So i'm currently 106 in the queue to speak to Answerdesk but i thought i'd ask here in the mean time. I have 2 Windows 8 upgrade licenses which I've had confirmed are reporting as Retail licenses. I upgraded those to Windows 8.1 and now I've gone to Windows 10. They are retail so i should be able to move them to another system. My question is.. how? If I find myself with a brand new blank machine in 2 years time, how do i utilize these retail licenses when effectively i have no key? Will my Windows 8 keys activate 10? Will i need to use a generic install key and then slmgr my windows 8 keys? I'm not holding out much hope for Answerdesk to be able to answer this, but i was hoping someone had already figured this out somewhere in the myriad of Windows 10 threads going on at the moment....
MS says you can't and it doesn't matter that they are retail. When you accepted the free upgrade you gave away your retail license. Of course with that being the facts of what they say you can always try a phone activation.
during the use of Win10, however at any time you can roll back or reinstall 7 or 8.1 and use your original retail key as always. 10's free upgrade is for the lifetime of a device, non-transferable to other systems, part of being free. Buying a retail $199.99 USD will be transferable I would think.
That's dissapointing.. but thanks for the info.. I'll paste the transcript when i eventually get a chat.
Thank you, I am interested to see if what we know can be worked around with them. Would be nice to see them dump some type of retail key because we BS them in their chat LOL
Yes, you could roll back and then move 8.1 to a new machine and then upgrade it again (I think) as long as you do it in the first year.
sounds feasible to me. Figure you went back to your Retail that can move to another machine. Move, perform the upgrade before the year is up. Sounds like it would work.
It more than likely would, you're right.. i was just hoping for a bit more future proofing than the first year.. But I guess i can only expect so much life out of a license / product..
They made it easier for themselves by making the upgrade free..if you had to pay for it even if it was a nominal fee then you would probably still be able to move it.
lol good luck, Im off to bed. 1252am and need up at 5. Im actually getting more sleep tonight than usual. Looking forward to your chat log
Found this FAQ from Microsoft Answer: When I upgrade a preinstalled (OEM) or retail version of Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 license to Windows 10, does that license remain OEM or become a retail license? If you upgrade from a OEM or retail version of Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 to the free Windows 10 upgrade this summer, the license is consumed into it. Because the free upgrade is derived from the base qualifying license, Windows 10 will carry that licensing too. If you upgrade from a retail version, it carries the rights of a retail version. If you upgrade from a OEM version, it carries the rights of a OEM version. Full version (Retail): - Includes transfer rights to another computer. - Doesn't require a previous qualifying version of Windows. - Expensive Upgrade version (Retail): - Includes transfer rights to another computer. - require a previous qualifying version of Windows. - Expensive, but cheaper than full version h*t*t*p://answers*microsoft*com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-windows_install/can-i-transfer-windows-10-to-another-computer/3704e5b9-0a43-4d29-9492-0792181a8a44
I heard a rumour that there would be some kind of special offer for "pirates" but i've not seen anything since.. If they could offer $50 retail licenses then i'd be all for it.. Either that or i'll have to wait until KMS7 is implemented (if they ever do) and see what the MDL wizards come up with
So unless i'm reading that wrong.. it would suggest that i can move my licenses.. as they have retained their retail status....?
Yes it will retain the retail status as they answered in that FAQ, you may need to input the Windows 8 key during install, I'm not sure of the exact process though.
Except you can't enter a windows 8 key, it won't accept it..so although I agree it seems to say that I don't know how you do it. Of course pretty much any pc you have is upgradable for free anyway and any new ones coming out will already have w10 so I'm not sure it matters much unless you plan on building one and then there is always KMS.