Windows 10: Can't use win 7, 8, 8.1 keys after July 29th

Discus and support Can't use win 7, 8, 8.1 keys after July 29th in Windows 10 News to solve the problem; That's an interesting statement. Assuming auto-activation this way is stopped, this should eliminate the clean install of 10 pro on an 8.1 core... Discussion in 'Windows 10 News' started by sneekez, Jul 21, 2016.

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  1. ALPHANUMERIC
    alphanumeric New Member

    Can't use win 7, 8, 8.1 keys after July 29th


    That's what I'm hoping?
     
    alphanumeric, Jul 21, 2016
    #16
  2. ALPHANUMERIC
    alphanumeric New Member

    Mobile is a free upgrade anyway, isn't it? If and when the service provider decides to push it out.
     
    alphanumeric, Jul 21, 2016
    #17
  3. F14TOMCAT
    f14tomcat Win User
    Oh, I don't know. I don't have a W-Phone. I use my trusty S4. (no debate intended *chuckle). Have no idea what Verizon, Sprint, et al will do. Guess if the providers pay M$, then they can sub-license it out any way they want to.
     
    f14tomcat, Jul 21, 2016
    #18
  4. ALPHANUMERIC
    alphanumeric New Member

    Can't use win 7, 8, 8.1 keys after July 29th

    I don't own a cell phone, smart or dumb, lol. That's why I asked.
     
    alphanumeric, Jul 21, 2016
    #19
  5. RPMTL
    RPmtl Win User
    Perhaps I'm wrong. But it's been my understanding that when your machine is activated its details (processor, motherboard, numbers etc..) are somehow registered in a MS database and activation keys will no longer be used except with new copies of Win10 being installed for the first time.

    After July 29 those (first time install keys) will be the only keys that can be used. Any reinstall will simply check your machine number in the database and if it's there you're good to go. Embedded Win 8.1 keys would only be needed if doing a clean install of that same OS and will no longer be eligible for the free Win10 update offer.

    R
     
    RPmtl, Jul 21, 2016
    #20
  6. F14TOMCAT
    f14tomcat Win User
    I believe you are correct.
     
    f14tomcat, Jul 21, 2016
    #21
  7. ALPHANUMERIC
    alphanumeric New Member
    That's what were hoping happens.

    Right now once you do the free upgrade that PC gets a digital entitlement. That's stored on the activation server. You can then clean install, do a skip when asked for a KEY, and activate with the digital entitlement. Microsoft along the way decided to let you clean install with a Windows 7 or 8/8.1 key, without having to upgrade first. They even went so far as to have the Windows 10 install media check your BIOS for OEM keys.
    On my laptop, that has a Windows 8.0 OEM embedded key, I don't get any option to skip entering a key or select Home or Pro. 10 Home is installed by default. Even though I originally did the free upgrade from 8.1 Pro and got 10 Pro. I then have to take extra steps to upgrade from Home to Pro, or modify my install media to install Pro instead of Home. for me, now that I know what to do, its no big deal. I just add a PID.txt file to my install media. Which I'll likely do anyway just to speed things up on a clean install. If they stop looking for 8/8.1 keys though, it will make life easier for others wondering why it did that. Why didn't I get the selection menu?
     
    alphanumeric, Jul 21, 2016
    #22
  8. ORLBUCKEYE
    orlbuckeye Win User

    Can't use win 7, 8, 8.1 keys after July 29th

    The only difference is the Upgrade install app won't be free.
     
    orlbuckeye, Jul 21, 2016
    #23
  9. ORLBUCKEYE
    orlbuckeye Win User
    A clean install looks for your digital entitlement for Windows 10 not a previous key.
     
    orlbuckeye, Jul 21, 2016
    #24
  10. DEBBIE
    Debbie Win User
    Sorry if this has been answered before. (Am asking this on behalf of a friend who doesn't want W10 in spite of my encouraging her to upgrade) - After 29th July will the GWX icon in notification tray go away, stop giving reminders to upgrade or what?
     
    Debbie, Jul 21, 2016
    #25
  11. ORLBUCKEYE
    orlbuckeye Win User
    New with the Anniversary Update: To stop alot of the activation failures and need to call MS.

    Home or Pro versions are part of the Digital Entitlement. That is one of the reason MS is adding a link from Digital Entitlement to your MS account. Previous if you did an anytime upgrade from Win 10 home to Pro after the activating linking to your account will show you have Pro now and Pro will be activated without having to call MS.
     
    orlbuckeye, Jul 21, 2016
    #26
  12. ORLBUCKEYE
    orlbuckeye Win User
    Yes supposedly it will go away.
     
    orlbuckeye, Jul 21, 2016
    #27
  13. NAVYLCDR
    NavyLCDR New Member

    Can't use win 7, 8, 8.1 keys after July 29th

    A clean install first looks for product keys stored in BIOS/UEFI firmware.

    After July 29th, nothing will change on the Windows client end (local computer). Clean installs and upgrades will continue on the local computer exactly the same as before. What will happen is that Microsoft activation servers will stop handing out new digital entitlements for free. It's a whole lot easier for Microsoft to flip that one single software switch on their server than it is to rewrite the activation code in Windows released to the public.
     
    NavyLCDR, Jul 21, 2016
    #28
  14. CEREBERUS
    cereberus Win User
    Yeah - sums it up nicely.

    Look forward to seeing what happens when you try to upgrade windows 8 on a pc where digital licence was established after the free period ends as we discussed in

    Reupgrading after the free period ends. - Windows 10 Forums
     
    cereberus, Jul 21, 2016
    #29
  15. ALPHANUMERIC
    alphanumeric New Member
    Not at the moment. It looks for OEM embedded keys during setup. If one is found its used. I verified it myself on my laptop. Once you log in, it then checks for a Digital Entitlement. If there isn't one already, one is created for that PC. You won't see this behavior on a Windows 7 PC because they don't use embedded keys. Do a clean install on an OEM Windows 8/8.1 PC and it will use the OEM key. I get 10 Home on my laptop when I'm actually entitled to 10 Pro. I did my free upgrade from a Retail 8.1 Pro install.
     
    alphanumeric, Jul 21, 2016
    #30
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Can't use win 7, 8, 8.1 keys after July 29th

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