Upgrade Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro

Before upgrading to Windows 10 Pro, make sure your device is up to date and running the most recent version of Windows 10 Home. For more info about how to keep your PC updated, see Windows Update: FAQ.

To upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro and activate your device, you’ll need a valid product key or a digital license for Windows 10 Pro.

Note: If you don’t have a product key or a digital license, you can buy Windows 10 Pro from Microsoft Store. Select the Start button, select Settings > Update & Security > Activation , and then select Go to Microsoft Store. From here, you can also see how much this upgrade will cost.
Open Activation settings

Use the following chart to determine which activation method you’ll use:

If you got Windows 10 by.

Upgrading to Windows 10 for free from an eligible device running a genuine copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.

Buying a Windows 10 Pro upgrade from the Microsoft Store app and successfully activated Windows 10.

Being a Windows Insider and upgrading to the newest Windows 10 Insider Preview build on an eligible device that was running an activated earlier version of Windows and Windows 10 Preview.

Buying genuine Windows 10 from the Microsoft Store app.

Buying a copy of Windows 10 from an authorized retailer.

Find it on a label inside the Windows 10 box. A digital license will be given to your device for Windows 10 based on the valid product key you entered.

If you bought your PC from a manufacturer, the manufacturer, not Microsoft, must provide a product key.

Buying a digital copy of Windows 10 from an authorized retailer.

Find it in the confirmation email you received after buying Windows 10 or in a digital locker accessible through the retailer’s website.

A digital license will be given to your device for Windows 10 based on the valid product key you entered.

Having a Volume Licensing agreement for Windows 10 or MSDN subscription.

It is available through the web portal for your program.

Buying a new or refurbished device running Windows 10.

It is preinstalled on your device, included with the device packaging, or included as a card or on the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) attached to the device.

If you bought a refurbished PC, the refurbisher, not Microsoft, must provide you a product key.

Find it in the confirmation email that contains the order history.

If you’re ready to upgrade, select one of the following headings to get started:

To upgrade, select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Activation .
Open Activation settings

If you have a digital license for Windows 10 Pro, and Windows 10 Home is currently activated on your device, you’ll see one of two messages when you select Go to Microsoft Store:

If you see Install, select the button to install Windows 10 Pro.

If you see Buy, you may need to purchase a Windows 10 Pro license. Or, try to sign in to Microsoft Store with the Microsoft account that was used to purchase the Pro license. Then, follow the instructions to install Windows 10.

If you have a digital license for Windows 10 Pro, but Windows 10 Home isn’t activated on your device, select Troubleshoot and then follow the instructions to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Activation .

Select Change product key, and then enter the 25-character Windows 10 Pro product key.

Select Next to start the upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.

Having issues with activation after your upgrade?

See the following for more help activating your valid product key or digital license for Windows 10 Pro:

Upgrade to Windows 10 For Free (2021 Guide)

People can still update previous Windows versions to Windows 10 for free in 2021

It has been four years since Microsoft ended the offer to get Windows 10 for free by updating from previous versions in 2016. It was a simple process that merely required a quick click on the upgrade button from the notification. Yet, many people have still been able to update their Windows 7 and 8 operating systems to the newest one in 2021. The only thing is required — an authentic version of previous Windows versions and its activation key.

The idea why people should use Windows 10 free download is because the official support for Windows 7 has been discontinued since January 14, 2021. It means that the operating system is no longer being updated, bugs are not fixed, and users receive no technical support. In other terms, it is no longer safe to either use or store data on Windows 7 for security reasons, such as Zoom vulnerabilities. Essentially, even FBI recommends switching from Windows 7 to 10. Unfortunately, it is most likely that Windows 8 support will be ended in the near future as well.

Experts believe that Microsoft has left a loophole to upgrade to Windows 10 free for people who have previously used authentic Windows versions intentionally. Currently, Windows 10 has over 1 billion active users and the number is only increasing. If you are using an earlier variant of the operating system, you can also upgrade it without any additional fees or breaking any rules.

Geek’s Advice team has created a guide on how you can get Windows 10 free download full version 2021. Our cybersecurity experts strongly advise you to follow these instructions as they are not breaking any laws and does not include dubious third-party tools or other illegal software. People should be aware that using any unverified programs to get the newest Windows version can lead to serious computer infections and other dangerous consequences.

What you need to know before updating your PC

Please note that if you were previously using Windows Home edition, your computer will be updated to Windows 10 Home version. Just like Windows Pro license is updated to Windows 10 Pro free. In case you are eager to change your OS edition, you must purchase a new license key for the edition you desire. For example, if you have Windows 8 Home, you must buy a new license before updating it to Windows 10 Pro. Otherwise, you will end up with Windows 10 Home.

Furthermore, keep in mind that these instructions do not work on Windows XP or Windows Vista as these variants were not entitled to a free Windows 10 upgrade tool in the first place. Therefore, people should not try to update these operating systems as the process will not bring any benefit.

Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 users will find instructions to show how to use a media creation tool to download windows 10 Microsoft. Before even starting the process, users should make sure that they have approximately 4GB of free space and only then follow each step attentively to avoid any issues and successfully update their operating systems.

Recommendation: back up your personal files first

Before you begin upgrading to Windows 10, we recommend you to create a backup copy of your personal files first. This is an extra security step to protect your files in case anything goes wrong. Besides, many people tend to store many important files and folders on the desktop, which might get deleted during the upgrade.

For that reason, we recommend you to either backup your data using an external data storage device, or use a trustworthy backup software.

How to Upgrade to Windows 10 for Free

This method explains how to update your OS for free using Windows 10 upgrade tool from Microsoft.

1. Find an official Windows license key that might be attached to your PC’s motherboard or sign in to your Microsoft account and check it there;
2. Go to Download Windows 10 Website;
3. Navigate down until you find Create Windows 10 Media Installation section;
   
4. Press the Download Tool Now button and wait for the download to finish (takes up no more than 2 minutes);
   
5. Open MediaCreationTool2004.exe file from your downloads folder;
   
6. Once Windows 10 Setup launches, press the Accept button to Microsoft’s terms and conditions;
   
7. Select Upgrade this PC now or Create installation media for another PC option depending on if you want to install Windows 10 on this computer or another device and press Next;
   
8. You can choose from three possibilities: Keep personal files and apps, Keep personal files only, and Nothing; Select the option according to your needs;
9. Press the Install button and wait until the installation is finished;
   
10. Once your PC restarts, navigate to Settings > Update & Security > Activation;
11. Here, you will see the Windows Edition and License information for the current system.

The suggested method has been tested and confirmed by many computer-related websites and is known to be working at the time of writing as well. We hope that you found this guide useful and you will patch current security vulnerabilities in your OS by upgrading to Windows 10 for free.

Scott Bolton is a senior content strategist in our Geek’s Advice team. He is exceptionally passionate about covering the latest information technology themes and inspire other team members to follow new innovations. Despite the fact that Scott is an old-timer among the Geeks, he still enjoys writing comprehensive articles about exciting cybersecurity news or quick tutorials.

How to perform an In-place Upgrade with Windows 10 Step-by-Step Guide

This Forum Article explains how to perform an in-place upgrade of Windows 10. By performing an in-place upgrade, you will clean up the system which may help resolve some troubles with the system.

1. Visit the site below to start downloading the Media Creation Tool. We will use Internet Explorer to download in this guide. http://aka.ms/DownloadW10ISO

2. Watch the video below to perform an in-place upgrade.

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97 people found this comment helpful

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I have two questions.

1. Will an in place upgrade require re installation of all apps

2. If I am in the Insider program, will it always grab the latest build I am set up for? Example is, I cannot upgrade to 16299 which I see available in my windows update (the update fails) and wanted to try an in place upgrade to get to that build.

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1. Will an in place upgrade require re installation of all apps

2. If I am in the Insider program, will it always grab the latest build I am set up for? Example is, I cannot upgrade to 16299 which I see available in my windows update (the update fails) and wanted to try an in place upgrade to get to that build.

1. This will not affect your files and programs

2. This is valid for Windows 10 Home and Pro edition only.

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my version of windows 10 is a FREE upgrade version from windows 7 via GW10.

KB4041691 is trying to load every day and heavily slowing my computer. it will not load because of some error

I am going through your procedures and got as far as MCT — upgrade to windows 10 pro.

This requires me to have a windows 10 license

question: Do I have a license (for windows 10)?

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Yeah. Go to control panel, then system, you’ll see your key at the bottom.

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I got this link from you support agent, and this content is supposed to help me with my issue.

I have a «windows won’t load» problem after a failed (and not asked for!!) windows update.

Now windows is unable to start, and the basic options available on the bootable usb I created from your link are all failing.

Your support agent offered me a remote control access to my computer, which is not able to boot. That’s how well he understood my issue.

Windows is not detecting the boot sector on my hard drive (since the failed update and restart), that’s why the agent I had before told me to download your iso file.

I can’t afford to lose all my 500 giga of data just because windows sent me a corrupted update, which it installed without even asking for a permission, or at least asking a permission to restart my computer.

Non of the standard options are working, I doesn’t want to load a restore point, nor it want to go back to the previous version, nor it wants to repair the start process.

When you send corrupted updates, please provide assistance to reverse the issue.

My last well working windows installation is creator.