How To Upgrade To Windows 10 For ‘Free’ In 2020 [Updated]

Windows 10 still has problems but Windows 7 is about to hit the scrap heap (and Windows 8 is a pointless sideways move). As such, millions of users must soon jump to Windows 10 for the safety of their data and Microsoft charges $139 for the standard edition. But what if I told you there’s a legal way you can still upgrade for free?

02/04 Update: Now Windows 7 has now reached end of life it is no longer safe to store your data on the platform because all new vulnerabilities will be left exposed. Consequently. I’ve received a lot of updates asking if this free upgrade hack for Windows 10 still works. I’ve just retested it and it does. I will continue to check this monthly due to high demand.

Free Windows 10 upgrades are still available

Yes, this is no joke. Despite Microsoft ending its free Windows 10 upgrade offer to all users on July 30, 2016, the company has (in my opinion, knowingly) left open a loophole. There’s just one snag: you will need a legal copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8 to do this.

Tip: if you don’t have one, you can buy a legal copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8 at third part retailers for a fraction of the cost of a Windows 10 licence. Home licences update to Windows 10 Home, Pro licences update to Windows 10 Pro, so choose carefully.

With that caveat out the way, here’s how you get your Windows 10 free upgrade:

1. Click on the Windows 10 download page link here
2. Click ‘Download Tool now‘ — this downloads the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool.
3. When finished, open the download and accept the license terms
4. Choose: ‘Upgrade this PC now‘ then click ‘Next’
5. Choose ‘Keep personal files and apps’
6. Click ‘Install’ (note this takes some time and involves multiple restarts)
7. Once installed, open: Settings > Windows Update > Activation to activate your Windows 10 digital license.
8. OR enter your (genuine) Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 product key if you haven’t previously activated your old version of Windows

How to get the Windows 10 Free upgrade + assistive technologies free upgrade availability after July 29th 2016

Technical Level : Basic

Microsoft will release Windows 10 its next generation operating system on July 29th 2015

Please note that after July 29th 2016 the free upgrade offer ended, however it is still active for users of assistive technologies.

Learn how Windows 10 will be distributed and what you need to do to reserve your free copy.

Windows 10 free upgrade for customers who use assistive technologies
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/windows10upgrade

Windows 10 Upgrade Requirements:

Windows 8 users must have Windows 8.1 with Update 1 installed.

Read the following article:

To check if the necessary Windows Updates have been installed:

First verify that you have IE11 installed? If not then download and install IE11: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/ie-11-worldwide-languages

1) Verify that for Windows 8.1 KB3035583 and KB2976978 are installed.

(KB3035583 and KB2952664 for Windows 7)

Open Windows Update as follows:

Right click on ‘Start’ / Control Panel / Windows Updates and in the bottom left corner click on the ‘Installed Updates’ link.

In the upper right corner there is a ‘Search Installed Update’ box. Enter the appropriate pair of KB numbers (one at a time) for your version of Windows. Example: KB3035583

Note: If these updates were installed within the last week continue on to step #2, otherwise un-install both updates and re-install them and then continue to step #2.

2) Open Windows ‘Task Scheduler’ (Start / Computer / Manage) and navigate to:

Computer Management / System Tools / Task Scheduler / Task Scheduler Library / Microsoft / Windows / Application Experience

3) Right click on ‘Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser’ and select the ‘Run’ option. You may need to wait anywhere between 10 to 30 minutes or more for the task to complete and return to the ‘Ready’ Status. Press the F5 key to refresh the ‘Status’ about every 10 minutes.

4) Open File Explorer in Windows 8.1 and navigate to the C:\Windows\System32\GWX folder. Right click on the GWX.exe file and select the ‘Run as administrator’ option. Click ‘Yes’ when prompted.

5) Let the computer idle, keep your laptop connected to AC power and about 1 hour (take a good movie break), more if you have a slower computer (about 2 hours to play it safe) and if the GWX icon is still not displayed, shut you device totally down (do not hibernate or go into Sleep mode) for the night.

6) The next day power on the computer and wait about 30 minutes, the GWX icon should now be visible.

7) Click on the GWX icon in the taskbar and view the 6 slide presentation. You’re now ready to immediately make your reservation or wait a while as it’s a free upgrade for a year starting on July 29th, 2015

The Get Windows 10 app will provide with a tutorial of how the reservation works.

•Reserve your FREE upgrade to Windows 10 now. It will download* once available, and you can cancel your reservation at any time.

•You’ll get a notification after Windows 10 is downloaded to your device. Install it right away or pick a time that’s good for you.

•After it’s installed, Windows 10 is all yours.

Learn more about the new features:

Windows 10 Faqs:

Additional Wiki articles you may want to read:

How to upgrade to Windows 10 for free in 2021

By Bryan Clark 22 March 2021

Here’s how to upgrade to Windows 10 without spending a penny

Microsoft shut down its free Windows 10 upgrade program in November 2017. If you didn’t get your free version of its best operating system to date, you were pretty much out of luck. Or, so we thought. It turns out, you can still upgrade to Windows 10 without spending a dime.

It turns out there are several methods of upgrading from older versions of Windows (Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1) to Windows 10 Home without paying the $139 fee for the latest operating system.

Keep in mind that this workaround won’t necessarily work all the time. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to pay the Windows 10 Home license fee or, if your system is older than 4 years, you might want to buy a new one (all new PCs run on some version of Windows 10). You will certainly need to upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8 if you are still running those legacy operating systems as Microsoft no longer supports them.

How to Upgrade to Windows 10 for free

1. Ensure you’re using a genuine copy of Windows 7 or later. Anything older will not work (please, if possible, buy a new system if you’re using Window XP or Vista). If you’re using Windows 7, write down the activation key (you may need this later). A free tool like NirSoft’s ProduKey will help you find it.

2. This is a good stop to pause and back up anything you’d like to save on your current PC before continuing. Follow our Windows 10 backup instructions on how to do so.

3. Visit the Windows 10 download page. This is an official Microsoft page that may allow you to upgrade for free. Once you’re there, open the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool (press «download tool now») and choose «Upgrade this PC now.»

4. Accept the terms and choose the upgrade options that lets you keep your files and preferences. Again, having a backup ready at this point is very important so save everything to the cloud or to an SSD or USB.

5. Reboot your computer and connect it to the internet. Open Settings and choose «Update & Security» and click «Activation.» From here, you can see if the Windows 10 upgrade worked. If not, press an «Activate» button (if there is one); this will create a digital Windows 10 product key. Try using your Windows 7 or Windows 8 license key.

Now that you know how to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, be sure to check out our other Windows 10 tutorials below, including tips on how to uninstall programs on Windows 10, how to find your MAC address in Windows 10, how to create a new folder in Windows 10 and more.

Upgrade to Windows 10 For Free (2021 Guide)

People can still update previous Windows versions to Windows 10 for free in 2021

It has been four years since Microsoft ended the offer to get Windows 10 for free by updating from previous versions in 2016. It was a simple process that merely required a quick click on the upgrade button from the notification. Yet, many people have still been able to update their Windows 7 and 8 operating systems to the newest one in 2021. The only thing is required — an authentic version of previous Windows versions and its activation key.

The idea why people should use Windows 10 free download is because the official support for Windows 7 has been discontinued since January 14, 2021. It means that the operating system is no longer being updated, bugs are not fixed, and users receive no technical support. In other terms, it is no longer safe to either use or store data on Windows 7 for security reasons, such as Zoom vulnerabilities. Essentially, even FBI recommends switching from Windows 7 to 10. Unfortunately, it is most likely that Windows 8 support will be ended in the near future as well.

Experts believe that Microsoft has left a loophole to upgrade to Windows 10 free for people who have previously used authentic Windows versions intentionally. Currently, Windows 10 has over 1 billion active users and the number is only increasing. If you are using an earlier variant of the operating system, you can also upgrade it without any additional fees or breaking any rules.

Geek’s Advice team has created a guide on how you can get Windows 10 free download full version 2021. Our cybersecurity experts strongly advise you to follow these instructions as they are not breaking any laws and does not include dubious third-party tools or other illegal software. People should be aware that using any unverified programs to get the newest Windows version can lead to serious computer infections and other dangerous consequences.

What you need to know before updating your PC

Please note that if you were previously using Windows Home edition, your computer will be updated to Windows 10 Home version. Just like Windows Pro license is updated to Windows 10 Pro free. In case you are eager to change your OS edition, you must purchase a new license key for the edition you desire. For example, if you have Windows 8 Home, you must buy a new license before updating it to Windows 10 Pro. Otherwise, you will end up with Windows 10 Home.

Furthermore, keep in mind that these instructions do not work on Windows XP or Windows Vista as these variants were not entitled to a free Windows 10 upgrade tool in the first place. Therefore, people should not try to update these operating systems as the process will not bring any benefit.

Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 users will find instructions to show how to use a media creation tool to download windows 10 Microsoft. Before even starting the process, users should make sure that they have approximately 4GB of free space and only then follow each step attentively to avoid any issues and successfully update their operating systems.

Recommendation: back up your personal files first

Before you begin upgrading to Windows 10, we recommend you to create a backup copy of your personal files first. This is an extra security step to protect your files in case anything goes wrong. Besides, many people tend to store many important files and folders on the desktop, which might get deleted during the upgrade.

For that reason, we recommend you to either backup your data using an external data storage device, or use a trustworthy backup software.

How to Upgrade to Windows 10 for Free

This method explains how to update your OS for free using Windows 10 upgrade tool from Microsoft.

1. Find an official Windows license key that might be attached to your PC’s motherboard or sign in to your Microsoft account and check it there;
2. Go to Download Windows 10 Website;
3. Navigate down until you find Create Windows 10 Media Installation section;
   
4. Press the Download Tool Now button and wait for the download to finish (takes up no more than 2 minutes);
   
5. Open MediaCreationTool2004.exe file from your downloads folder;
   
6. Once Windows 10 Setup launches, press the Accept button to Microsoft’s terms and conditions;
   
7. Select Upgrade this PC now or Create installation media for another PC option depending on if you want to install Windows 10 on this computer or another device and press Next;
   
8. You can choose from three possibilities: Keep personal files and apps, Keep personal files only, and Nothing; Select the option according to your needs;
9. Press the Install button and wait until the installation is finished;
   
10. Once your PC restarts, navigate to Settings > Update & Security > Activation;
11. Here, you will see the Windows Edition and License information for the current system.

The suggested method has been tested and confirmed by many computer-related websites and is known to be working at the time of writing as well. We hope that you found this guide useful and you will patch current security vulnerabilities in your OS by upgrading to Windows 10 for free.

Scott Bolton is a senior content strategist in our Geek’s Advice team. He is exceptionally passionate about covering the latest information technology themes and inspire other team members to follow new innovations. Despite the fact that Scott is an old-timer among the Geeks, he still enjoys writing comprehensive articles about exciting cybersecurity news or quick tutorials.