Skip to main content

Is Microsoft Still Secretly Running “Windows 10 Free Upgrade” Offer? Windows 7 Copy Still Upgradeable


Windows-Free-Upgrade-may-2017
It’s almost 11 months since Microsoft announced that the Windows 10 free upgrade won’t be available to the existing users of Windows 7 and 8.1 anymore. The ones wanting to upgrade had to purchase a new license key.
However, the users who already switched to Windows 10 during the offer period had the privilege of reinstalling Windows 10 and even roll back to Windows 8.1 or 7 as they had the relevant Windows key.
Now, it’s May 2017 and ZDNet’s Ed Bott has found that Windows 10 free upgrade still works if you have a genuine copy of Windows 7, 8, 8.1 running on your machine. And it doesn’t even require a product key.

How to get Windows 10 Free Upgrade?

In his post, Bott described the process to obtain an activated copy of Windows 10. First, you have to head over to Microsoft’s website and download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool.
You can go for the Upgrade this PC Now or Create an installation media for another PC option. However, the target machine must be running a genuine Windows version for the method to work.
After you complete the upgrade process by choosing the desired option, head over to Settings > Update & Security > Activation. Chances are that, there, you’ll find that you copy of Windows 10 is already activated using a digital license.
Windows 10 Upgrade free offer 2017
One digital license, no product key required Credit: ZDNet
Microsoft ties a digital license to your machine’s hardware. So, you can reinstall Windows 10 in the future without worrying about the activation process.
Bott wrote that he was able to replicate the Windows 10 free upgrade success twice by running activated copies of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 on virtual machines.
It’s unclear if this is some technical error allowing users to upgrade for free or Microsoft is secretly running the free upgrade offer. One compelling reason is their goal to achieve 1 billion active devices by 2018.
Remember how Microsoft “promoted” Windows 10 with malware-like upgrade notifications after its launch? These memories, combined with the fact that they have only reached around 400 million active devices until the last announcement made at BUILD 2017, make the assumptions somewhat clearer. At last, all of this would benefit the users.
Please note that 9jabreezeland hasn’t yet verified the described Windows 10 upgrade method.
If you have something to add or you are able to replicate the method described above, drop your thoughts and feedback inside comments below.

Comments

Follow Us

WHAT'S HOT

Best Gaming Linux Distros You Need To Try In 2017

Gaming on Linux scene is improving each year with better hardware support and increasing support from game developers. Apart from established distros like Ubuntu and Arch Linux, gamers are using gaming Linux distros like Steam OS to get a better experience. The other It’s gaming operating systems are Sparky Linux – Gameover

Learn How To Activate iOS 11 Dark Mode

Apart from all the major iOS 11 features and changes, there are some hidden and minor features as well. In this release, Apple has included a feature named Smart Invert Colors, which is the closest you can get while looking for an iOS 11 dark mode.

Microsoft Set To Put Fingerprint Sensor In Keyboard Keys

According to a new patent titled “ Keyset Fingerprint Sensor ,” Microsoft might be working to integrate the fingerprint sensor in keyboard keys. The fingerprint recognition might be done

Latest Linux Distribution Releases List

This list is prepared with the inputs from different Linux distro developers and the official release notes. But, before going ahead and taking a look at latest releases, don’t forget to check out our useful lists of best Linux distros of 2017: Best Linux Distro For Beginners Best Linux Distro For Gamers Best Lightweight Linux Distros Best Operating Systems For Ethical Hacking Linux Distribution Releases (July 2017) Linux Mint 18.2 Release Date: July 2nd, 2017 You can read about Linux Mint 18.2 Sonya in detail  on 9jabreezeland . 4MLinux 22.0 Release Date: July 1st, 2017 4MLinux 22.0 is the latest stable release. It comes loaded with LibreOffice 5.4.0.1, GIMP 2.8.22, Dropbox 28.4.14, Firefox 54.0, Chromium 59.0.3071.86, etc. The biggest change comes with 4MLinux Server, which is a lightweight and fast server Linux distro. You can read more about 4MLinux 22.0  here . Netrunner 17.06 Release Date: July 1st, 2017 Netrunner 17.06, codenamed Daed...