Windows 10 License Key

Why Windows 10 Activation Keys. To switch product keys, open Settings and go to Update & security Activation Change Product key. Enter the item key from Microsoft (VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T) within the area offered. The process that upgrades quite a little while to finish so be patient.

Microsoft allows anyone to download Windows 10 for free and install it without a product key. It’ll keep working for the foreseeable future, with only a few small cosmetic restrictions. And you can even pay to upgrade to a licensed copy of Windows 10 after you install it.

Whether you want to install Windows 10 in Boot Camp, put it on an old computer that isn’t eligible for a free upgrade, or create one or more virtual machines, you don’t actually need to pay a cent.

How to Download Windows 10 and Install it Without a Key

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First, you’ll need to download Windows 10. You can download it directly from Microsoft, and you don’t even need a product key to download a copy.

There’s a Windows 10 download tool that runs on Windows systems, which will help you create a USB drive to install Windows 10. If you aren’t on Windows, you can visit the Windows 10 ISO download page to download an ISO directly (say, if you’re installing Windows 10 in Boot Camp on a Mac). If you visit that page on a Windows machine, it’ll redirect you to the download tool page instead.

Just begin the installation process and install Windows 10 like you normally would. One of the first screens you’ll see will ask you to enter your product key so you can “Activate Windows.” However, you can just click the “I don’t have a product key” link at the bottom of the window and Windows will allow you to continue the installation process. You may be asked to enter a product key later in the process, too–if you are, just look for a similar small link to skip that screen.

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If you don’t see this option, you can also provide a KMS client setup key to continue. These keys won’t give you an activated copy of Windows unless you’re in an organization with a Key Management Service, but they will allow you to get through the Windows installation process.

When you select this option, you’ll be able to install either “Windows 10 Home” or “Windows 10 Pro.” Bear in mind that, if you plan to pay to upgrade to the paid version later, it’ll be cheaper to upgrade to Windows 10 Home, so you may want to install the Home version. Whatever version you choose, Windows 10 will install normally.

The Cosmetic Limitations

RELATED:How Does Windows Activation Work?

After you’ve installed Windows 10 without a key, it won’t actually be activated. However, an unactivated version of Windows 10 doesn’t have many restrictions. With Windows XP, Microsoft actually used Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) to disable access to your computer. These days, Windows just complains at you in a few minor, cosmetic ways.

Initially, you won’t notice a difference. Eventually, Windows will start nagging you a tiny bit. First, you’ll notice a watermark in the bottom-right corner of your screen. You’ll also see a “Windows isn’t activated. Activate Windows now.” link at the bottom of the Settings app. This is the only form of nag you’ll see–there are no pop-up windows, for example.

Second, you’ll be unable to change your desktop wallpaper and from the Personalization > Background screen in the Settings app. You’ll see a “You need to activate Windows before you can personalize your PC” message at the top of this window, and the options for changing your wallpaper will be grayed out.

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You can still change your wallpaper in other ways, however. For example, you can right-click an image in File Explorer and select “Set as desktop background.” You could also open an image in the Photos app, click the menu button, click “Set as,” and click “Set as background.” Windows 7 eventually switched you back to a black background, but Windows 10 doesn’t seem to do this.

You’ll find Windows 10’s included wallpapers under the C:WindowsWeb folder in File Explorer.

Aside from these basic limitations, your Windows 10 system will continue to work forever. There are no nag prompts aside from the watermark, you’ll get all the system updates, and everything else is completely functional. The only thing that could change this is a Windows 10 update, but Microsoft has become increasingly lenient since Windows 7.

How to Upgrade Windows 10 to an Activated Version

With Windows 10, you can now pay to upgrade a “non-genuine” copy of Windows to a licensed one. Open the Settings app and head to Update & Security > Activation. You’ll see a “Go to Store” button that will take you to the Windows Store if Windows isn’t licensed.

In the Store, you can purchase an official Windows license that will activate your PC. The Home version of Windows 10 costs $120, while the Pro version costs $200. This is a digital purchase, and it will immediately cause your current Windows installation to become activated. You don’t need to purchase a physical license.

We installed Windows 10 Professional as an example here, so the Windows Store will only let us purchase the $200 Windows 10 Pro license.

This option may not be available in all countries. The prices here are for the US version of the Windows Store. Microsoft charges different prices in different countries and currencies.

Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 worked about the same way. Microsoft just didn’t officially allow you to download Windows without a product key, and there was no way to fully upgrade to a licensed system from within Windows. That makes this all the more tempting with Windows 10–for example, you can install Windows 10 in Boot Camp on your Mac for free and, if you find yourself using it frequently, you can quickly pay to remove the watermark if that’s worth it for you. It’s like a free demo, and you can use it to make all the virtual machines you like for testing purposes.

Sure, the license agreement may say you’re not supposed to use it without a key, but Microsoft’s license agreements say all sorts of confusing things. Microsoft’s license agreement still forbids using the popular “OEM” copies of Windows 10 on PCs you build yourself. If Microsoft doesn’t want people using unactivated copies of Windows 10 for extended periods of time, it can release a system update that disables this.

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License

Microsoft charges $200 for a Windows 10 Professional product key. But, with a quick search online, you can find websites promising Windows 10 Pro keys for $12 or even less. That’s a huge savings—but don’t fall for it.

Why Are They So Cheap?

The websites selling cheap Windows 10 and Windows 7 keys aren’t getting legitimate retail keys straight from Microsoft.

Some of these keys just come from other countries where Windows licenses are cheaper. These are referred to as “gray market” keys. They may be legitimate, but they were sold for cheaper in other countries. For example, Windows keys were once much cheaper in China.

Other keys could have been purchased with stolen credit card numbers. A criminal acquires some credit card numbers, purchases a bunch of Windows keys online, and sells them through third-party websites at a cut rate. When the credit cards are reported as stolen and the chargebacks occur, Microsoft deactivates the keys, and those Windows installations are no longer activated—but the criminal gets away with the money people paid for them.

Some keys may be education keys intended for students but obtained fraudulently. Other keys may be “volume license” keys, which are not supposed to be resold individually.

On really sketchy websites, you may just be purchasing a completely fake key or an already-known key that was used to pirate Windows on multiple systems that has been blocked by Microsoft. An especially bad website might even steal the credit card number you use to buy the key and use it to start the credit card fraud game anew.

Windows 10 license key free

But Do They Work?

Okay, okay, so these keys are sketchy. But you’re wondering: Do they work?

Well, maybe. They often do work…for a while.

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We once bought a Windows 7 key for about $15 from one of these websites. We stuck it in a virtual machine, and it worked for about a year. After that, Windows started saying we “may be a victim of software piracy.” Our Windows license was no longer “genuine.”

In other words, at some point in that year, the key we purchased was flagged as bad by Microsoft. It was probably purchased with a stolen credit card number, and it was eventually blacklisted on Microsoft’s servers. So it stopped working, and we’d have to buy a new key.

That’s just one anecdote, but it’s our experience. Your key may never work in the first place, it may work for a month, or it may never be blacklisted at all. It all depends on where the key originally came from, and you’ll never know where that was.

These Keys Aren’t Legitimate

These keys just aren’t legitimate. By purchasing them, you may be supporting criminals who steal credit card numbers. Or, you may be rewarding people who abuse programs set up to help students and encouraging the shutdown of these programs.

We all know it: There’s no way a $12 Windows product key was obtained legitimately. It’s just not possible. Even if you luck out and your new key does work forever, purchasing these keys is unethical.

Be Suspicious Anywhere You See a Cheap Key

The keys we’re talking about here are often found on key reselling marketplaces like G2A (G2deal), Kinguin, and many other smaller sites. These sites also sell gray-market video game keys, which are also of questionable origin and may be revoked in the future. Polygon, a gaming website, has a good look at the problem with gray market game keys.

However, you could run into this problem on many websites. Websites like Amazon.com, eBay, and Craigslist are user marketplaces, and it’s often possible to find sellers with Windows 10 or Windows 7 product keys for far too cheap on these websites.

You may have an easier time filing a dispute after buying a shady key from Amazon.com, but just because you buy a $40 Windows 10 product key from someone on Amazon doesn’t mean it’s legitimate. Amazon is a huge marketplace, and it has a problem with counterfeiters. Amazon may not want to help you if your key works for a year before being revoked, either.

RELATED:I Got Scammed by a Counterfeiter on Amazon. Here’s How You Can Avoid Them

How to Get Windows 10 For Free

Okay, let’s say you need a Windows 10 license, and the cheap keys are all you can afford. Here’s what we recommend: Just don’t buy Windows 10.

We’re serious here. You can install and use Windows 10 without a product key. It will show you a watermark and nag you a bit, but you can use it without ever paying anything or providing a product key.

This is a good solution for installing Windows in an occasional virtual machine to test software. It’s also a decent stopgap if you’ve just built a PC and can’t afford a full retail Windows 10 license just yet.

We mean it: You’re better off not buying Windows than buying it through one of these websites.

When you’re ready to buy Windows 10, you can pay to upgrade directly from inside Windows 10’s Store, or by purchasing a legitimate product key and typing it into Windows 10’s Settings app.

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RELATED:You Don’t Need a Product Key to Install and Use Windows 10

How to Save Money on Windows 10 Keys

You can still save money on real Windows licenses, too! For example, we just looked, and Amazon is selling legitimate OEM Windows 10 Home licenses straight from Microsoft for $99 vs. the normal Microsoft Store retail price of $139. That’s far from $12, but authorized stores selling real, legitimate licenses often do undercut Microsoft’s prices, so you can find some legitimate savings if you look around.

Windows 10 license key student

Better yet, if you have an old Windows 7 or Windows 8 key, you can still install Windows 10 with that old key. Microsoft will give your PC a free “digital license” of Windows 10. Microsoft is being sneaky and continuing Windows 10’s free upgrade offer with this method.

And, assuming you already have a Windows 10 license, Windows 10’s Settings app can now help you move it between different PCs. So, if you’re switching to a new PC, you may be able to take your current license with you.

You may also be eligible for a program that helps you get a key for cheaper. For example, students may be eligible for cheaper (or free) Windows 10 product keys through their universities.

RELATED:You Can Still Get Windows 10 for Free With a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 Key

What About OEM Copies of Windows?

When buying Windows keys, you’ll see both “Full Version” or “Retail” licenses and “System Builder” or “OEM” licenses. Many of the legitimate keys sold on online stores like Amazon are “OEM” or “System Builder” keys that lock themselves to a single PC. Retail or “Full Version” licenses are generally a bit more expensive.

Windows 10 Activation Key Free

Unfortunately, Microsoft’s arcane licensing terms seem to forbid people from using OEM licenses on their own PCs. OEM licenses are only supposed to be used if you’re going to sell the PC, not use it yourself. However, Microsoft has changed its license back and forth over the years, and its messaging has been very confused.

Many average geeks building their own PCs continue to buy OEM copies of Windows for them, and we don’t blame them. Microsoft hasn’t ever tried to stop them, although the OEM license agreement technically forbids it. In fact, Microsoft continues selling OEM licenses to people building their own PCs through stores like Amazon without much up-front warning about the licensing issues.

RELATED:What’s the Difference Between the “System Builder” and “Full Version” Editions of Windows?

Windows 10 License Key Location

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Windows 10 License Key Amazon

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