Windows 10: If I am using windows 11 Pro licence in my PC and after sometime if I buys a new PC so can...

If I am using windows 11 Pro licence in my PC and after sometime if I buys a new PC so can I shift my licence to that new PC is it possible...?

:)

 

Transferring a retail Windows 11 Pro licence to a new PC

I have an old PC running Windows 11 Pro, "activated with a digital licence linked to your Microsoft account". This is a retail licence purchased from the Microsoft Store.



This old PC is now suffering from various hardware problems, so I have bought a new one. This has been running Windows 11 Home under an OEM licence, also "activated with a digital licence linked to your Microsoft account".

My question is, how do I deactivate the Windows 11 Pro licence on the old PC and activate it on the new PC? I know this is an obvious question, and after some searching I found one answer I thought addressed my particular issue.

I followed the steps set out in Redirecting but now I'm stuck. The troubleshooter on the new PC says "we found a Windows Home digital licence for this device running Windows 11 Pro. To activate using this digital licence, you need to install Windows 11 Home". At the final step, "See other devices linked to your Microsoft account" only shows the old PC, with the Windows 11 Pro licence. I am signed on to the same Microsoft account on both PCs and can see them both in "Devices".

I'm not worried about the licensing on the old PC, as it's going to be recycled anyway.

 

Transferring a retail Windows 11 Pro licence to a new PC

Hi Chandy

As you said in your original reply, "transferring a Windows 11 Pro license from one PC to another can be a bit tricky".

I followed your instructions, but Windows 11 Pro did not activate on the new PC. I contacted Phone Support, and was advised that this was because my Windows 11 Pro licence could not be transferred from the old PC. I was referred to a Technical Support agent, who advised downgrading to Windows 11 Home, which they did via Quick Assist. This resulted in a stop error. We gave up.

Today I read a few articles about downgrading, and they seemed to agree with the method taken. I rang Phone Support again, and was told I could transfer my Windows 11 Pro licence from the old PC. I was referred to a Technical Support agent who resolved the non-bootable state of the new PC (it helps if you select Windows 11 from Windows Boot Manager rather than Windows Setup!) The downgrade had failed, so my PC was returned to its exact condition of yesterday morning, which I don't think would have been the case had it succeeded. They also fixed the activation status (by means of dark arts, it seemed to me), which was all I wanted in the first place.

The morals of the story, for other readers:

1. don't assume you have the full picture In this case, be clear about what sort of Windows 10/11 licence you actually have: I think Windows 10 Home > Windows 10 Pro > Windows 11 Pro made the activation server report the retail licence as an upgrade licence, not that I understand the difference;

2. don't necessarily take the first answer you're given (and I mean no disrespect to Phone Support agents, it's not an easy job);

3. even if the agent is using Quick Assist, make sure you describe exactly what you see on the screen when the session is not running during a reboot.

Thank you very much, Chandy, for pointing me in the right direction.

Kind regards,

Mathew

 

Windows 10 Pro licence transfer to another PC

My current desktop PC has Windows 10 Pro installed. It was upgraded from its predecessor, Windows 7 Pro. However, it will be scrapped soon as I'm building a gaming PC now.

How do I transfer the Windows 10 Pro to my new gaming PC? What are the technical steps as Win 10 doesn't seem to have the licence key?

Thank you.