MICROSOFT has closed its year-long free upgrade program for Windows 10. But users with valid Windows 7 and Windows 8 retail product key are still able to download and upgrade the Windows 10 operating system for free. Here's how.
MICROSOFT
Microsoft has closed its Windows 10 promotion – one year after the next-generation operating system rolled-out across the globe.
Until the deadline on July 29th 2016, customers with genuine copies of Windows 7 and Windows 8.x were able to upgrade free of charge.
Microsoft now charges customers $119 – or £99 – for Windows 10 Home. Meanwhile, Windows 10 Pro will set you back $199 or £130.
Thanks to its free upgrade scheme, Windows 10 cinched the record for the fastest adoption rate of any Microsoft operating system.
And with 350 million devices now running the new desktop OS – it is more popular than Windows 8, although it still lags behind the trusted Windows 7.
However some users have already encountered difficulties with the update, reporting that it is causing their devices to freeze upon starting up.
If you did not manage to upgrade your operating system to Windows 10 before the end of the promotion – there could still be a way to grab Windows 10 free of charge.
According to a report by ZDnet, users are still able to kickstart a valid Windows 10 installation using a never-used Windows 7 and Windows 8 retail product key.
When asked about why this upgrade method has not been closed following the deadline, a spokesperson for Microsoft said: "Users upgrading their PC for the first time will need to enter a Windows 10 product key.
"Users who've previously installed Windows 10 on their PC should activate successfully with a digital entitlement when reinstalling Windows 10 on that PC."
MICROSOFT
It's possible the US technology firm is silently offering customers a grace period to upgrade – despite having brought the promotion to a close.
When ZDnet pressed about whether Microsoft will look to close this loophole soon, the spokesperson refused to comment.
Not that we're complaining about more users being able to upgrade to Windows 10 free of charge.
Microsoft is also very kindly offering Windows 10 for free to anyone who requires assistive technologies.
The Redmond firm has incorporated a load of accessibility features offering text-to-speech, and magnified text.
Windows 10 Anniversary Update will offer even more assistive technologies, including 13 new spoken languages added to the narrator, and spoken prompts during search, amongst others.
MICROSOFT
Those who upgrade to Windows 10 will be eligible to get the upcoming blockbuster update, Windows 10 Anniversary Update when it launches on August 2nd 2016.
Anniversary Updates contains a redesigned Start Menu (with twice as many adverts as the previous version), new handwriting recognition software, enhanced capabilities for Cortana and more.
The news comes as renown Microsoft author and pundit Paul Thurrott said the popularity and new capabilities built into iOS and Android could spell the end for Microsoft and Windows 10. Thurrott said Microsoft was currently facing "a potential extinction moment."
Windows 10 has been largely well-received, with Express.co.uk praising the next-generation operating system, stating it "feels like the natural evolution of Windows 7" and "manages to right many of the wrongs committed by Windows 8."
But the new OS has not been without issues.
