Upgrading PlayoutONE PCs to Windows 11

On Tuesday 14 October 2025, Microsoft is discontinuing support for the Windows 10 range of operating systems.

This means it will no longer receive regular security updates and bug fixes, which Aiir requires to run the latest version of PlayoutONE.

PlayoutONE version 5.3 or later will require Windows 11 to be installed to be eligible for support, as without the latest operating system, updates and bugfixes from Microsoft will not be available.

Upgrading Windows on a PlayoutONE PC

We recommend upgrading PlayoutONE to at least version 5.1 before upgrading your operating system.

If you are updating multiple PCs, you can stagger them as Windows 10 and 11 are compatible with each other and can work together on the same network. You do not need to update every PC at once.

Aiir suggests stations running PlayoutONE Pro only attempt to update Windows during Monday-Thursday between 3am-2pm Central or 9am-8pm UK when our support team will be available to assist. Off-air emergencies caused by updating Windows outside those times may incur charges.

A Windows upgrade can take several hours to complete, so we advise against starting this process after 2pm Central / 8pm UK to ensure our support team will be available to help should you need help re-licensing PlayoutONE after Windows 11 is installed.

Ensure your current hardware meets Microsoft's minimum requirements for Windows 11.
Ensure your current PlayoutONE configuration has been backed up to a separate location before making any changes to your PC.
Re-enable Windows Updates, which are disabled by default on PCs running PlayoutONE Pro to prevent automatic updates from interrupting your broadcasts.
The easiest way to do this is with Aiir's Windows Update Utility:

Show/hide downloads
Go to Settings > Windows Updates, and check for available updates.
If your computer is supported, an upgrade to Windows 11 should appear. You can also try using Microsoft's Upgrade Assistant.

During the upgrade

While Windows is updating, there will be extended periods where Aiir Support will not be able to connect to your PC remotely, so they will not be able to provide any advice should issues occur during the upgrade.

We recommend having on-site IT support carry out any upgrades, so that if issues occur, they can troubleshoot and resolve them.

After upgrading to Windows 11

Once Windows 11 has been installed, your PlayoutONE installation should be exactly as it was on Windows 10. However, some audio device mappings or drivers may need updating/reinstalling.

If hardware drivers have been updated, your PlayoutONE license may think it has been moved to a new PC and needs re-licensing. We are only able to do this within our regular support hours; hence, the warnings about not starting Windows upgrades on PlayoutONE PCs outside our support hours.

We suggest checking that every audio output works as expected and Exclusive Mode remains disabled on them, as well as disabling Windows Updates again before resuming normal broadcasts.