Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. How tos

How to run Windows 11 on a Mac

By
Add as a preferred source on Google
The back lid of the MacBook Pro.
Digital Trends

Windows 11 is the latest version of Windows, and whether it’s for PC gaming or running a Windows-exclusive app, you may want to run it on your Mac.

Due to TPM and Secure Boot limits, however, you can’t run Windows 11 natively on modern Macs. Even Macs with Apple’s new M1 chips can’t run Windows natively, since Microsoft doesn’t license the ARM version of Windows for Apple to use.

Recommended Videos

Instead, you’ll have to virtualize the new Microsoft operating system and run it on top of MacOS, which is exactly what we’ll explain below.

How to run Windows 11 on a Mac using Parallels

The best way to get Windows 11 on a Mac is with a program known as Parallels. This lets you run Windows applications on your MacBook, without performance issues. You also can share content between Mac and Windows. There’s even a unique coherence mode that lets you hide the Windows desktop and use Windows apps just like Mac apps. Here’s how to use it.

Step 1: Download Parallels

Downloading Parallels on MacOS.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

To get started, visit the Parallels website and download the app, or the free trial. You’ll need to save the DMG file somewhere on your Mac. Parallels is a paid software priced at $80. If you’re not sure about it, a free 14-day trial is available. Here’s how to get started with it.

Step 2: Install Parallels

Installing Parallels on MacOS.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Once finished, launch the DMG file, and double-click the Install Parallels Desktop icon. Click OK at any other prompts, and let Parallels download. When the download is finished, accept the license agreements, enter your Mac password, and initialize the app to grant it permissions. When complete, click Finish.

Step 3: Download Windows 11

Downloading Windows 11 ISO on MacOS.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Once the app is installed, you’ll need to install Windows 11 inside of it. Click the Skip button and minimize Parallels. Open a web browser, and download a Windows 11 ISO file from Microsoft. Choose the Download Windows 11 Disk Image ISO option, and choose Windows 11 followed by English.

Step 4: Install Windows 11 in Parallels

Choosing the Windows 11 ISO in Parallels on MacOS.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Now that Windows 11 is downloaded, open up Parallels again. Then, choose the Install Windows or another OS from a DVD or Image file option. Pick Windows 11 from the list. The app should automatically find the ISO, and let you choose Continue. If you have a license key enter it, otherwise, uncheck the box and click Continue. Select the edition, and choose Done. 

Note: You’ll still need a license key to activate Windows.

Step 5: Choose how you want to use Windows 11

Installing Windows 11 in Parallels on MacOS.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

As part of the setup, Parallels will ask how you will use Windows. Choose Productivity or Games only. Name your install, choose where to save it, and click Create. Then, click Continue. Click OK at any other prompts and wait for Windows 11 to install!

The install process for Windows 11 in Parallels might take a while. Give it some time. When finished, the Installation Assistant will put you into your Windows 11 desktop and ask you to sign in and create a Parallels account for activation.

Tips and tricks

You’re now free to enjoy using Windows 11 on your MacBook! Resize the window as you see fit, or take Windows 11 full screen with the green icon at the top left of the window.

You also can enter Coherence Mode by clicking Control, Command, and C on your Keyboard. This will let you use the Windows 11 Start Menu from your MacOS dock, and run Windows apps full screen on Mac for a seamless experience.

When you’re ready to shut down Windows 11 on your Mac, just click the Action Menu at the top and choose Shutdown. You can then quit the app as usual from the Apple Menu. At any time you can get back to Windows by launching the Parallels app on your Mac and pressing the Play icon.

Overall, the performance of Windows 11 in Parallels on MacOS should feel quite snappy. It’s not nearly as good as Boot Camp would be, since Windows is being virtualized, but for using routine Windows apps, things will be just fine.

There are some limits, though. Microsoft doesn’t officially support running Windows 11 in virtual machines, so there’s no guarantee that this might keep working in the future. Parallels also aren’t designed for gaming, even if you have a high-end system. Parallels Desktop 17 doesn’t support DirectX12. Older DirectX11 games that don’t require a specific GPU should work just fine. We’ve played titles like Overwatch just fine on our Mac machine through Parallels.

Arif Bacchus
Arif Bacchus
Former Computing Writer
Arif Bacchus is a native New Yorker and a fan of all things technology. Arif works as a freelance writer at Digital Trends…
Topics
Windows 11 is getting a new Screen Tint mode, and your eyes might thank Microsoft
Users can apply custom color overlays to reduce screen intensity and visual fatigue.
Windows 11 on a laptop

Microsoft is testing a new accessibility feature for Windows 11 called Screen Tint, and it could be one of those small additions that make a surprisingly big difference. Instead of changing your display's color temperature like Night Light, Screen Tint applies a customizable color overlay across the entire screen, making bright displays easier on the eyes during long work or gaming sessions.

A softer screen for tired eyes

Read more
Apple’s looking at a politically radioactive fix for the memory crisis, and the US government isn’t happy about it
Apple blamed memory costs for your price hike. Its proposed solution involves a Pentagon blacklist.
Apple Mac Mini on a Desk

A few days ago, Apple announced an ugly mid-cycle price hike, blaming the worsening-by-the-day memory crisis. According to the Financial Times, the company is now lobbying the government for approval to buy memory chips from a Chinese company. 

The company in question is CXMT, a Chinese chipmaker that the Pentagon added to its Chinese Military Company blacklist for alleged ties to the Chinese army.

Read more
As iPads get pricier, Motorola’s Pad 70 Pro arrives as a solid option… just not for US buyers yet
Great specs, a stylus in the box, and no US launch date: the Moto Pad 70 Pro sounds both impressive and disappointing.
Computer, Electronics, Laptop

If you don’t know about Apple’s recent price hike, which affected all the products in its lineup except the iPhone and Apple Watch (for now), you’ve got to be living under some sort of a rock. The revision made all the iPads much more expensive. 

Motorola, however, has just launched a 13-inch tablet that actually sounds good on paper. It’s called the Moto Pad 70 Pro, and it costs around $440 for the baseline model. The catch, however, is that the device isn’t available in the US yet. 

Read more