Windows 10: Retail license W10 upgrade permanent?

So the MS position on upgraded Win 7 / 8 machines is straight-forward: for the life of the device. But what does this mean for non-OEM people, who are using a retail Windows license, which they upgrade to Windows 10?

If they get a new PC, and install Windows using their retail key, what will happen? Will it lose its upgraded status on a new PC, and will they then only be able to install Windows 7 or 8 with it - whichever it originally was for? Will it not be accepted as a Windows 7 / 8 key any longer? Will it work to register the new PC for Windows 10 (de-registering its association with the previous hardware)?

The only restriction for retail licenses is that they can be used on one PC at a time - but there is no limit to the number of times it can be transferred to a new PC. This doesn't harmonize with the MS statement of "for the lifetime of the device" - but MS can't take away a person's owned Win 7 / 8 retail license - which should supposedly be upgraded to Win10 status.

I'm guessing the same license will transfer as usual, and allow Windows 10 to be installed on new PC hardware, just as it works for doing that with Windows 7 / 8. But MS haven't addressed this in particular. Their statements seem to only acknowledge OEM license considerations.

:)

 

I have a W8 Retail license key. If I upgrade the key to W10 now, what does that mean for future installations after 29 July of 2016?

Thanks for the link. I came across the summary of that site before. Initially I thought that it provided sufficient information regarding retail licenses, but after some further inquiry elsewhere I found that the summary was indeed lacking several crucial
bits of data.

For example:

Here they're only half right, as it seems. Your W10 upgrade will be OEMly bound to your machine, but only your W7 or W8 licence retains its Retail status given it was a retail licence in the first place. If
I would want to have W10 on a different machine, I could do that, but I'd have to follow the same path again [deinstall W10 from current machine > install W7 or W8.1 on new machine > upgrade to W10]. Furthermore, you can only do this until 29th of July of
2016. After that I'd have to indeed either revert back to W8, or buy a W10 licence.

My source was a MS webchat and several knowledgable forums.

I'm not sure if this information is of use to you Shilohbob, but to anyone else searching for an answer to this matter, there you have it.

All in all, it's a shame that one is required to do so much digging, and that MS just doesn't make 1 clear public template that covers everything in full and sends it to the press. I nearly made a miss-investment
of roughly 200€ (100 for W8.1 Retail and another 100 for 8 Pro Upgrade Pack) because of this. I'm sure W10 is great, but here's hoping MS' PR management will be even greater in the future.

 

Upgrading from Windows 8.1. Professional retail product key to Windows 10 -- what happens to your product key and right to reinstall?

What happens if I change my motherboard?

This will invalidate the Windows 10 upgrade license because it will no longer have a previous based qualifying license which is required for the free upgrade. You will then have to purchase a full retail Windows 10 license.

All answers looks the same. Just unclear.

First You said that "upgrade from a retail version, it carries the rights of a retail version." and in next sentence you wrote that hardware change " will invalidate the Windows 10 upgrade license because it will no longer have a previous based qualifying
license'.

The main value of retail license comparing to OEM is that i have rights to move OS to another hardware after removing that from the old one..

So either i can move W10 retail after one year or my retail Win 7 will become OEM 10.

There are plenty of questions of that type on forums and noone get answered clearly.

If my retail 7 will become OEM then i prefer using 7.

 

There should be more info on or before July 29th to answer people questions

This site adds more confusion but it does say an answer should come.

 

Any key, once used to upgrade to Windows 10, is no longer valid to use on another Windows installation.
If you get rid of Windows 10 then you can use the key again to install one instance of the Windows version the key applies to.
OEM key would need to be used on the same computer it came from.
Retail key could be used on any computer.

Really nothing new there, same as it's always been.

 

That article couldn't be more wrong. The lifecycle mentioned has nothing to do with how long the free upgrade will be free. It's how long Microsoft thinks the device will last. If your device lasts longer than 4 years Windows is still free on that device. It's not going to magically become inactivated etc. Microsoft is just projecting new revenue from Windows sales on new devices purchased as replacements for those devices that died.

 

Well, no matter what they mean by device lifetime, they way I read it is if I convert my retail version of Windows 7, which I can move from pc to pc forever, after July 2016 passes, if I build a new computer, which is likely, I will have to purchase a retail version of Windows 10. So the "free" offer is not much of a deal for me.

 

It certainly does and I have never heard of that site before. When MS releases the details read them very closely.

 

It's a free upgrade for that device, no more no less. Take it or leave it.

 

The upgrade applies to something - in this case, a valid license. If the license is transferable, then that must mean that the same upgraded status will remain with that upgraded license. I'm expecting Windows 10 retail keys to operate along those logical lines.

 

I may leave it. It is not a free upgrade to Windows, as the version I have is transferable.

Will purchased retail versions of Windows 10 be transferrable? If not this is horrible IMO.

 

That is not what Microsoft is saying I think. Anyhow hopefully we will soon know.

 

Unless they change the EULA, retail have always been transferable in the past. For what its worth, I upgraded from an OEM Windows 7 to Windows 10 Preview and the Windows 10 key shows as Retail. As far as showkey is concerned anyway. What happens when I upgrade to the final release is anybody's guess. And that's what most are doing as Microsoft hasn't officially released all the details yet.

 

Windows 10 is a brand new ball game. They can change to EULA to read whatever their building full of Lawyers tells them to put in it.

 

What's the difference if you do the free upgrade and then buy a retail copy for your new PC, versus buying a retail copy installing it on one Pc and then moving it to another PC? It will cost you the same either way. Do the free upgrade and you get 10 on both PC's.