Run Windows 11 on Apple Silicon Macs with VMware Fusion: ARM64 Setup Guide

Prerequisites and Environment

The guide targets Apple Silicon Macs running macOS Ventura or later. Intel-based Macs may not be fully compatible. VMware Fusion 13.6.2 or newer is required; since Broadcom's acquisition, the installer must be obtained from the Broadcom Support Portal (requires account) or via the author's private distribution. Fusion's 25H2 update (October 2024) dropped Simplified Chinese localization, supporting only English, French, Japanese, and Spanish.

Licensing Change

Starting with Fusion 13.6.2, no license key is needed for either personal non-commercial or commercial use — the application runs fully unlocked after installation.

Preparing Windows 11 ARM64 Installation Media

Option 1: Official Microsoft ISO (Recommended)

Since November 2024, Microsoft provides a direct download for Windows 11 ARM64 multi-edition ISO at

https://www.microsoft.com/zh-cn/software-download/windows11arm64

. Select "Multi-edition ISO for Arm64", choose language (e.g., Chinese Simplified), and download. The ISO must be ARM64; x64 ISOs (including those from the Media Creation Tool) will not work on Apple Silicon because Fusion's ARM64 virtualization engine cannot emulate x64.

Option 2: Pre-built VMDK

Advanced users may use a pre-installed Windows 11 ARM64 VMDK, but it must be a valid VMware-readable VMDK; otherwise errors occur. ISO offers flexibility; VMDK provides "out-of-the-box" convenience but lacks pre-allocation control.

Fusion's Built-in Windows Downloader (Esd2iso)

Fusion 13.5.0+ includes "Get Windows from Microsoft" which downloads an ISO with basic video and network drivers pre-injected. The ISO is saved to ~/Virtual Machines.localized/VMWIsoImages. Note: Mainland China users may encounter an ESD URL fetch error; enabling a proxy often resolves it. The author suggests skipping this method in mainland China to save time.

Creating the Virtual Machine

Using an ISO

Drag the ISO into Fusion's new-VM window. Fusion identifies it as "Windows 11 64-bit ARM". Caveats: UUP Dump ISOs may not be recognized; on rare Mac models drag-and-drop may hang (try a different ISO); Fusion 13.6.0 misidentifies Windows 11 24H2 as Windows Server 2025 — fixed in 13.6.1.

Using a VMDK

Choose "Create a custom virtual machine", then select OS: "Microsoft Windows" > "Windows 11 64-bit ARM".

Firmware and vTPM Configuration

Choose UEFI Secure Boot if desired. Windows 11 requires TPM 2.0; Fusion implements vTPM via full or partial (fast) encryption of VM files. The author recommends partial encryption — it satisfies the TPM requirement while preserving maximum performance. Set an encryption password (auto-generated 16-character alphanumeric or custom, minimum 8 characters). Check "Remember Password and store it in Mac's Keychain" to avoid re-entry; the password can be retrieved from Keychain Access if forgotten.

Installing Windows 11

Start the VM and press any key immediately when "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD..." appears. If missed, restart via VM > Restart. Proceed through the standard Windows setup screens.

Bypassing OOBE Network Requirement (Consumer Editions)

Consumer editions (Home, Home Single Language, Pro) require internet during OOBE. The VM lacks the vmxnet3 driver initially, so no network is available. Since Windows 11 22H1, Microsoft removed the "Set up with a local account" option for consumer editions. Workaround: at the network screen, press Shift+F10 (on Mac keyboards, may need fn+Shift+F10 ) to open Command Prompt. Type OOBE\BypassNRO (letter O, not zero) and press Enter. This runs C:\Windows\System32\OOBE\BypassNRO.cmd. The VM reboots; then select "I don't have internet" (or "Continue with limited setup" on older builds) to proceed with a local account.

Installing VMware Tools

After reaching the desktop, install VMware Tools via VM > Install VMware Tools. Run setup.exe inside the VM. The installer adds the vmxnet3 network driver, SVGA 3D graphics driver, and other components for seamless integration (shared folders, drag-and-drop, resolution matching). Reboot when prompted. Post-reboot, the VM has full network connectivity and proper display scaling.

Key Takeaways

Only ARM64 Windows images work on Apple Silicon; x64 is unsupported.

Fusion 13.6.2+ requires no license key.

Partial encryption for vTPM balances security and performance.

The OOBE\BypassNRO command is essential for offline setup of consumer Windows 11 editions.

VMware Tools must be installed for networking and graphics acceleration.