When upgrading a Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 computer with the Media Creation Tool, your older license will be converted to a Windows 10 digital license tied to that device.Īfter upgrading, this digital license allows you to perform a clean install of Windows 10 on the device, continue upgrading to newer versions of Windows 10, and potentially get a free upgrade to future versions of Windows.Īccording to a Reddit user named CokeRobot, who claims to be a Microsoft worker, Windows 10's free upgrade for a year was 'marketing fluff' to maximize the operating system's adoption.ĬokeRobot also shed some light on the now-expired Windows 10 free upgrade offer. This promotion ended in 2017, but a method still exists to upgrade older computers to Windows 10 for free.Īlmost six years later and the latest Windows 10 version 2004 feature update released in May 2020, Microsoft has quietly turned a blind eye to the fact that you can use the Media Creation Tool to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. When Windows 10 was first released, Microsoft announced a promotion that allowed Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. Note: This article was originally posted on December 1st, 2019, but has since been updated to reflect the current version of Windows 10 and new steps that should be taken to prevent problems with the upgrade.
