Here's how you can still get a free windows 10 upgrade

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Chris HoffmanEditor-in-Chief

Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He"s written about công nghệ for over a decade và was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The thành phố new york Times, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations lượt thích Miami"s NBC 6, & had his work covered by news outlets lượt thích the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read nearly one billion times---and that"s just here at How-To Geek. Read more...

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chrisbhoffman
Jan 15, 2020, 6:40 am EST| 2 min read
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Windows 7 is dead, but you don’t have to lớn pay to lớn upgrade khổng lồ Windows 10. Microsoft has quietly continued the không tính tiền upgrade offer for the last few years. You can still upgrade any PC with a genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8 license to lớn Windows 10.


How the không lấy phí Upgrade Works

Assuming you’re using a Windows PC with a genuine & activated Windows 7 (or Windows 8) key, you can upgrade to Windows 10 in just a few clicks. Your PC will get a genuine, activated Windows 10 key—just lượt thích it worked during Windows 10’s first year when the không lấy phí upgrade offer was officially being advertised.

You can also tăng cấp a PC by doing a fresh install of Windows 10, even if it doesn’t have any operating system installed. You just have lớn provide a valid Windows 7 (or Windows 8) key.

There’s no guarantee this will work forever, but it still worked on January 14, 2020. Microsoft may one day pull the plug and cut off new upgrades. But, for now, you can still upgrade. And, after you bởi vì upgrade, your PC gets a valid Windows 10 key that will keep working—even if Microsoft stops allowing new upgrades in the future.

Update: note that we can’t speak khổng lồ the business licensing side of things here. If you have Windows 7 PCs in your business, Microsoft may not consider you compliant with the terms of its licensing agreement after using this method to lớn upgrade your business PCs. We wouldn’t worry about it for trang chủ PCs, but organizations should likely contact their Microsoft licensing partner for more details.

RELATED: You Can Still Get Windows 10 for không lấy phí With a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 Key

Back Up Before Upgrading

Before you get started, we recommend you back up your files. The nâng cấp process shouldn’t erase your files unless you choose to erase them, but it’s always a good idea to have a current backup—especially when you’re performing a major operating system upgrade.


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We also encourage you khổng lồ find your Windows 7 (or Windows 8) key, just in case you need it. This key may be printed on a sticker on your PC’s case or on your laptop. If you installed Windows 7 or Windows 8 yourself, you’ll want khổng lồ find the license key you purchased.

If your PC doesn’t have a sticker, you can always use a tool like NirSoft’s ProduKey to lớn find the license key currently in use on your PC.

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RELATED: What"s the Best Way to Back Up My Computer?

How to lớn Upgrade to lớn Windows 10 for Free

To get your miễn phí upgrade, head to Microsoft’s tải về Windows 10 website. Click the “Download tool now” button and download the .exe file. Run it, click through the tool, & select “Upgrade this PC now” when prompted.

Yes, it’s that simple. We’re not doing anything sneaky here—Microsoft is choosing lớn let people upgrade via the tool.

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If you prefer a clean install, you can select “Create installation media” & then provide a valid Windows 7 or 8 key while installing Windows 10.

After the Upgrade

During the tăng cấp process, you can choose whether you want to keep all the files on your system or start fresh.


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Once it’s installed, you can head lớn the Settings > Update và Security > Activation screen. You’ll see that your system is “activated with a digital license.”

If you sign in to lớn Windows 10 with a Microsoft account, that license will be linked khổng lồ your Microsoft account, making it even easier to lớn reactivate Windows 10 on your PC if you ever need to install it.

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And yes, you should be able to lớn perform a clean install of Windows 10 in the future. Windows 10 activation will then “phone home,” notice that your hardware configuration has a valid license on file, và automatically activate itself.

If you have a Windows 7 system, it really is a good idea khổng lồ upgrade. If you don’t want lớn use Windows 10, consider installing Linux, getting a Chromebook, or switching khổng lồ Mac. You don’t have to use Windows 10, but we think you should move on from Windows 7.

We’ve been testing this out for years, and other sites lượt thích PCWorld, ZDNet, The Verge, và Bleeping Computer have recently verified this method as well.


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Chris HoffmanChris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He"s written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The thủ đô new york Times, been interviewed as a giải pháp công nghệ expert on TV stations like Miami"s NBC 6, & had his work covered by news outlets lượt thích the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read nearly one billion times---and that"s just here at How-To Geek. Read Full Bio »