How to Run Windows 11 ARM on Any M1 Mac

Are you looking for a way to run Windows 11 ARM on your M1 Mac? Look no further! This walkthrough will guide you through the process of installing and setting up Windows 11 ARM on any Apple Silicon Mac, whether it has an M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra, or any other M chip. We'll cover how to install the UTM app, download the necessary files, and get started with running Windows 11 ARM.

First things first, you'll need to download the UTM app for free from their website. Once downloaded, simply drag it to your Applications folder to install it on your Mac. Intel Macs also have many other ways to run Windows 11 in virtual machines, such as VirtualBox, VMware, Parallels, etc. However, this walkthrough is geared specifically for Apple Silicon Macs.

To get started with running Windows 11 ARM, you'll need to download the Windows 11 VM for ARM from Microsoft's website. You'll also need a Windows Insider login, which is free to sign up for if you don't have one already.

Once you've downloaded the necessary files, open UTM and click the '+' button to create a new virtual machine. Then, select the Windows 11 VHDX ARM image you downloaded and follow the prompts to set it up.

Next, you'll need to configure your virtual machine settings. Click on the 'Disc' icon in the toolbar and choose CD/DVD Iso > Change, then select the spice-guest-tools-xxx.iso file you just downloaded. This will allow you to access the internet within your Windows 11 VM.

Wait a few minutes for Windows 11 to launch running in the VM on your M1 Mac. Then, walk through the Windows 11 setup process as usual, choosing your region, account name, etc. Note that networking and internet won't work yet, so choose that you have no network connectivity for now and let Windows 11 set itself up.

Once you've completed the setup process, click on the 'Play' button to boot the Windows 11 VM and begin using it. You can designate the amount of RAM and CPU cores you want to allocate to your virtual machine, but we recommend giving it at least 8GB of RAM for better performance.

That's it! With these simple steps, you should now be able to run Windows 11 ARM on any M1 Mac using UTM. Whether you're looking to access specific software or apps that aren't available on macOS, running a virtual machine is a great way to do so.

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