Windows 10: W10 licence transfer. What happens if I change/upgrade my PC later on?

I transfered my Windows 8 Pro x64 from Mac Pro 3,1 to Mac Pro 5,1 (new hardware) so my licensed Windows 8 was NOT activated anymore. Called the MS helpdesk, explained my upgrade and she just emailed a new activation key!

KUDOS for MS!

Cheers

 

MS has always been good about reactivating an OEM license ("my motherboard broke and I had to replace it!" works every time). MS simply does not care about a license or two, it is worried about the misuse of their activation protocols by thousands of users by use of a key generator of random valid key numbers or a time exploit and stuff like that.

 

I kind of miss the pre-WPA days... far less hassle. I guess the infrastructure wasn't there yet for WPA for pre-XP operating systems or they simply didn't care until XP. lol.

 

It has gotten a lot more interesting since MS started insisting that the product key be embedded into the motherboard itself back in 2012 or so:
Windows 8 moves to BIOS-based product keys - CNET

Funny thing is that I have Win8.1 Technet licenses that are good for activating ten computers! Between the mobo having product keys and product keys having multiple activations, it is getting hard to tell what to do these days! Me, I am going to buy a Retail Win10 Pro disk with an actual honest to God product key on it just to make sure I am covered. This "free upgrade" smells a little off to me although it has worked on the 4 computers that I have either upgraded or help to upgrade.

 

With regards to this thread, I have something to add. See my latest reply on here

HOW do I transfer windows (retail license) after upgrading to Windows - Windows 10 Forums

 

@alpha

I would edit the badword out in that post. That is not allowed here. Brink is really knowledgeable by the way.

 

Thanks for highlighting

 

For the average user perhaps but consider PC tech enthusiasts and gamers who may need to reinsall Windows regularly and on different hardware. I see no way this new system is going to make life easier for them. I far preferred the Windows 8 promotion where they offered the OS at a discounted price and gave you a product key.

 

I have a strange one! I successfully upgraded from win 8.1 pro to win 10 pro and it activated without a problem. Then I decided to re-install win 8.1 pro on a different drive as I have the installation media. I had no problems activating that with my win 8.1 key. Now I have a dual boot with 10 and 8.1 and both are activated! So, I would say to the OP to go ahead and upgrade cause it seems you can still use win 8.1 if you have the installation media and your win 8.1 key.

 

I just found out today that MS stores your hardware ID on your MS account. When you log in, your hardware is validated and you are automatically activated. So that is why you could get two valid activations on one machine.

 

Do you think if I uninstalled win 8.1 from my current machine and installed/activated it on another, I'd be able to upgrade that machine to win 10 too?

 

I was able to activate 10 without using a Microsoft Account on a clean install.

 

That's certainly interesting but I wonder if it's temporary and eventually your 8.1 installation may be deactivated. Anyway, for me it's not the real issue. I don't plan to go back to Windows 8.1 once I've upgraded. What I'd really like is to be able to install Windows 10 when I next upgrade my PC without having to install 8.1 first. I don't need the extra wear on my SSD or indeed the hassle of two installation steps to run Windows 10 on new hardware.

Of course, we don't always get what we want and I realise the free upgrade is precisely that - an upgrade. I can hardly complain about the terms and condition of a free offer. I'm just a little disappointed and it has somewhat dented my enthusiasm for the new OS.

 

Yeah, Microsoft accounts are not necessary for activation. Installation of win8.1 (and win10, I think) allows you skip account creation and it doesn't prevent you from activating. As for the clean install, I'm guessing you upgraded your previous OS first. If not, then I guess your hardware (i.e. motherboard) supported it, i.e. your windows 8 key was stored on your mobo.

 

If it is temporary, I won't miss win 8 that much anyway. I just thought I'd encourage you cause I think win 10 is really good. New efficient browser, new features and you can turn off UAC without disabling apps. Great!

I understand your concern about upgrading hardware and then re-installing 'cause I thought about that too, but if activation fails on a new machine, surely there's a way to transfer the license, like over the phone or something.

EDIT: I just read somewhere that if your channel is RETAIL you'll be able to transfer your license, presumably over the phone, but that if it is OEM, you wont.