Downloaded Windows 11? IMPORTANT note - Don't forget to do this or else you will be, really and truly, stuck

Windows 11 download on your mind? If you want to avoid trouble, just make sure you don't make this mistake.

Windows 11 download followed by rollback? 'Not possible, if you miss the deadline. You will be looking at the prospect of a clean install then. (Microsoft)

Those who have downloaded Windows 11 or are thinking of doing so, must not forget to do something within a certain period of time or else they will be stuck, literally. Now, Windows 11 is very glitzy and it is easy to fall for its charms. It is natural to want to download it and play with it as much as possible and see whether it suits your needs. Trouble will start as soon as you decide that the first look was not to your liking for whatever reason and you want your Windows 10, from which you upgraded, back. The break-up may not be easy. Why? Because there is a deadline involved and under no circumstances should you break it.

It transpires that, in a trial run, Microsoft Windows 11 will give you a 10-day period to go back to your old operating software and if you breach that timeline, well, like it or not, you are stuck with it. Of course, there is always the time-honoured way of going about changing your operating software, but it is such a pain. You will have to delete the entire Windows 11 software and install Windows 10 again. Hopefully, you will have ensured that a backup remains handy as otherwise the process can be quite stressful and sometimes frustrating especially if you are dealing with a cantankerous machine that is a little past its prime.

So, as far as answering your question - Can I go back to Windows 10 after I upgrade if I don't like Windows 11? - is concerned, here is what Microsoft has to say on its FAQs page to those wanting to pull off a Windows 11 rollback, "There is a 10-day period where you can move back to Windows 10 while keeping files and data that you brought along with you. After the 10 days, you will need to back up your data and do a “clean install."

Ultimately, it all boils down to what meets your requirements in the foreseeable future. A new Windows 11 OS is definitely something that everyone wants, but it may not suit everybody's needs.