All Windows users are excitedly waiting for upgrading to Windows 10 from their previous version of Windows, and hope you are also one of them. Most of the people have already installed Windows 10 technical preview and enjoying its exclusive features, while some of them are busy in upgrading to the latest build of Windows technical preview (Build 9926).
One of the most important and interesting good news for all Windows users is – You can free upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, but the offer is only for a year.
It means, if your computer, notebooks, or mobile etc. are running on Windows 7 or 8.1 operating system then you can upgrade to Windows 10 free within the first year.
The announcement made by Microsoft about “Windows 10 free upgrade for the first year” is quite interesting and all users are extremely happy. But the people are curious to know that which edition of Windows 7 and 8.1 qualify for this free update to Windows 10. So, let’s know about it in detail:
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Free Upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1
At the special event of Windows 10 (Microsoft Office in Redmond), the company announced various attractive and new features such as: Cortana voice assistant on the desktop, Updated Start menu, New app settings, New photo app, New maps app, Xbox app, Windows Store beta etc. for the OS. At the same event, Microsoft announced:
We will offer a free upgrade to Windows 10 for qualified new or existing Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 devices that upgrade in the first year. And even better: once a qualified Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it up to date for the supported lifetime of the device, keeping it more secure, and introducing new features and functionality over time – for no additional charge.
It means, once the final version of Windows 10 is released, you can free upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 for a period of one year. Once your device is successfully upgraded to the new OS, the company will continue to keep it up to date for the supported lifetime of the device without any cost.
But if you upgrade to Windows 10 after the first year then you will have to pay the license fees. The license fees are not yet disclosed by Microsoft, but hopefully the company will announce soon.
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Additional requirements for Windows 10 free upgrade:
If you are looking for the answer of “Does all Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs qualify for the free update?” then its answer is “yes” but the condition is the hardware must be supported with Windows 10 Operating system.
Although, the Windows 10 hardware requirements is fully similar to Windows 8.1, so almost all Windows devices will qualify for the free upgrade. In case, you are not familiar with the system requirements for Windows 10 then see → from here
Here are some additional requirements for free upgrade:
- If your computer is running on Windows 7 without SP1 then you will have to install it.
- In case, you haven’t upgraded to Windows 8.1 from Windows 8 operating system then firstly you will have to upgrade to Windows 8.1 for free upgrade to Windows 10.
- Few editions of Windows are excluded from Windows 10 free upgrade: Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 8 Enterprise, Windows 8.1 Enterprise, Windows RT, and Windows RT 8.1.
- Interesting news, The Active Software Assurance customers in volume licensing have the benefit to upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise outside of this offer.
In simple words, it can be said – except for Enterprise and RT versions, all other Windows versions are eligible for Windows 10 free upgrade.
Feel free to ask or share your view with us through comments. What do you think about Windows 10 free upgrade for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 operating system?