Can You Still Get Windows 10 for Free? Yes! Here’s How (Updated)

Microsoft Ended support for Windows 7 on January 14th, 2020. And while there is not an official channel to upgrade to Windows 10, there is a trick to get it. And this is not illegal. Microsoft is allowing users to do this. Here’s how.

Important: Before attempting any major upgrade, make sure all of your important data is backed up first. If something goes wrong (and it certainly could with this type of upgrade) you’re not going to be able to recover it.

Upgrade from Windows 7 to 10 for Free

Before trying the upgrade make sure to update all hardware drivers and the BIOS or firmware on your PC. Also, remember you’re current Windows 7 PC needs to have a valid and activated license.

To try it, head to the Windows 10 download page. Under the Media Creation section download the Download tool now button and run it.

Accept the EULA. Then when it asks you what to do select “Upgrade this PC Now” and continue with the wizard’s on-screen instructions.

Important Notes:

There are several caveats here that might make your upgrade attempt error out. There might be hardware block — especially on machines built before 2015. Microsoft added system compatibility blocks with Windows 10 1903. So, make sure your BIOS or firmware and all hardware drivers are up-to-date before trying the upgrade.

And just note that Microsoft can just turn this “trick” off at any time. So, depending on your system or when you try this, your mileage may vary.

Editor Note 1/15/2020: This article was originally written in 2017. It has been updated to reflect the end of support for Windows 7. You can read the original text below:

Windows 10 was first introduced to the market with a one-year free upgrade offer. From July 29th, 2015 to July 29th, 2016, users could upgrade-eligible Windows 7 and Windows 8 devices to Microsoft’s new desktop OS for free. Many users did take advantage of it, but for one reason or another, many others skipped the offer. No surprise, a day after Microsoft’s free offer ended, procrastinating users popped up all over the Internet, including our Windows 10 forums asking for information about how they could still get Windows 10 for free.

Last August, I noticed the free upgrade offer seemed to still be available and I wrote a short blog post about it. Throughout the month of August, some users were still getting notifications to upgrade for free, while others saw them disappear altogether. Eleven months have passed since the free upgrade ended; in fact, we are approaching the second anniversary of the Windows 10 upgrade.

To those of you who are coming late to the party and still want a free upgrade: where’ve you been all this time? Anyway, whatever your reasons, let’s see how we can get you a free copy of Windows 10 now that the free upgrade ship has officially sailed.

How You Can Still Get a Free Upgrade to Windows 10

According to some participants on Microsoft’s Community forums, Microsoft might be forgiving to those who skipped on the upgrade. It seems you can get a second chance to upgrade to Windows 10 by simply contacting support. A Microsoft MVP responded to a participant inquiring about getting Windows 10 for free and this is what he said:

Contact MS support to request a free upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. The support agent will provide you with an exception link to allow the free upgrade to Windows 10. Source

Aside from that, you may also still be eligible for a free Windows 10 upgrade if you use Assistive Technologies. Assistive Technologies users could be broadly defined as users with a particular impairment or disability using third party software or hardware. There is no verification process for users who qualify for the Assistive Technologies upgrade. We actually mentioned this in a forum blog post last year; the option remains open and anyone it seems can use it to still snag a free copy. Of course, we urge you not to abuse this offer from Microsoft and to only exercise this option if you rely on Assistive Technologies.

If you are not interested in going through any support obstacles or loopholes, I discovered that you can upgrade without purchasing a license at all. You are probably wondering, “Well, why didn’t you just say so from the beginning?” Well, I could have, but I just wanted to provide all the options for users who wanted to go through official channels.

So, are there any legal challenges related to this? Microsoft did say the free offer ended in July of 2016. It seems that it was more of a formality or possibly marketing mumbo jumbo to create a sense of urgency.

I decided to test this out by first restoring my HP Elitebooks factory Windows 7 image. I also tried it out on my HP desktop with Windows 8.0 (you read right, Windows 8.0, not 8.1 or 8.1 with Update 1). During this experiment, the first thing I discovered is your Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 license must be activated. If it’s not, Windows 10 setup is going to prompt you for a product key.

You can’t use a Windows 7 or Windows 8 key if you are upgrading. What you can do though is activate it using a Windows 7 or Windows 8 key after setup is complete; if you choose to perform a clean install. If it’s activated, then setup doesn’t prompt you. That’s it, you can upgrade without any further hindrance. There you go, my system upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 in 2017 for free. Check out the video below.

Editor’s Note: I’ve also done this a ton of times using my Windows 8 Pro license key that came with my installation DVD. The way I see it: I did take Microsoft up on its offer to upgrade for free when it was available. But every now and then, I like to do a clean Windows install. It makes sense that I should still be able to use the original license key that I paid for to get back to where I was before my reinstall.

What if my system is not activated?

If your Windows 7 or Windows 8 license is not activated and you are not interested in purchasing a license, then your options are limited. You do have some options though. Microsoft offers a 90 day trial of its Windows 10 Enterprise edition. Windows 10 Enterprise is normally distributed under Microsoft’s volume license program for large organizations that deploy Windows 10 in bulk. It’s a full-featured edition of the operating system but in this case, it’s really an evaluation version of the software. Users must register before they can download and install the software. This option is perfect for those users who are running Windows Vista or never had a genuine license, to begin with.

One workaround users can use to extend the usage of the Windows 10 Enterprise trial is to join the Windows Insider Preview Program. Be advised, when you sign up for Windows 10 Insider Previews, you are electing to download, install and use pre-release software still under heavy development. The risk is indeed high as evidenced by a recent unintended delivery of internal rough edge builds not even intended for users interested in bleeding edge.

Users do have the recovery options like rolling back within 10 days of upgrading – that is if you can boot the system. Regular backups such as creating system images, or storing files on OneDrive should make it safe enough to use Windows 10 Insider builds while getting a free copy of the software. But, again, use it at your own risk.

For users who already have an installed, activated copy of Windows 10, but would like a second copy setup maybe for compatibility purposes on a second drive or partition, there is a loophole available. I discovered that if you already installed and activated Windows 10 with a Digital License, you can do exactly that. Just install a second copy and it will activate without even asking questions. Previously, additional installations even on the same hardware required the purchase of an additional license in order to activate. The End User License Terms still says you do, but apparently, it is not enforced – for now.

The free upgrade situation is a bit ironic, and I mean that the same way Alanis Morisette meant it: not actually ironic, but rather unfortunate for a few individuals. Microsoft has been pushing a deadline for an entire year and I am sure many users with eligible Windows 7 and Windows 8 licenses ended up buying a full Windows 10 license – when technically, they already paid.

Anyway, those are the options still available if you still want to upgrade, let us know what you think. We are also interested to hear from the Windows Vista, 7, or 8 holdouts: what changed your mind after so long?

How to get Windows 10 cheap (or even for free)

Yes, you can get a properly activated version of Windows 10 for free.

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Windows 10 licenses are expensive—almost painfully so. Shelling out $139 for Windows 10 Home or $200 for Windows 10 Pro feels rough when Linux is free and Windows 7 still hasn’t been completely put down. That amount of cash can easily be a third of a budget PC build.

Deal alert: The PCWorld Software Store frequently sells Windows 10 editions at reduced prices. Make sure to check our Home and Pro listings before settling for full price.

But with less developer support for Linux and the end-of-life deadline rapidly approaching for Windows 7, Windows 10 is an inescapable necessity for most of us. What’s not a given is paying full retail.

Cheap Windows 10: Fast summary

The list below outlines our suggested methods, with links to the explanations of each.

• Easy:OEM license ($110-$150)
• Easy, with a caveat:Third-party sellers ($33-$35)
• Medium effort:Trying a Windows 7 or 8 key (Free)
• Medium-to-high effort:Education discount ($0-$15)

Yes, it’s possible to snag a discount on Windows 10. The amount you’ll save depends on how much hassle you can tolerate—as well as your circumstances. If you’re lucky, you could technically get Windows 10 for free. (Legitimately for free, because installing Windows 10 without ever activating it doesn’t quite count as getting a full, sanctioned copy of Windows.)

Packrat’s loophole: Try a Windows 7 or 8 key

If you have an old Windows 7 or Windows 8 PC lying around, you may still be able to reuse its key to activate Windows 10.

When Microsoft first launched Windows 10 back in 2015, it offered Windows 7 and Windows 8 users a truly free, no-strings upgrade to the new operating system. The promotion was only available for just one year—presumably to accelerate push up Windows 10 adoption rates—and expired in July 2016.

But even though Microsoft officially ended this program three years ago, it still has yet completely shut everything down. The activation servers have been allowing Windows 7 and 8 keys on some Windows 10 installs.

The Windows 7 or Windows 8 product keys that commonly work for this method are the retail and OEM varieties, while only sporadic reports exist for volume license keys (i.e., enterprise or educational licenses) working with this loophole.

While there’s no exact science for what works, the following guidelines take into account various data points floating around in articles, forums, and Reddit. First off, you’re limited to using keys for a specific version of Windows 7 or 8 with the equivalent in Windows 10. If you have a Windows 7 or 8 Home license, that will only work for Windows 10 Home, and Windows 7 or 8 Pro only work for Windows 10 Pro.

Microsoft

If using a Windows 7 or 8 key works for activation, a digital license will be issued to you.

An additional rule of thumb is that you may need a retail product key if you’re doing a clean install of Windows 10 on a new computer. OEM product keys should work if you’re doing an upgrade or clean install of Windows 10 on the machine the Windows 7 or 8 license is tied to.

If you don’t have your license key easily accessible, you can find it by using a program like Magical Jelly Bean Product KeyFinder. (You can read our step-by-step guide for how to use that particular program here.)

Once you have that on hand, you’ll enter it one of two ways: Either when prompted during the installation process if you’re doing a clean install, or through the “Change product key” option in the Activation section of Windows 10’s settings.

If the product key is recognized, you’ll be issued a digital license that associates your machine with the key, so you should be good to go for the future if this method ever expires, as Microsoft had previously said it would.

Easiest discount: An OEM license

Our next suggestion is a method that’s available to everyone and has the least amount of hassle: Purchasing an OEM license.

License types are different than operating system versions: They dictate what you can do with the software, while OS versions are distinguished by the features available. Multiple Windows license types exist, but the two commonly available to a home user are the retail and OEM varieties.

When you walk into a store or pop over to Microsoft’s website, handing over that $139 for Windows 10 Home (or $200 for Windows 10 Pro) gets you the retail license. If you visit an online retailer like Amazon Remove non-product link or Newegg, you can find both retail and OEM licenses for sale. You can usually spot an OEM license by its price, which tends to run about $110 for a Windows 10 Home license and $150 for a Windows 10 Pro license.

All the features of the operating system version are the same for both license types. The difference is that with a retail license, you can transfer the license key to a different PC later on.

The process for activating a Windows 10 OEM license is the same as for a retail license.

You can’t do that with an OEM license. In exchange for a lower price, you get to use the license key on only one PC, period. If you build a system but roll a new one four years later, you can’t transfer the license to the new machine.

Also, if the hardware used to identify your system fails—namely, the motherboard—Microsoft’s registration servers won’t recognize your license as valid after you replace the dead part. Microsoft has historically been kind about such situations, however; you can usually call to reactivate the license after replacing a fried mobo. But it is an extra hassle.

For further savings, you’ll have to wait for the rare sale or Black Friday, when you can get an OEM license in the neighborhood of $85 (Windows 10 Home) to $120 (Windows 10 Pro). Otherwise, if you want to shave down costs further, it’s going to take work—or a deep locus of calm when your associates criticize your life choices. (Skip down to «Low prices with a caveat” for details.)

Deepest savings: The education discount

Not all student discounts are reserved for the under-24 set. Your local community college might be a source for a free or extremely discounted copy of Windows 10—and it’s nearly the equivalent of Windows 10 Enterprise, to boot. You’ll just have to put in some legwork (perhaps literally) to get it.

As mentioned above, license types determine what you can do with Windows—and who can use it, as well. Through the Academic Volume Licensing agreements, schools can purchase access to Windows 10 Education for their students, faculty, and staff. Some make it available only on campus machines. Others will grant a license for use on a home machine.

In that latter camp are a number of community colleges, and they often make the Windows 10 license free or supremely affordable (usually $15). The catch: You have to sign up for at least one course to qualify for campus discounts.

For California’s community colleges, CollegeBuys is vendor through which you’ll “buy” Windows 10. Other states use OnTheHub, which has a tool to look up your school.

To get access to the software, you’ll typically need to register for your class first, then find and register separately at whatever online store your campus uses for software purchases. (Many community colleges use OnTheHub as their distributor, so you can use their lookup tool to begin research about your school’s options.) The storefront will require verification of your student status before you can «buy» Windows 10.

A one-unit class suffices, though, and depending on your state, it costs as little as $76 including administrative fees. Typical options are usually of the physical education or dance variety (swim, ballet, jazz, boot camp workouts, etc.), but you can also find the occasional class on topics like Beginning Drawing, Intro to HTML & CSS, and Video for the Web.

If you were already planning on taking a class in one of these subjects, you’re getting an amazing deal. Windows 10 Education, which is similar to the enterprise version of Windows 10, includes popular Windows 10 Pro features like Bitlocker encryption and the Windows 10 May Update’s Sandbox feature. You’re essentially getting Windows 10 Pro (and then some) for as much as 60 percent off and you get to learn something new.

Windows 10 Pro’s Bitlocker feature makes encrypting a drive a very easy process.

Even if you aren’t interested in the classes, you’re still paying considerably less than what you would for even a Windows 10 Pro OEM license. We don’t encourage truancy, but there’s nothing saying you have to show up for class, so long as you’re comfortable with a failing grade on your record.

Obviously, if your local community college doesn’t have an agreement with Microsoft in place, this strategy won’t work. Also, if the total cost of the class, administrative fees, and license fee adds up to more than the retail cost of a Windows 10 Pro license, and you wouldn’t have otherwise taken the class, that negates this deal, too. In those cases, your main options are the OEM license (outlined above) or buying through Kinguin (detailed below).

Note: If you use this method, also keep an eye out for other software deals through your school. For example, your school might offer a free Microsoft 365 account, or a heavily discounted Adobe Creative Cloud account (usually $20/mo).

Low prices with a caveat: Kinguin

Scoring Windows 10 at an 85 percent discount isn’t too good to be true, but this surprisingly low-hassle approach comes with a large dose of controversy.

Kinguin is a website that allows buyers to purchase product keys from third-party sellers—think of it like an eBay or Amazon Marketplace for digital software sales. To buy Windows 10, you’ll look through the Windows 10 Home OEM or Windows 10 Pro OEM listings, pick a seller’s product to add to your cart, and then check out. It’s the same as any other digital storefront.

What makes the license keys so cheap—and opinions about buying through Kinguin so fierce—is that they’re gray market at best. In other words, while not illegal, they’re likely extra keys from a volume licensing agreement that were never meant to be sold individually to home users. Opponents of Kinguin swear the keys will eventually lose their activation status because of their unknown origins.

Like on Amazon Marketplace, you pick a specific seller from which to buy the product (in this case, the Windows 10 license key).

These keys are also for an OEM license of Windows 10, which means they’re meant for only one PC to use at one time. So as mentioned above, if these keys are already somehow tied to an original (but unactivated) PC, things could go sideways during your own activation process.

Additionally, if you want to transfer the license to a different PC down the road, you can’t. On top of that, if the hardware used to identify your system (i.e., the motherboard) bites the dust and you replace it, Microsoft’s registration servers won’t recognize your system and automatically activate the key. Though Microsoft has historically gone easy on home PC builders caught in this situation, their goodwill may be harder to rely upon if you can’t prove that you directly purchased an OEM license from an authorized retailer.

Kinguin’s Buyer Protection works like eBay’s: If anything goes wrong with your purchase, you’re covered. It’s a must if you buy a license key through them.

Proponents of this method counter that buying Kinguin’s Buyer Protection (currently an additional $5.57, and included in the price listed above) covers you in sticky situations with bad sellers and eliminates the risk of troubles. In our office, staff members who’ve advocated this method of obtaining Windows 10 for years have reported no problems so far.

Each camp makes valid arguments, so ultimately, your comfort level with risk and gray market goods should determine whether this is the option for you. If you opt for this path, we recommend ignoring Windows 10 Home. An extra $2 for the Pro license nets you Bitlocker encryption and other Pro features, which are more than worth it.

Alaina Yee covers desktop PCs, computer components, mini-PCs, and more for PCWorld. Her favorite article to write is an annual piece combining her two loves: bargain hunting and PC building. You can find her on Twitter at @morphingball.