In a way, isn't this just saying windows 11 is not ready as a replacement?
No, Microsoft has offered paid extended support for afaik all other windows versions at least as far back as XP.
There is always something that can't be upgraded because it's running some obscure software or something. At work we are unfortunately running a single Windows Server 2003 server because it's running some software that's absolutely critical and apparently can't be upgraded (I should test that though).
Pretty much every hardware or software company in at least IT offers (often really expensive) extended support for old stuff.
It's just the way of things. It isn't an admission that Win 11 Is bad of any kind
What are you complaining about then?
They supported your hardware for 18 years even when it was only meant to be for a single OS version and now people still had the option of upgrading but the hardware is just too goddamn old. I'm not defending Microsoft I also think the requirements are too high for 11, but expecting even more from your key is just ridiculous.