It’s been an exciting time for PC users – in both good and bad ways. Updates to Windows 11 have brought a raft of new AI features for free, including visual search for anything you see on your screen. But Windows 11 is now the only game in town, as Microsoft discontinued support for Windows 10 on October 14. Without access to software updates, PCs that lack the hardware to upgrade to Windows 11 aren’t worth much.
Yet a Techlicious investigation found that Amazon was selling such obsolete PCs on its refurbished-tech marketplace, Amazon Renewed, weeks after Windows 10 support ended. Many listings by vendors on the site even claimed that the PCs for sale were equipped with Windows 11. That’s likely only possible through a hack that is unsupported by Microsoft – possibly making the systems unstable and unable to install new updates. A spot check at press time still turned up systems that appear to be incapable of running Windows 11.
Amazon won’t take any special measures to help people who got stuck with these systems, even though the company acknowledges it shouldn’t have happened. "We work closely with our selling partners to ensure relevant products on Amazon Renewed meet operating system support requirements," Amazon told Techlicious in a statement on October 31. It’s been pulling down listings for these systems for weeks – including from lists that Techlicious provided.
No Extension of Return Window
But if you did buy one of these lemons, time’s running out to return it. Amazon confirmed to Techlicious that it will not extend the standard return windows for these products – either 30 or 90 days, depending on the listing –even for these systems that never should have been sold.
Read more: Do This to Stop Windows 11 Updates from Permanently Bricking Your PC
We first asked Amazon on October 29 whether it was considering making an exception for customers who got stuck with these PCs and didn’t realize the limitation, or didn't get around to returning them within the standard time windows. We repeated the question on November 4, the day our article ran.
In a statement to Techlicious on November 7, the company simply quoted a paragraph from its Amazon Renewed Guarantee policy: “Most Amazon Renewed items include a 90-day return period. Renewed Premium and Renewed Automotive items come with a 365-day return period. Please check the product detail page for return eligibility before placing your order. After purchase, you can find information on an item's return eligibility in your Order History.”
None of the dozens of budget PC listings we identified fell under the generous Renewed Premium return provisions.
In response, we asked Amazon again if this was the final word – that it would not make exceptions, even for what look like fraudulent listings.
“I don’t think I have anything else for you right now,” said spokeswoman Maxine Tagay on November 11.
We’re open to hearing more from Amazon on this issue. But in the meantime, the only option is to move fast. Start by checking the terms of the Amazon Renewed Guarantee.
And if you have purchased one of these systems, we’d love to hear about your experience in the comments.
Disclosure: Techlicious is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We maintain a strict policy of not allowing advertisers to influence our editorial opinion.
[Image credit: concept drawing of unsupported Windows 11 laptop Sean Captain/Techlicious via ChatGPT]
