Windows 7, 8 users may now have to pay to upgrade to Windows 10, 11

Windows 7 or Windows 8 users may now need to pay if they want to upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11. Microsft has announced it is ending its free upgrade offer for the older Windows versions. This essentially means Windows 10 or Windows 11 will be chargeable for users still stuck on Windows 7 or Windows 8. Microsoft had officially sunsetted the upgrade offer for Windows 7 and Windows 8 back in July 2016, but several users were still able to upgrade their Windows version for free. All they needed was the genuine keys they received with their copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8. That workaround will no longer work.

According to a Neowin report, Windows 7 or Windows 8 keys will no longer allow their users to get a free upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11. Although Windows 10 users can still upgrade to Windows 11 for free, per a message posted by Microsoft on its Device Partner Center website. “The installation path to obtain the Windows 7 / 8 free upgrade is now removed as well,” said the message. This is the final confirmation from Microsoft on the offer’s discontinuation after it remained available for about five years past its original deadline.

The free upgrade offer for Windows 7 or Windows 8 users after 2016 was sort of a loophole. When Windows 10 launched, Microsoft offered free upgrades to Windows 7 and Windows 8 users. That offer ended in 2016, but registering a Windows 10 copy through old keys continued to work. When Microsoft launched Windows 11, the same loophole that allowed free upgrades continued to work. That means Windows 7 or Windows 8 users could directly upgrade to Windows 11 without having to pay. But even though it was possible to upgrade for free, Windows 11 could not run on most devices compatible with Windows 7 or Windows 8.

Microsoft never officially extended the deadline, but it also never gave an explanation as to why this loophole existed and kept working for such a long period. Anyway, users with Windows 7 or Windows 8 may now go for a new machine and if their machine is compatible with a new Windows version, they will be required to pay.