How Can I Upgrade to Windows 10 From Windows 8.1
Note: This article was originally posted on December 1st, 2019, but has since been updated to reflect the current version of Windows 10 and new steps that should be taken to prevent problems with the upgrade.
When Windows 10 was first released, Microsoft announced a promotion that allowed Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. This promotion ended in 2017, but a method still exists to upgrade older computers to Windows 10 for free.
Almost six years later and the latest Windows 10 version 2004 feature update released in May 2020, Microsoft has quietly turned a blind eye to the fact that you can use the Media Creation Tool to upgrade to Windows 10 for free.
When upgrading a Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 computer with the Media Creation Tool, your older license will be converted to a Windows 10 digital license tied to that device.
After upgrading, this digital license allows you to perform a clean install of Windows 10 on the device, continue upgrading to newer versions of Windows 10, and potentially get a free upgrade to future versions of Windows.
According to a Reddit user named CokeRobot, who claims to be a Microsoft worker, Windows 10's free upgrade for a year was 'marketing fluff' to maximize the operating system's adoption.
CokeRobot also shed some light on the now-expired Windows 10 free upgrade offer.
"You still can do this no problem, however careful, do an upgrade keeping everything as if you choose to yeet everything and start fresh, you lose your free upgrade. That old 7 license converts to a 10 digital license and from there you can clean install no problem. As for audits, this mainly is for volume licensing than anything. An SMB with 10-200 Windows 7 machines that were OEM licensed don't really matter. If you try this with 1,000 computers, iffy. At the end of the day, Microsoft had four years to close that loophole and never did so if worse came to worse, you could technically go through legal avenues as the EULA for 10 literally doesn't have a clause for this at all. You can't shit on someone taking advantage of an activation workaround when you as the manufacturer never closed it."
How to upgrade to Windows 10 for free
Before beginning your free upgrade to Windows 10, you first need to perform a few steps to prepare your computer so that it is not blocked from being updated.
Before performing the upgrade, please review this checklist and complete the steps before continuing.
- Install the latest hardware drivers for your computer, including chipset, audio, network, USB, and graphic drivers. Using older drivers may block the upgrade from being allowed.
- Unplug USB devices such as flash drives, external storage, and printers. These devices have been known to prevent updates from installing correctly in the past.
- Microsoft sometimes blocks upgrades due to older antivirus software. Right before performing the upgrade, uninstall your antivirus software so that it does not conflict with the upgrade.
When the upgrade is finished, you can reinstall your antivirus software and plug your USB devices back into the computer.
Once you have finished getting your computer prepared, you can perform the following steps to update Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 for free.
- Visit the Windows 10 download page and click the 'Download tool now' button to download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool.
- Open the Media Creation Tool and click on the 'Accept' button to accept the license terms.
Media Creation Tool license agreement - At the "What do you want to do?" screen, select the 'Upgrade this PC now' option and clickNext. The Media Creation Tool will now begin to download the Windows 10 installation files, which can take a while.
- When done downloading the files, the tool will prompt you as to whether you wish to keep everything or start from scratch. Select to Keep all apps and files and continue.
- Once you click on the Install button, Windows 10 will begin to be installed. This process can take quite a while, and the computer will restart numerous times.
- After Windows 10 is finished installing, connect to the internet and open Settings > Windows Update > Activation,and the PC will be activated with a digital license. You can also enter your Windows 7 or Windows 8.x product key and activate Windows 10 if the device is not already activated.
Remember that the offer only works if you are using a genuine license of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. By following this guide, you will receive a digital license valid for the life of the hardware.
When done, install your antivirus software again and connect any USB devices, printers, and external storage.
During the upgrade process, Windows will connect to Microsoft's activation servers, and your PC will acquire a digital license for Windows 10.
You can now go into the Windows 10 activation page (Settings > Update & security > Activation), and it will state, "Windows is activated with a digital license."
The digital license is associated with the device, and unless the hardware is changed, you can perform a clean installation of the same edition of Windows 10 with Media Creation Tool or the ISO files, and activation is automatic.
How Can I Upgrade to Windows 10 From Windows 8.1
Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/you-can-still-upgrade-to-windows-10-for-free-heres-how/