Windows 11 on Apple Silicon with UTM

Windows on Apple Silicon is becoming increasingly popular. In this guide, we'll walk through setting up Windows 11 in a virtual machine using UTM, a free and open-source virtualization tool tailored for macOS.

Our previous article covered the setup process for Windows 11, and some things have changed since then, so this new guide will act as a refresher for installing Windows 11 on Apple Silicon in 2025!

For alternative solutions for installing Windows on Apple Silicon, note that these are paid solutions and may offer better performance at a price. Check out Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion.

UTM serves as a free, open-source virtualization tool for macOS, designed to be simple to use and offer native performance with customization.

Requirements

UTM version 4.6.5
Minimum 30 GB free storage
CrystalFetch version 2.2.0
Apple Silicon device (M1-M4 series)

UTM Download

Download UTM version 4.6.5 from the UTM Github releases page. Previous 4.x.x versions should also work.

Automatic updates are available for UTM via the App Store Version, though this is a paid option. Alternatively, use the GitHub version and manually update as needed.

Drag UTM to your Applications folder and verify that it opens correctly.

CrystalFetch Download

Apple App Store showing CrystalFetch Application

Download CrystalFetch version 2.2.0 from the App Store. This option is free and provides automatic updates.

Alternatively, download the latest version from the CrystalFetch Github releases page. This will require manual updates but may offer newer features before being officially released, as well as potential bug fixes.

Drag CrystalFetch to your Applications folder and verify that it opens correctly.

Windows ISO Download

Download the Windows 11 ARM64 ISO. You can download it either directly from the Microsoft website or use CrystalFetch.

For this installation, we'll use CrystalFetch as it provides a simplistic way to download the ISO. Installation via direct download is also possible, with the steps outlined below.

CrystalFetch

Open CrystalFetch and select Windows 11 from the dropdown menu.
Select the Build version. Opt for latest from the dropdown or choose a specific version. We will use 26100.2033 for this guide.
Ensure Apple Silicon is selected.
Select your Language and Windows edition (Windows 11).
Select Download and accept the license agreement.

The download will begin automatically. The ISO is approximately 4.69GB. After completion, select a destination folder and confirm to store the ISO. We'll use the default Downloads folder.

Windows - Direct

To download directly from the Microsoft website, navigate to the Windows 11 ISO.

Select Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO for Arm64) from the dropdown menu.
Select Download to download the ISO.
Select your Product Language and select Confirm.
Select Download Now.

This will begin downloading the ISO. It's approximately 5.47GB and will be stored in the Downloads folder.

The difference between CrystalFetch and direct download is that CrystalFetch allows for selecting specific versions to be downloaded and provides a more usable format. The available Windows versions will also be updated more frequently. The main purpose of CrystalFetch is to provide a seamless experience when downloading the ISO for UTM. As a result, CrystalFetch is recommended for this guide. Both options have been tested and verified to work.

UTM Configuration

In UTM, click the + icon to start creating a new virtual machine.

UTM application interface showing the main window with a plus icon to create a new virtual machine

Virtualize or Emulate

UTM offers two modes:

Mode	Pros	Cons
Virtualize	Faster, native ARM support	Can't run x86 or non-ARM processors
Emulate	Supports non-ARM systems	Slower, potential performance issues

UTM Configuration Mode selection between Virtualise and Emulate

Select Virtualize to leverage Apple Silicon's efficiency.

Emulation is slower but supports older systems. Pre-built VMs are also available via the UTM Gallery.

Operating System

UTM Configuration OS selection between Windows, Linux and macOS

Choose Windows.
Click Browse, select the Windows ISO, and click Continue.

UTM configuration interface showing the ISO selection

Hardware Settings

Set RAM to half of your device's available memory (default: 4096 MB or 4 GB). Leave CPU cores at the default for automatic management. Click Continue.

Storage

The default storage allocation is 64 GB, which is suitable for most users. Adjust it later if needed, then click Continue.

Shared Directory

Optionally, select a folder to share between your Mac and the VM by clicking Browse. Otherwise, click Continue.

Review the configuration summary, name the VM, and click Save.

Your new VM appears in UTM's sidebar. Click the play button to boot the Virtual Machine!

Windows Installation

Booting up the virtual machine, you'll be prompted to "Press Any Key to continue." This will start the Windows installation process.

UTM Setup press any key to boot into ISO file

Select your Language Settings and click Next.
Select your Keyboard Settings and click Next.
For the Product Key, select I don't have a product key.

Windows setup showing selection of product key

Read and accept the license agreement, then click Next.
Select the default location to install Windows and click Next.

Windows will now begin installing. This will take some time.

After this process, the virtual machine will restart. Notice that you will get the same prompt to "Press Any Key or CD to enter startup." This is because the ISO is still attached.

Select the Disc Icon in the UTM Taskbar.
Hover over the first ISO option and select Eject.

This will ensure that the virtual machine boots into Windows setup instead of looping through the installation process.

Windows Setup

Select your Country/Region and press Yes to continue.
Select your Keyboard Input and press Yes to continue.
Add a second keyboard if needed; otherwise, press Skip to continue.
Windows will check for updates and may restart the virtual machine.
Enter a name and press Next.
Enter a password or leave it blank and press Next.
Windows may check for updates again or begin downloading updates.

After the virtual machine restarts a few times, it will be ready to use soon!

The reason you may get more updates than usual is that it automatically tries to push for the latest version of Windows.

Windows setup showing updates being downloaded

After this, you should be booted into Windows, ready to install the Spice Guest Tools.

Spice Guest Tools

This installs the necessary drivers for Networking, Screen, and Graphics.

A window should pop up asking to set up UTM Guest Tools.

Default window for Spice Guest Tools Setup

Select Next.
Agree to the license agreement and press Next.

This will install Spice Guest Tools. The machine will need to restart to complete the installation. Notice that you may need to manually restart the virtual machine if you get a "Display output is not active" message.

If you don't see a popup window for Spice Guest Tools, you can manually run it.

Open File Explorer.
Click on the CD Rom drive.
Locate the .exe file and open it.
The screen may flicker, or display bugs may appear.

Showing windows file explorer with the CD Rom open

You can verify that Spice Guest Tools have been installed by visiting the Control Panel. Under Uninstall a program, Guest Tools will be listed as follows: