language: In December, the adoption rate of Windows 11 within the Windows family was 10%. Now, in March 2022, it has crept up to around 19%, with figures continuing to slowly rise.

What has been astonishing to me is the mostly smooth switchover. A majority of users whose computers met the hardware requirements upgraded to Windows 11 without encountering any sign of trouble.

But what is changing for the customers of Wibu-Systems?

Not a thing!

Previous versions of CodeMeter Runtime and CodeMeter Protection Suite as well as protected software usable under Windows 10 are fully executable under Windows 11 without any adjustments. The only glitch: the operating system is still numbered as Windows 10.

In October, Wibu-Systems integrated the new Windows version into our development process, tested our products for it, and made the necessary adjustments compared to Windows 10 where necessary. With the December release of CodeMeter 7.40 and CodeMeter Protection Suite 11.00, Windows 11 is fully supported by Wibu-Systems.

This means that Wibu-Systems has added Windows 11 to the operating systems supported by CodeMeter, joining the other versions of Windows, Linux, macOS, and other systems common in the industry. You can find more details about this on our dedicated lifecycle document.

Regardless of whether independent software vendors implement software protections using a hardware (CmDongle), activation-based (CmActLicense) or online (CmCloudContainer) variant: With the current software available for download from our website, all users can immediately start working with CodeMeter licenses without needing to change the protected software for Windows 11.