Windows 10 Fall Update is Set for November Release and breaking news which includes the same activation information Refer to the Insider Hub for more information on these activation improvements including requirements. If you do a clean install of Windows 10 by booting off the media, you can also enter the product key from prior Windows versions on qualifying devices during setup. If you install this build of the Windows 10 Insider Preview on a PC and it doesn’t automatically activate, you can enter the product key from Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 used to activate the prior Windows version on the same device to activate Windows 10 by going to Settings > Update & security > Activation and selecting Change Product Key. Up til now, to qualify for your free upgrade to Windows 10, you were required to successfully complete an upgrade on a qualifying machine before you could then perform a clean install of Windows 10.Īs from Insider Preview Build 10565 you can now activate using an existing Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 key which was previously used on that machine.įrom the Windows blog by Gabe Aul - Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10565ĭevice activation improvements: We have received a lot of feedback from Insiders on making it easier to activate Windows 10 on devices that take advantage of the free upgrade offer to genuine Windows by using existing Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 product keys. Note that currently some people are having trouble activating Windows 10 despite having legitimate versions - these problems seem to resolve themselves in timeĮdit: Removed unnecessary information about retrieving product keys It is, of course, entirely possible that Microsoft will create a new system for this soon, but for now this appears to be the only option.

In light of some of the confusion around this it's worth pointing out that although a lot of the Windows 10 licensing messaging has been unclear, the upgrade first requirement for clean installs has been something Microsoft have been talking about for as long as they have been talking of Windows 10 clean installs - so the system is 'working as intended'. During the clean install the product key entry should be skipped (multiple times if required) - the PC will still automatically activate when installation is complete.įrom what I understand Windows considers the motherboard to be the PC for the purposes of licensing, as long as the motherboard is the same the PC is licensed for Windows 10įor more detailed information on performing a clean install, see this article.

It is only once an upgrade has been done that you have a Windows 10 license at all.Īfter an upgrade has been performed that PC is licensed to use Windows 10 and a clean install can be done. Unfortunately, you must upgrade an existing installation before you are able to do a clean install of Windows 10.

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