Windows 10: Upgrade from Home to Pro on VAR license

Split from this thread. Hello Emily,I am piggybacking on this thread as it is close to my problem, and you seem to know what you are talking about. I run IT for a small company of about 100 people.I often buy retail laptops with Home on them, and then login with a consumer Microsoft account, pay for the Pro upgrade in the Store, and then Reset the machine in order to login cleanly with a company M365 account sometimes with Business Premium. This leaves a lot of 'orphaned' devices tied to the consumer account but doesn't seem to have a problem.I recently discovered our VAR offers a SKU c

:)

 

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.

 

Can't upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Pro

Hi Bill,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community. We apologize for the inconvenience caused and will assist you in the best possible ways.

I suggest you to download and create an installation media for Windows 10 Pro form the link provided below:

Download Windows 10

After the installation media is created, suggest you to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro from the installation media. When the upgrade asks for product key, enter the product key purchased for Windows 10 Pro. If it does not accept, suggest you to skip the activation
step. After the Operating System is installed, suggest you to activate by phone by following the steps below:

• Press “Windows key + R” and type “slui 4” and press Enter.
• Select the Region from the list and click Next.
• Call the Toll-Free number provided on top and can activate via phone.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted on the status for further assistance.

 

why there is just one way to upgrade from W10 Home to W10 Pro?

You can purchase a full license key, but keep in mind, the full retail license for Windows 10 Pro is more expensive than the $99 upgrade through the Store.

Step 1: Purchase license for Windows 10 Pro, then receive your key:

Buy Windows 10 Home/Pro

Step 2: Perform an Easy Upgrade using the key:

• How
  to Perform an Easy Upgrade in Windows 10