After 7 years, Microsoft has finally announced to close the loophole that allowed computers running Windows 7 and 8 to upgrade to Windows 10 for free.
According to Cnet, Microsoft officially ended the free upgrade offer in 2016, but since then the company has not been interested in resetting the copyright activation server. So if users are still using computers running Windows 7/8/8.1, they can upgrade to Windows 10 for free.
This vulnerability is even bigger when the 25-character license key of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 is still used to activate Windows 10 or upgrade to the Pro version from Windows 10 Home’s editor. Cnet said he still received a thank you email on September 18 for sharing this information.
However, the Microsoft Device Partner Center page on September 20 officially announced the end of free upgrades for Windows 7 and 8 operating systems. The post also repeated the upgrade to Windows 11 from the Windows 10 operating system is still free.
OEM partners The announcement appears on the website for Microsoft, which provides the majority of Windows market share through the purchase of OEM licenses for new computers. The Redmond-based company has been silent about the free upgrade loophole for seven years while encouraging customers to buy new rather than upgrade old computers.
Now that Windows 10 is only two years away from ending support, computer sales have slowed significantly after the pandemic, Microsoft’s attention is on the Windows 11 operating system and its successors, running on Windows 11 operating systems. The new computer meets the minimum system requirements. Upgrades from Windows 10 to Windows 11 remain free, and license keys for the two versions remain interchangeable.