All the Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022 machines on our network show up as running "Windows 10/Server 2016".
I need to identify machines that might require an OS upgrade to Windows 11. How can I make Network Scanner tell me which machines are running Windows 11 or Server 2022?
How to make the OS detection distinguish between Windows 10 and 11
Started by David
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Re: How to make the OS detection distinguish between Windows 10 and 11 09 September 2025, 15:30 |
The reason Windows 11 is reported as Windows 10 in your network scan is due to how Microsoft handles version numbers in the NetWkstaGetInfo API.
Microsoft did not increase the major or minor version numbers when transitioning from Windows 10 to Windows 11. Instead, both operating systems report their version as 10.0.
The primary distinction between Windows 10 and Windows 11 is in the build number (Windows 11 starts from 22000), but unfortunately, the NetWkstaGetInfo API does not provide the build number. This limitation makes it impossible to differentiate Windows 10 from Windows 11 using this API alone.
For accurate remote OS detection, we recommend using the Remote WMI tool in Network Scanner, which allows querying the build number via the Win32_OperatingSystem class. As shown in the screenshot below, WMI provides a reliable way to distinguish Windows 11 from Windows 10.
Microsoft did not increase the major or minor version numbers when transitioning from Windows 10 to Windows 11. Instead, both operating systems report their version as 10.0.
The primary distinction between Windows 10 and Windows 11 is in the build number (Windows 11 starts from 22000), but unfortunately, the NetWkstaGetInfo API does not provide the build number. This limitation makes it impossible to differentiate Windows 10 from Windows 11 using this API alone.
For accurate remote OS detection, we recommend using the Remote WMI tool in Network Scanner, which allows querying the build number via the Win32_OperatingSystem class. As shown in the screenshot below, WMI provides a reliable way to distinguish Windows 11 from Windows 10.