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Microsoft may like to claim that it stopped giving out free Windows 10 upgrades to Windows 7 and 8.1 owners back in July but as it turns out, there are still multiple ways to obtain the OS upgrade legitimately without needing to shell out for a new license, though they are being kept fairly quiet.
For starters, the Assistive Technologies offer is still running, meaning anyone running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 can get Windows 10 for free if they require assistive tools like the Magnifier or screen narrator. However, Microsoft isn't really checking whether or not you actually use these tools, so anyone stumbling across the Microsoft Accessibility website could technically take advantage. This was pointed out back in August but it seems that the offer is still ongoing.
As Techspot has pointed out recently, there is still another loophole floating around. Those of you with an old Windows 7 or 8.1 CD Key can enter that code during the Windows 10 installation process to activate the operating system for free.
This loophole has also existed for a while and so far, Microsoft has yet to close it, which may be an intentional choice given the company's aim to hit 1 billion Windows 10 installs across platforms. That said, this could also potentially just be a mistake, so this method could end up being closed eventually but so far, Microsoft has yet to comment on it at all.
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KitGuru Says: If you happened to miss the Windows 10 free upgrade window, then there are still some ways to obtain a license. Whether or not these methods last long could be a different story though. Have any of you still not upgraded to Windows 10? Are you thinking about making the jump this year?
They can’t “close” the loophole with the win 7/8.x keys during install..
What MS did is they “pooled” Windows 7/8.x/&10 keys all on the same WGA servers… and labed them all as windows 10 keys… they had to do this to even make the “free” upgrade possible…
here’s the catch though, When u active a Win7/8x key on a PC you lock the Digital Entitlement and your Win7/8.x key to the mainboard… and there no-transferable.. even if you upgrade from a retail key… you’ll get a wga error kicking back “this product key is already activated on another system… regardless if it was a OEM/Retail key..
Yes and no. If you are switching to another computer you can still use your key, but first you need to set up an account and tie your key to that account…after that you can log in on the new computer and in the windows 10 Control Panel -> under Activation you will have an option saying “now I use this new hardware” then downside is that you cannot use the same key on the old computer after that
This comment is completely correct,I did it about 2 weeks ago.
The Key becomes bound to your windows login,Means that it in effect only useful for your main computer.
Better than before,Its not perfect but I don’t imagine them changing it in the future.