Windows 10: Unable to transfer Windows 11 Pro retail license to a new machine

We are looking to buy 20-25 Windows Pro retail licenses for business use. We had following goalsLicenses will be owned by business and not become property of employee. License installed on machine of one employee can be removed from existing machine and applied to machine of new employeeLicenses will be able to transfer between devices in case of device failureDon't want to enter agreement/contracts needed for volume licensingFor that purpose, we had determined that Windows Pro retail/fpp license which costs $199 will be suitable. I purchased 1 license to test if it will be able to transfer fr

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Free upgrade from Windows 11 Home to 11 Pro using 10 Pro retail license

My current computer has an activated Windows 10 Pro retail license. I'm planning to replace my current computer by buying a new computer that comes preinstalled with Windows 11 Home, and then I understand I can use my 10 Pro license to upgrade to 11 Pro for free.

What's the most straightforward way of accomplishing this? The obvious approach that comes to mind involves two steps:

1. Reinstall Windows 10 Pro on new computer and activate with my existing retail license.
   
2. Upgrade new computer to 11 Pro for free through the settings.
   

Is there a simpler way of doing this without having to reinstall Windows 10? For example, would it be possible to somehow "trade in" my Windows 10 Pro license for 11 Pro? I'm fairly new to Windows licensing and am just trying to understand what is possible/best practice, with minimal effort.

 

How to transfer Windows 10/11 Pro upgrade license to another machine?

Hello ViatcheslavR1,

I am Jaspreet Singh an independent advisor.

Follow the steps listed here and unlink your license from old system: https://www.windowscentral.com/how-transfer-win...

Then download windows 10 pro via the media creator tool from here : https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-downlo...

Install it as an upgrade on the new system and skip when asked for a key. Login with the account that purchased the home to pro upgrade and the digital license should be linked to this machine.

 

transfer my retail digital license to a new machine void of any OS

Results:

I was not able to transfer my digital license W10 Pro to a new computer using the media tool.

I was able to upgrade my OEM W10 Home to the Pro version on the same computer without problems though. On my new laptop, I had to purchase a retail version of W10.