2023-09-29 21:31:20
Microsoft has announced that it has fixed a flaw that allowed older product keys for Windows 7 and 8 to activate Windows 10 and Windows 11. The announcement, which was made on the Microsoft Device Partner Center portal, states that the update path upgrade to Windows 11 and 10 using a product key for Windows 7 has been removed. This upgrade option has existed since the launch of Windows 10 as a “free” update for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users. However, this free update, which was designed to last only one year, has remained open and worked with Windows 10 and Windows 11 until recently.
When Windows 10 first launched in 2015, Microsoft made the new operating system a free upgrade for all Windows 7 and Windows 8 users who did so within the first year of its release . After July 29, 2016, this offer expired and Windows 10 was no longer a free upgrade, except that it was. Indeed, even though Microsoft said the upgrade offer had expired, users found that they could still upgrade from Windows 7 and Windows 8 to Windows 10 without needing to purchase a new product key. Windows 10 accepted Windows 7 and 8 keys.
And when Windows 11 arrived in 2021, those old Windows 7 and Windows 8 keys continued to work, probably because under the hood, Windows 11 was just Windows 10 with a new coat of paint. But today, as we enter the new era of Windows, Microsoft is closing this loophole, increasing the number of free upgrade possibilities to Windows 11. The announcement of the end of free updates to Windows with old Product keys for Windows 7 and 8 quietly appeared on the Microsoft Device Partner Center portal on September 20. The Microsoft post states:
Microsoft’s free upgrade offer for Windows 10/11 ended on July 29, 2016. The installation path to get the free Windows 7/8 upgrade is now also removed. Upgrades to Windows 11 from Windows 10 are always free. This change is already in effect with the latest Windows Canary preview releases. Microsoft concludes the post by stating that product keys for Windows 10 will still be able to activate Windows 11, provided you are using Windows 11 on an eligible computer that officially supports the new operating system.
To upgrade to Windows 11, devices must meet the minimum requirements for Windows 11. Some Windows 10 features are not available in Windows 11. The requirements for some features and apps in Windows 11 will be higher than the minimum requirements for Windows 11. Windows 11. After Microsoft’s announcement, some sources reported this week that it is still possible to activate an installation of Windows 11 version 22H2 with a product key for Windows 7, but this does not work in the latest Insider build of the Canary Canal.
Just two months ago, I activated Windows 11 to a brand new version with an OEM key for Windows 7 that I purchased 14 years ago. I didn’t even expect it to work, but I decided to give it a try before paying for a new license. After this success, I honestly thought that they no longer cared about anything and that they wanted to have as many people as possible on Windows 11. So this is a surprise, we can read in the comments. However, some critics say they are confused by Microsoft’s decision as Windows 11 is barely gaining market share compared to Windows 10.
It is quite shocking that Microsoft has maintained this loophole for over 7 years after the original end date. Even more shocked that they chose the least opportune time to end it. It’s not like Windows 11 will set things on fire. So why choose to put in place an additional barrier for people to upgrade to Windows 11? This makes no sense to me, one reviewer wrote. According to Statcounter, Windows 11 has a 22.95% market share in May 2023. A small drop compared to April 2023 (23.11%). Windows 11 got closer to 25% market share in August.
According to some analysts, this may be more right, such as stopping abuse and increasing license sales for Windows. Some critics have pointed out that Steam will stop working on Windows 7 and 8 in less than 100 days. So, Microsoft may have decided it was a good time to get more sales from consumers who need to upgrade to keep access to their game library. Microsoft has not given any official reason for ending the option for users to activate Windows 11 with a product key for Windows 7 or 8. It is unclear whether it will do so.
It’s unclear exactly when this upgrade path will be removed from stable versions of the OS, but we’ve reached out to Microsoft for more details. Microsoft is therefore gradually filtering old versions during activation. This should be implemented within the next 24 hours. Those who still have an old key therefore still have time to activate, for example, Windows 11 23H2 with the key (license) and then upgrade to the new version. Additionally, activation via HWID servers has been revised after years. Some sources indicate that this activation was deactivated overnight.
Thus, volume key activations via KMS are now refused and only work via MAS (Microsoft Activation Scripts). It is therefore entirely possible that keys purchased for a few “cents” as volume keys on the network no longer work upon new activation. Activation via MAS (Microsoft Activation Scripts) remains valid.
Source : Microsoft
And you ?
What is your opinion on the subject?
What do you think about the end of upgrades from Windows 7/8 to Windows 10/11?
Why do you think Microsoft has allowed this flaw to persist until now?
And why did you finally choose to close it? What could be the reasons?
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