Can You Use A Windows 7 Key For Windows 10

Microsoft'south gratuitous upgrade offer for Windows 10 ended more than v years ago, merely no one told the people who run the Windows activation servers. As a consequence, you can still upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows viii.one and claim a free digital license for the latest Windows ten version, without beingness forced to spring through any hoops.

That upgrade became more of import than e'er when support for Windows vii officially concluded in January 2020. And it turned out to be a bang-up relief to household budgets when the pandemic fabricated working from home (or going to school via remote sessions) all of a sudden popular. In the past 2 years, millions of people have taken erstwhile PCs out of storage and gotten upwardly to speed quickly, thanks to these free upgrades.

Also: Windows xi FAQ: Here's everything you demand to know

You can besides still upgrade Windows 10 Abode to Windows x Pro by using a product key from a previous business concern edition of Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 (Pro/Ultimate). That can save yous as much every bit $100 in OEM upgrade charges if you buy a new PC with Windows 10 Home preinstalled. (For details, see "How to upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Pro without hassles.")

Every technique I describe in this article works the same for Windows eleven besides, although most older PCs will exist blocked from upgrading to Microsoft's newest operating system by the stringent Windows 11 hardware compatibility requirements. For those PCs, Windows 10 remains a viable option until at least Oct 2025.

In this post, I'll cover the basics of how to install Windows 10 as an upgrade on older hardware. I'll also talk about the licensing issues involved, which are (as always) confusing.

I wrote and published the commencement version of this mail in early on 2017, several months after Microsoft's initial free upgrade offer ended. The free upgrade offer had just ended, and when I downloaded the Windows 10 upgrade tool and ran it on an erstwhile Windows 7 PC, I fully expected that the upgrade would neglect activation and I'd be asked for a product fundamental.

Imagine my surprise when, instead, I was greeted with this screen.

One digital license, no production key required.

Over the next four-plus years, I repeated those steps on exam PCs at regular intervals and confirmed that the free upgrade tool still works. I continue to receive electronic mail letters regularly from readers offer firsthand reports that their free upgrades were successful, with no purchase or production central required.

A small number of readers have reported that the upgrade fails considering of a Setup mistake or a compatibility block. For details on how to troubleshoot these errors, see "This gratuitous Windows 10 upgrade offer still works. Hither's why - and how to get information technology." For aid decoding setup errors, see "Windows 10: Utilize setup log files to troubleshoot installation issues."

Want your ain digital license to the latest Windows 10 version? Follow these instructions.

How to upgrade an old PC to Windows 10

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If you take a PC running a "genuine" copy of Windows seven/8/8.1 (Windows 7 Home, Pro, or Ultimate edition, or Windows 8.ten Home or Business, properly licensed and activated), yous can follow the same steps I did to install Windows x every bit an upgrade.

Earlier getting started, I recommend a few preliminary tasks that tin caput off potential issues:

Confirm that your copy of Windows is properly activated. This is particularly important if you lot recently reinstalled Windows.
Bank check for any contempo driver updates, peculiarly for network and storage hardware.
Download and install any available BIOS updates for your hardware; this footstep is especially important for systems that were originally sold in 2017 or earlier, when hardware makers were nonetheless shaking out bug with Windows x.
Back up your information files to an external hard drive or deject storage (or both). Consider doing a full system backup to an external difficult drive using the Windows 7 backup programme, which is also bachelor in Windows 8.ten and Windows 10. But run the command Sdclt.exe, and then choose the Create A System Prototype choice.
Temporarily uninstall third-political party security software and low-level system utilities that can interfere with the upgrade. You lot can reinstall those programs later the upgrade is complete.
Finally, disconnect any unnecessary external devices, especially USB flash drives and external hard drives. (Several common installation errors can be traced to the Setup plan being dislocated past these additional drives.)

With those preliminaries out of the way, go to the Download Windows ten webpage and click theDownload tool now push button. After the download completes, double-click the executable file to run the Media Creation Tool.

You can upgrade directly using this tool, or create dissever media.

If you've downloaded the Media Creation Tool on the auto you lot plan to upgrade, and y'all plan to upgrade that PC and only that PC, you lot can choose theUpgrade This PC Now pick. That option installs the most contempo version of Windows ten. Information technology typically takes about an hour, depending on your hardware. (Having an SSD as your organization bulldoze is the best way to speed up the procedure.)

If you know you lot'll desire to upgrade to Windows 10 on more than one PC, or if yous but want more flexibility in the event that the instant upgrade fails, choose the 2nd option and relieve the installation files to a USB bulldoze or equally an ISO file. The download takes a piffling time but when information technology's complete, you can run the Windows Setup program manually to install Windows 10 on any PC running whatever supported Windows version (sorry, this won't piece of work with PCs running Windows Vista or Windows XP). The exact steps depend on which download option you lot chose:

USB flash bulldoze Insert the USB flash bulldoze you only created into a gratuitous USB slot on the PC y'all want to upgrade. Then open File Explorer (Windows Explorer in Windows 7) and double-click Setup to install Windows x. Note that youcannot boot from the newly created USB drive or DVD to perform an upgrade to Windows x. Y'all must run the Windows x setup program from your currently installed and activated re-create of Windows.
ISO file Later on the download is consummate, you'll demand to mount the ISO file and open up it in a Windows Explorer/File Explorer window. On a PC running Windows 8.1 or Windows x, you can double-click the ISO file to open it every bit a virtual bulldoze. On a PC running Windows seven, you'll need to install a third-party utility such every bit the free, open-source WinCDEmu. After mounting the ISO file, double-click Setup to start the install process.

Then just follow the prompts to complete the upgrade to Windows 10. You will not be asked for a product key, and when the upgrade is consummate and you've connected to the internet, y'all'll have a digital license to the most recent Windows 10 version, which you can ostend by going to Settings > Update and Security > Activation. All your apps and information files volition be available.

The digital license is associated with that specific device, which means you can reformat the deejay and perform a clean installation of the same edition of Windows ten anytime. (If you're thinking of upgrading your onetime arrangement drive to an SSD, perform the upgrade to Windows ten on the old hardware; after confirming that the new Windows ten version is properly activated, install the SSD and then either restore from a fill-in image or boot from the USB flash drive to do a clean install. You won't need a product key, and activation is automatic.)

Is your license valid?

And now the big question: If you avail yourself of this upgrade to Windows 10, is the resulting license valid?

The unabridged "free upgrade" offer was always accompanied by language that was, to put information technology politely, a scrap squishy. And the language around the end of that offering was similarly vague. For example, come across the answers I've highlighted here on Microsoft'southward Windows 10 Upgrade FAQ:

That'due south very odd language. The complimentary upgradethrough the Go Windows 10 app ended on July 29, 2016. Also, the discussion of product keys says a key will exist necessary "for this tool to work" (not true) merely doesn't say a word about licensing.

And different the weaselly "Genuine Windows" characterization on older upgrades, the activation screens for a Windows x upgrade specifically confirm the existence of a "digital license."

Anyhow, the free upgrade offer was extended briefly, at least for people who utilize assistive technologies. The FAQ on a split up page even called it a "free upgrade offering extension" and pointedly noted that it was non limited to specific assistive technologies. (I regularly utilise the Magnifier utility in Windows, which is indisputably an assistive technology.)

Of class, I'm not a lawyer, and this cavalcade isn't legal advice. Only I will say that I am personally confident in the activation status of whatever PC upgraded using the tool on that page during the eligibility catamenia.

This extension was, I think, a very large nod and a wink, designed to make it like shooting fish in a barrel for those who wanted a Windows x upgrade to still get information technology while placating the OEM partners who were none besides happy near the year-long emphasis on upgrades rather than new PC sales.

Alas, I say "was," because the extension (which was itself extended) officially ended on Jan. 16, 2018. The page that formerly ran an Upgrade Assistant now returns an error message.

The large question at present is whether Microsoft volition ever plow off the code on its activation servers that dispenses digital licenses after an upgrade from an before Windows version. I've continued to test that scenario, and I tin ostend, long afterwards the end of support for Windows 7, that information technology still works.

I continue to hear from readers sharing their experiences. If yous've used this technique on a PC, click my proper name at the tiptop of this mail service and use the contact form to let me know how it went for you lot.

Annotation:This article was originally published in January 2017. Information technology has been updated multiple times since then to reflect the most current data.