Licences for Windows 10/11 obtained via the 7/8.1 upgrade route are no longer valid
Licences for Windows 10/11 obtained via the 7/8.1 upgrade route are no longer valid
Hey everyone, I've been trying to figure this out after my call with a Microsoft support representative. It seems like few people are aware of what's happening. My hard drive failed last night and, even though it was supposed to be secondary, Windows got corrupted while loading through. I always have a fresh Windows 11 ISO ready on a bootable USB. After installing it, I get to the desktop and see an activation prompt. I keep troubleshooting, but the license shows up and activation fails. I contacted support, and they told me the original licenses for Windows 7/8.1 were revoked. Now, if my computer breaks or gets replaced, I need a brand new license. All the guidance I've read says upgrading from 7/8.1 is no longer possible. Just be cautious—don't upgrade unless you can afford the replacement!
Was die Laptop-Lizenz mitgeliefert (OEM)? Das würde sich natürlich auf das Gerät beziehen, da sie nicht übertragbar sein sollten. Wenn du den Windows-Version separat gekauft hast, ist das in Ordnung. Frag mich, ob Microsoft möglicherweise eine lange bestehende Ausnutzung geschlossen hat – früher konnten man mit beliebigen Win7-Keys Windows 10 oder 11 aktivieren. Wenn der Upgrade-Weg nicht mehr angeboten wird, könnte das Unternehmen das schließen.
I added extra to the laptop to get a retail version. They claimed for a long time they were closing the gap, but I remember last October when it closed for most users. My main concern was they never mentioned what would happen if Windows deactivates—even on the same machine. If that had been clear, I wouldn’t have invested in my setup. Now I’m paying £219.99 because Microsoft just revoked my license without notice. If I’d known about the revocation earlier, I’d have bought genuine Windows 11 OEM for £17 and upgraded parts myself instead of relying on them.
They definitely issued multiple warnings. Old OEM licenses are likely to be revoked soon (or already are). The situation raises legal concerns, though they claimed otherwise and acted accordingly. There are methods to reactivate it, but those are still illegal. I can't give you the details, bro.
About a year ago we discussed several points on this, they’re definitely closing that loophole. So what’s the issue? Just purchase the 17L OEM—at least it isn’t really illegal. OEMs can be sold within the EU at least, and GBs are likely similar there. In short, grey market isn’t really a problem here.
Thanks for the notification. My original key was created for Windows 7. After switching to Windows 10 and then to Windows 11, I’m checking if it still functions. If it doesn’t work post-upgrade, I’ll consider using Linux instead. Windows 11’s price is a concern, so I want to make sure it’s worth it.
They claimed they were fixing the loophole for the new upgrades, but didn't mention removing the old licenses or retail ones. OEMs remain available if you purchase hardware, though I’ll have to wait until I can afford a replacement drive before buying the OEM.
oh, ok that wasn't clear to me (even though you wrote it) my bad... that sucks. im still not sure what the announcements back then actually were, i think they might have just said win7/8 licenses and not about OEM licenses specifically. need to dig out the articles to be sure though. im pretty sure you could buy windows 10 "oem" or otherwise grey market licenses, maybe even 11, though? As said afaik it's legal (depending on how those were sourced obviously) but it's certainly a grey area and im not an expert on this - just what i would do, probably!