Home » Windows 11 Activation Denied with Legacy Windows 7/8 License: Microsoft Enforces Stringent Policies

Windows 11 Activation Denied with Legacy Windows 7/8 License: Microsoft Enforces Stringent Policies

Microsoft announced about a week ago that users will no longer be able to install and activate Windows 10 or Windows 11 using Windows 7 or Windows 8 product keys. This was a method that was discovered previously.

When Microsoft released Windows 10, they allowed users of Windows 7 and 8 to upgrade for free, but with a time limit, which ended on July 29, 2016. However, there were still ways to upgrade using Windows 7 and 8 product keys. This announcement from Microsoft states that this will no longer be possible.

It’s important to note that this change does not affect the case of upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11, which can still be done for free.

Neowin tested and found that disabling the use of Windows 7 and 8 product keys has an impact on updates newer than 22H2.

TLDR: Microsoft announced that users can no longer use Windows 7 or Windows 8 product keys to install or activate Windows 10 or Windows 11. This change does not affect the free upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11. Neowin tested and confirmed the impact on updates newer than 22H2.

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