Clues in Windows 11 suggest Microsoft has a nifty plan to help you move all your stuff from an old PC to a new computer more easily and conveniently

• A new ‘Migration’ feature has been found by digging around in the inner workings of Windows 11
• It’s part of the Backup app and allows for a wireless transfer of all your files and settings from an old PC to a new one
• The idea is to use Nearby Sharing, with both PCs in close proximity and on the same Wi-Fi network

Microsoft is apparently working on a way to make it easier for Windows 11 users to make the move from an old PC to a new computer that’s just been purchased (or built).

This is a ‘Migration’ app which is purportedly part of Windows 11’s existing Backup app, and will transfer all your files and settings across wirelessly from the old PC to the new one, providing the devices are in close proximity.

There are a few people to credit for spotting this via a recent Windows 11 preview build, as reported by Windows Latest, who noticed Dongle, an X user, had flagged up the feature in the below post.

Dongle further credits regular leaker PhantomOfEarth on X for digging around and uncovering said feature, and also AhmedWalid605 for providing the decompiler used to reconstruct what this new feature might look like (based on the interface clues found by PhantomOfEarth in the preview build).

The screenshots of the Migration app in the X post are mocked-up by Dongle (a best guess of what it’d look like), but the functionality is correct going by the clues dug up from the inner workings of Windows 11.

As noted, the transfer of files happens wirelessly, and Dongle guesses that the feature might use Nearby Sharing, which is essentially Microsoft’s take on AirDrop, requiring both machines to be on the same Wi-Fi network, and near to each other.

Analysis: A sound and handy alternative to a cloudy path

Remember that what’s presented in this X post is just a mock-up and so the end version of Migration could look (or work) very differently. Indeed, because this is just code buried in Windows 11 and not even enabled in testing yet, it’s possible this is a capability Microsoft is toying with, but may yet abandon. In short, don’t get your hopes up too much.

In theory, though, the Migration feature is a sound idea and plugs a gap in the existing functionality that the Backup app delivers. Backup already provides a way to transfer your old PC data over to a new system, but that’s facilitated via the cloud (files are uploaded to OneDrive to make the backup, which is then extracted from the cloud and onto the new PC at setup).

The trouble is that if you’re looking at a hefty Windows 11 installation, and a ton of files, that could be sluggish to download from the cloud – especially if you don’t have a decent internet connection. Or indeed you may not have enough cloud storage space on OneDrive in the first place.

Clearly, there are scenarios where the cloud is a less-than-ideal solution, so the idea with Migration is to facilitate a local transfer that doesn’t need anything aside from both PCs being next to each other (and being able to connect to the same local Wi-Fi network). That’s going to be a convenient and useful option to have for a good few folks, I’d imagine.

As Window Latest observes, the hope is that Migration might also cater for third-party apps (and not just Microsoft Store apps, as with Backup), which would be a really nifty addition. Fingers crossed on that front, though I wouldn’t place any bets.

There are, of course, other options for migrating your stuff from one PC to another aside from Microsoft’s official methods included in Windows 11.

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