How to Use Windows 11’s Recall AI Feature on Unsupported Hardware

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Windows 11’s Recall AI feature is a powerful tool designed to track and index your daily PC activities, making it easy to search through past tasks and snapshots. Although originally intended for specific hardware with dedicated NPUs (Neural Processing Units), you can enable it on unsupported devices by following a few steps.

 Step 1: Install the Required Windows 11 Build

To begin, you need to be running Windows 11 build 26100.712, available in the Release Preview channel. If you're not already on this build, you can download it from the UUP Dump website. This build is essential because it includes the necessary OS-level files that support the Recall AI feature.

 Step 2: Bypass Hardware Requirements

Since Recall is designed for devices with specific hardware, you'll need to bypass these checks. This can be done by creating a custom component that intercepts and overrides the hardware requirements check. Essentially, this trick convinces Windows that your PC meets all the necessary criteria for Recall.

 Step 3: Install AI Components

The Recall AI feature relies on specific machine learning (ML) models to function. These models process text and visual content from the snapshots Recall takes. Although these files are usually downloaded dynamically, you might need to manually install them if they’re not automatically available. You can find these models on developer channels or specific repositories like GitHub.

 Step 4: Enable Recall in Settings

Once the above steps are complete, navigate to the Settings app in Windows 11. Here, you'll find a new toggle for Recall under the appropriate settings category. Simply switch it from Off to On, which will activate the feature.

 Step 5: Testing and Using Recall

After enabling Recall, it’s a good idea to reboot your computer to ensure everything is working correctly. Once rebooted, you can start using Recall to capture and index your screen activities. Despite running on unsupported hardware, the feature should function adequately, although performance might not match that of the intended hardware.

 Final Thoughts

Enabling Recall AI on unsupported hardware allows you to experience one of Windows 11’s most innovative features without needing the latest hardware. While it requires some technical steps, the process is straightforward for those comfortable with custom installations and tweaks. Just remember that while the feature can work without an NPU, performance improvements can be significant on supported hardware.