Windows 10: Downgrade Windows Pro to Home

Hi,

I've been given my work laptop (running Windows Pro) for personal use under the condition that I buy my own license for it. I've bought a Windows home product key and tried to change the product key to my new 'home' key but it failed. Reading on the web this does not seem as straightforward as I would have hoped.


I then tried wiping the hard drive with HDShredder and reinstalling from a Windows USB key created via the Windows media creation tool on a different PC. This just reinstalled Windows 10 Pro with the same original product key.


Any ideas on the correct steps to take pro off replace with home and use a different product key?


Thanks,

GM

:)

 

How to downgrade Win7 pro to WinXP

I have bought Windows 7 pro edition which is downgradable. The question is how to downgrade ?
After the downgrade what is going to be the s/n of the XP is it going to be the same S/N of the Windows 7 pro that I have downgraded ?
And is it possible to install Windows XP with the Windows 7 pro serial number ?
And if I want to end up with XP downgrade is it the only way ?

 

How to Windows 10 Pro OEM downgrade to Windows 7 Pro

Understanding downgrade rights
Updated 11/30/2016

Important: the information on this page is intended for system builders and the downgrade rights that apply to their customers. If you are a customer of a direct OEM, please contact your OEM for more information about downgrade rights. If
you are a direct OEM, please contact your Microsoft Account Manager.

Downgrade and down-edition rights are an end-user right that Microsoft offers to customers for certain OEM products which meet the technical requirements for a Windows software downgrade. Downgrade rights are documented in the Microsoft Software License
Terms that customers accept upon first running Windows and Windows Server software. Thanks to downgrade rights, end users who have acquired a later version of the software (such as Windows 10 Pro or Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard) can use an earlier version
of the software until they are ready to migrate to a later version technology.

If a product includes downgrade rights, the license terms for that product will indicate which earlier versions of the software may be used.

Downgrade rights will vary depending on if the software was acquired via volume licensing, OEMs, or full packaged product (FPP).

Downgrade rights for Windows software
The following OEM versions of Windows software are eligible for downgrade rights.

Windows 10 Pro includes downgrade rights to:

• Windows 8.1 Pro
• Windows 7
  
  Professional

Windows 8.1 Pro includes downgrade rights to:

• Windows 7 Professional
• Windows Vista Business

Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate include downgrade rights to:

• Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Ultimate
• Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, or Windows XP x64 Edition

Note Other OEM Windows 7 versions (for example, Windows 7 Home Basic and Windows 7 Home Premium) do not include downgrade rights.

Note downgrade rights are only available as long as Microsoft provides support for that earlier version, as outlined in the
Windows lifecycle fact sheet.

Steps for an end user to downgrade Windows software

To downgrade eligible Windows software, end users must:

• Purchase a PC preinstalled with Windows software.
• Accept the Microsoft Software License Terms.
• Perform the downgrade process to the eligible downgrade product using the media/key from a genuine, previously licensed OEM or retail product.

The downgrade process

Follow these steps to downgrade to an earlier version of Windows software:

• Use genuine Windows media and a corresponding product key for the version of Windows that is eligible for downgrade. The media/key should come from a previously licensed product from the OEM or retail channel.
• End users who are licensed separately through Microsoft Volume Licensing (VL) may provide their VL media and key to a system builder to facilitate the downgrade on their own systems.
• Insert the downgrade-eligible version of Windows media and follow the installation instructions.
• Enter the product key.
• If the software was previously activated, it cannot be activated online. In this case, the appropriate local Activation Support phone number will be displayed. Call the number and explain the circumstances. When it is determined that the end user has an
  eligible Windows license, the customer service representative will provide a single-use activation code to activate the software. Please note that Microsoft does not provide a full product key in this scenario.
• Activate the software.

For scenarios involving large volume downgrades, end users are encouraged to consider VL which provides the benefits of reimaging rights and volume activation, which can make the process of downgrading much easier.

Authorizing a third party to exercise downgrade rights for an end user

Because downgrade rights apply to end users, they are not designed for third-party facilitation, which has many complications. Also, such facilitation is not suitable for carrying out on a large scale.

 

Downgrade from Windows 10 Pro to Home Single Language

Hi,

To assist you better on how to downgrade from Windows 10 Pro to Home Single Language, we'd like to know if you're getting any error messages.

Meanwhile, we suggest that you follow the steps shared by Andre Da Costa on this

thread on how to downgrade from Windows 10 Pro to Home.

Keep us posted if you need additional help.