Windows 11
Microsoft's desktop operating system for PCs, successor to Windows 10.
A minority of commenters like it for the stripped-down LTSC and IoT editions1234 and the much-improved ARM64 version.56 The most common complaint is ads, nags and bloat78910, with many also citing sluggish performance, forced AI features and buggy updates.1112131415
Why people recommend it
LTSC editions · 3
The LTSC and IoT Enterprise LTSC editions are described as a cleaner experience without unwanted extras.
“I switched to the latest Win11 LTSC after that, and it's a decidedly better user experience without the cruft I didn't need or want.”
“I'm using ltsc windows 11 and yes it is much better than one of my other pcs which has pro on it.”
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“This is essentially what the IoT Enterprise LTSC edition is.”
Stability · 3
Some long-time users find it stable and say it just works for them.
“Teams and W11 are some of most stable, "it just works" pieces of software coming from them I can think of”
“I love Windows 11, and have zero complaints.”
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“I'm a happy (windows 11) user.”
ARM64 support · 2
The ARM64 version is called very good, and one user runs it on a fast laptop.
“the ARM64 version of Windows 11 has gotten very good now”
“I'm running Windows 11 Arm right now on the best laptop I've ever owned”
Developer tooling · 2
Hyper-V, PowerShell and WSL2 are named as strong development tools on Windows.
“I'm a happy (windows 11) user.”
“I moved to Linux 8 months ago because of how crappy windows 11 has become.”
Debloatable · 2
Debloat tools and stripped-down installs are said to turn it into a decent OS.
“This is essentially what the IoT Enterprise LTSC edition is.”
Caveats and dissent
Ads and bloat · 3
Many object to Start menu ads, constant nags and services that can't be removed.
“Windows 11 makes me hate everyday computing. From the adverts in the start menu, to the sluggish performance”
“the embedding of advertisements in Win11 drove to me finally try out Linux distributions”
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“it's absurd how often file explorer windows crash in Windows 11 compared to Windows 7”
Slow performance · 3
Users report laggy menus, slow startup and high RAM use even on powerful hardware.
“The whole thing is slow on a modern CPU with 64gb ram.”
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“I have been using Windows on my laptop and been annoyed by how performance have really degraded.”
Buggy updates · 3
Updates are said to break things, with reports of blue screens and hard freezes.
“my Windows 11 laptop for work has been a nightmare, too.”
“still having regular blue screens come back with Windows 11..”
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“Windows 11 is so bad that I finally made the permanent jump to Linux.”
Forced AI · 3
Copilot and other AI features are pushed on users who did not ask for them.
“Windows 11 and the forced AI integration was the absolute last straw for me.”
“I switched to Linux from Win11 a few months ago, because of all the CoPilot junk.”
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“AI features I never asked for, that's the most recent dark pattern here.”
Accounts and telemetry · 3
Required Microsoft accounts and telemetry put off privacy-minded users.
“The degradation of win 11 , forced win accounts everywhere.”
“no need to create a microsoft account and you don't have to deal with all the slop features it tries to shove down your throat.”
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“Win11 feels as if Microsoft finally declared total war on the user and I can't support that anymore”
UI regressions · 3
File Explorer, the taskbar and the context menu are called worse than in earlier versions.
“the file explorer experience in 11 was noticeably worse than windows 10 and the same hardware”
“The taskbar in Windows 11 is a downgrade in every conceivable way.”
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“the new context menu took a perceptible second to appear and it still didn't have everything the old had”
Often compared with
2 moved from Windows 10 to Windows 11
5 moved from Windows 11 to Linux Mint
1 moved from Linux to Windows 11macOS10 comments mention both
1 moved from Windows 11 to macOS
2 moved from Windows 11 to Ubuntu
1 moved from Windows 11 to BazziteCachyOS2 comments mention both
2 moved from Windows 11 to CachyOS
Who recommends it in their own words
From the makers not counted in the ranking
“I love Windows 11.”
Threads where it came up
- Our Commitment to Windows Quality 6 mentions
- Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux 4 mentions
- Hate is a strong word, but I don't like Windows 11 4 mentions
- Microsoft May Have Created the Slowest Windows in 25 Years with Windows 11 4 mentions
- Windows 11½ 3 mentions
- Microsoft Needs Windows Lite 3 mentions
Also written as Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC, Windows 11 LTSC. Data: windows-11.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 43
“My desktop was a Windows 11 gaming system, and I switched that to Linux”
“the ARM64 version of Windows 11 has gotten very good now”
“Backwards compatibility from Microsoft was almost all there”
“churning out Windows 11 and all of the inexplicably broken functionality”
“Teams and W11 are some of most stable, "it just works" pieces of software coming from them I can think of”
“I moved to Linux 8 months ago because of how crappy windows 11 has become.”
“For me Win11 was the final stop.”
“end up with something like Windows 11”
“stinking pile of poorly designed adware”
“that's more due to MS Windows 11 suckiness”
“I use ltsc iot edition and I don't have this experience”
“I have a microsoft account but I use a local account for Windows 11.”
“Windows 11 nags its users all the time, yet they accept it as it was normal and unavoidable.”
“In my person user experience W11 is bafflingly bad”
“the dreadful AI infested Windows 11”
“So much of windows 11 configuration is removing things you never asked for and putting things back.”
“The whole thing is slow on a modern CPU with 64gb ram.”
“Win11 is such a clusterfuck its unbelieavable.”
“I decided to give Windows 11 a chance, and it's not bad.”
“it's obviously less actively antagonistic than Windows 11”
“AI features I never asked for, that's the most recent dark pattern here.”
“File explorer in W11 is near unsuable for example.”
“Windows 11 seemingly screwing up something massive in every update”
“the KDE Plasma desktop feels snappier than Windows 11”
“I did just remove Windows because I didn't want to migrate to W11.”
“Windows 11 removing support for older hardware”
“This is essentially what the IoT Enterprise LTSC edition is.”
“I'm using ltsc windows 11 and yes it is much better than one of my other pcs which has pro on it.”
“Win11 feels as if Microsoft finally declared total war on the user and I can't support that anymore”
“the embedding of advertisements in Win11 drove to me finally try out Linux distributions”
“I switched to the latest Win11 LTSC after that, and it's a decidedly better user experience without the cruft I didn't need or want.”
“The degradation of win 11 , forced win accounts everywhere.”
“Even Windows 11 is "pretty" if you don't click the wrong thing”
“didn't even bother with windows 11 with how much anti-consumer features it had”
“I'm running Windows 11 Arm right now on the best laptop I've ever owned”
“I'm a happy (windows 11) user.”
“And currently, I use Windows 11 daily.”
“I have been using Windows on my laptop and been annoyed by how performance have really degraded.”
“They sold out to AI and all Win11 users will have to support the hype train.”
“it's absurd how often file explorer windows crash in Windows 11 compared to Windows 7”
“Windows 11 is unbelievable bad.”
“Windows 11 makes me hate everyday computing. From the adverts in the start menu, to the sluggish performance”
“I switched to Linux from Win11 a few months ago, because of all the CoPilot junk.”