SOLIDWORKS PDM and Windows 11 – Don’t Upgrade Just Yet

Original article published January 26, 2022 – Updated June 28, 2022

Update: As of the release of 2022 SP02 and later, SOLIDWORKS and SOLIDWORKS PDM both support Windows 11. If you have upgraded both components (if applicable) of your system to 2022 SP02, you should be able to use Windows 11 OS and be in a supported environment.

Be sure to stop by the SOLIDWORKS System Requirements page before making any environment changes so you can ensure your software will be compatible!

As of December 2021, SOLIDWORKS 2022 has been available to download, and that means a ton of exciting new features and bug fixes are available. If you’d like to read a bit more about that, check out our compilation of the What’s New 2022 blog series! If you’re just interested in the PDM news, check out our PDM-specific article.

It’s always a treat to see what new features SOLIDWORKS is bringing to the table with their yearly updates, but this release is a little different. We aren’t just getting a new SOLIDWORKS version this year; we get a new Windows OS as well! I’m sure you’ve heard the hype about Windows 11, and if not, feel free to check out Microsoft’s release for everything you need to know.

While it might be really tempting to check out the new OS, don’t click that upgrade button just yet!

Per SOLIDWORKS’ system requirements, Windows 11 support isn’t here yet. We are expecting support for Windows 11 in one of the upcoming service packs, but we don’t have any firm details on exactly which one or when that will be at this time.

Below is a list of the expected release dates for service packs throughout the year. Please note that these aren’t guaranteed times, rather, they’re rough estimates of what to expect based on past releases:

• SP00 – November 2021
• SP01 – January 2022
• SP02 – March 2022
• SP03 – May 2022
• SP04 – August 2022
• SP05 – November 2022

The good news is that SOLIDWORKS will continue to support Windows 10 for the foreseeable future, so there’s no rush in getting Windows 11 if you don’t want to. SOLIDWORKS always works as fast as possible to get support when a new OS is released, but ensuring the platforms are compatible is incredibly important when it comes to stability.

We have had customers upgrade to Windows 11 and we know that some SOLIDWORKS platforms seem to function somewhat normally, while others become completely non-functional. SOLIDWORKS PDM is one of the platforms that will not work as expected (if it works at all), so we strongly urge you to hold off upgrading if at all possible.

If you made the jump and are having troubles? No worries! Act quickly and you can likely get right back to working order. There is currently a 10-day grace period after upgrading to 11 where you can revert to your old OS with minimal work. Microsoft released an article describing the process.

As with any system changes, always talk to your IT team and PDM admin prior to moving forward with anything like this.

On one last note, remember to check in your files on a regular basis! We recommend checking in files at least once a day if possible. The more recently and often you check your files in, the less likely you are to lose data if anything happens!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns that aren’t covered by this article, please don’t hesitate in reaching out to your account manager or our support team at technical.support@cati.com. We’re more than happy to help.

Rowan Gray
PLM Support Engineer
Computer Aided Technology