Are you one of the many users who upgraded to Windows 11 but aren’t happy and wish you could go back? Or maybe you’re a Windows 10 holdout who wants to try Windows 11 with no commitments and return to Windows 10 in case you don’t like it? Well, bad news. Microsoft only lets you downgrade within 10 days of upgrading to Windows 11.
But there’s also some good news: there’s a new free tool called UpDownTool that fills in the gap. With just five mouse clicks, you can switch from Windows 11 to Windows 10 while preserving all your data, apps, drivers, and system settings.
UpDownTool lets you downgrade from Windows 11 to Windows 10 even if you’re outside Microsoft’s 10-day rollback grace period, and even if your system was never on Windows 10 in the first place. Without this tool, your only option is to do a fresh install of Windows 10; with this tool, you can switch to Windows 10 while preserving all your data.
The only real catch is that UpDownTool converts your PC to Windows 10 LTSC 2021, which is a special “long-term servicing channel” edition of Windows 10 meant for businesses and organizations that need impeccable uptime, stability, and reliability. This Windows 10 version has a much longer support window than standard Windows 10, with Microsoft offering Windows 10 LTSC 2021 support until January 12th, 2027 and extended support until January 13th, 2032.
With Windows 10 LTSC 2021, all your favorite Windows apps should continue to run flawlessly. Unlike in conventional Windows 10, the Microsoft Store and some background services won’t be installed.
We haven’t personally tested UpDownTool ourselves, so don’t take this article as an endorsement or recommendation. In the event of any compatibility issues, there’s no official support from Microsoft.
You should also be aware that your license will be changed. This is because Microsoft doesn’t sell Windows 10 LTSC licenses to private individuals but only to organizations with volume programs. Make sure you have the correct license when using UpDownTool.
You can learn more about UpDownTool in this quick review and you can download UpDownTool here. The following video shows how to use UpDownTool:
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and localized from German.
