Microsoft no longer allows Windows 7 and 8 owners to transition to Windows 10 or 11 for free. Although the announcement came on September 20, testing shows.
In brief: Anyone planning to use an old Windows 7 or 8 product key to activate Windows 11 should probably pull the trigger now if it isn’t too late. Microsoft has announced the end of a grace period that lasted several years. However, as of this writing, it remains open. Windows 10 users can still upgrade for free for the foreseeable future.
Microsoft no longer allows Windows 7 and 8 owners to transition to Windows 10 or 11 for free. Although the announcement came on September 20, testing shows that some paths through the loophole remain but could close soon. When Windows 10 launched in 2015, the company made the operating system free for Windows 7 and 8 users for one year. However, customers found they could still redeem the offer long after its official end in July 2016.
