Windows 10: Upgrade Surface Pro 8 from Win11 Home to Pro before installation

We have a consultant coming in with her own laptop, a Surface Pro 8. I have been asked to set it up using our Autopilot. However, the Surface Pro 8 is not the business-version and is running Windows 11 Home. I have an OK to upgrade the OS to Pro but it seems that the only way to upgrade the OS from Home to Pro is to first sign in with a personal MS-account on the device and then purchase the license using the store. How can I get this computer into our Autopilot without having to use a personal MS-account? I've tried to sign in with our business account but only gets that the account does not

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Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro Gets Priced

All of this doesn't matter what so ever. The fact is Windows 8 tablets are priced way too high. People are going to by the iPad long before they ever buy these simply because of price point. Microsoft had a great idea to have the same UI across all of their devices, but they are dead in the water due to price.

 

Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro Gets Priced

The Asus Eee Slate EP121 Core i5 based Windows 7 tablet and Samsung Series 7 Windows 7 (Core i5) tablet series pricing were slightly more expensive then the Microsoft Surface Pro and other Windows 8 Pro tablets. So a price break is already there.

People suggesting The Microsoft Surface Pro and other Windows 8 Pro tablets should be cheaper seem to think or suggest that products like this never existed before or are unprecedented when they are in fact only the latest generation.

Or perhaps you are confusing them with cheaper less powerful ARM based tablets,…

This statement isn’t completely accurate or possibly outright wrong. You are likely confusing the Windows RT based Microsoft Surface tablet with the as of yet unreleased Surface Pro Windows 8 Pro tablet.

The average Windows 8 Pro 64bit install footprint is likely greater then 16GB. The Windows 8 Pro 32bit install footprint may fit into a 16GB envelope but I don’t think OEMs will choose to go that route. However, if the Microsoft Surface Pro is anything like the Asus Eee Slate EP121 Core i5 based tablet PC then the installed mSATA SSD is user upgradeable. I can upgrade the default OEM 64GB mSATA SSD on my Asus model to ~240GB / ~256GB or greater. I can also upgrade the Bluetooth / WiFi module to support IEEE 802.11ac,….

 

Surface Pro 3

Hi ChrisWaters3,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

Could you please help me with the below information:

1. Does the battery drain out, if the tablet is not connected to peripherals?
   
   
2. Which version of Windows you are using? (To check, type: winver in start menu and hit enter.)
   

I understand how something like this can try your patience. This issue is an indication of faulty drivers or incompatible driver.
However, I suggest you to follow the troubleshooting steps mentioned below:

Method 1: Check the drivers.

Step1: Battery driver

1. Press Windows andR
   key together on your Keyboard.
2. Type devmgmt.msc and hit enter.
   
3. Click on view on top > Select Show hidden devices.
   
4. Expand the Batteries option from the list.
   
5. Select the ACPI Compliant Control Method Battery> right click on the driver and click on
   Properties.
6. Click on Driver tab > check if you have the option to
   Roll Back Driver.
7. If yes, Roll back the driver or uninstall it and restart the computer.
   

Uninstalling the driver will be automatically installed after the system is restarted. Check if the issue is fixed.

Step 2: Keyboard driver.

1. In the Device manager, go to ‘Other devices’, you will find
   Unknown devices.
   
2. Double tap on the unknown device > click on
   Driver tab> click on update driver.
   
3. Select browse my computer for driver software> Click on Let me pick from a list of device drivers
   
4. Select keyboard, then click ‘Next’.
   
5. Select HID Keyboard device and click finish.
   

Method 2: Run the toolkit.


Note: If your Surface is managed by your work or school, check with your organization's IT department before running the tool.

I would suggest you to run the toolkit provided by Microsoft on
Fix common Surface
problems using the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit

If the above steps, doesn’t fix the issue. I would suggest you to follow the steps mentioned in the article on
Surface Pro 3 Battery
FAQ for the Surface Pro Embedded Controller Firmware update.


Hope it helps.

Roohi Taj S

Microsoft Community - Moderator