Years after letting people have fun, Microsoft is finally ending the free upgrade of Windows 7/8 PCs to Windows 10, as noted in a new notice.
Though Microsoft officially ended this free upgrading process in 2016, it didn’t shut down the process and this has been the worst-kept secret ever since you can freely upgrade even after the deadline. Well, Redmond, in the same noticed, said it’ll continue allowing free upgrades of Windows 10 to Windows 11.
Dumping the Old Machines
Microsoft has long been pushing it’s users to upgrade to the latest Windows OS but has never been strictly doing it. For example, it has the privilege of ending it’s old OS, such as Windows 7/8 or even Windows 10 abruptly and pushing users to try Windows 11.
Instead, it lets everyone upgrade for free! Though it ended this free upgrade scheme in 2016 for Windows 7/8 users, a loophole that allowed everyone to continue is still in the wild. This is well-known to Microsoft, yet it remained silent. Well, maybe they have finally had enough, as Redmond is enforcing the ban on free upgrades from Windows 7/8 to Windows 10.
An unsigned notice shared on the Microsoft Device Partner Center on September 20 says;
“Windows Ends Installation Path for Free Windows 7/8 Upgrade
Microsoft’s free upgrade offer for Windows 10 / 11 ended July 29, 2016. The installation path to obtain the Windows 7 / 8 free upgrade is now removed as well. Upgrades to Windows 11 from Windows 10 are still free.”
But again, Microsoft’s statements are just statements until they’re implemented. Though the company issues a warning notice, we should wait to see until it executes the change. I hope that it’ll eventually enforce this ban; what’s clear from the information is it still supports free upgrades from Windows 10 to 11.
So, the activation keys for either of those should still be interchangeable. Microsoft does want it’s customers to upgrade their hardware and to push this narrative, it sets a high bar for the compatibility of Windows 11; the OS is innovating very aggressively.
Other Trending News:- News
