How can I purchase Windows 10 home to pro upgrade without going through the store

1

We have a user who purchased a laptop himself for company use, but it has Windows 10 home edition on. We need to upgrade to pro so we can join it to our domain etc etc.

When you look in the MS store, you can purchase an upgrade for £99. We do not have a corporate MS account with payment options available, and are looking to buy the upgrade via a third party supplier.

We cannot seem to find any info on retail upgrade licenses, and can only find full Pro retail licenses in the region of £150+

Do we have to purchase the edition upgrade through the store, or should be able to purchase at retail?

Eds

Posted 2016-10-27T09:03:04.337

Reputation: 337

Unlike previous versions of windows there are not retail copies of the Home to Professional upgrade available – Ramhound – 2016-10-27T11:41:43.077

Answers

0

You can still use Windows 7/8/8.1 key to activate Windows 10 (at least one could in August 2016)

http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-free-upgrade-is-still-available-using-windows-7-and-8-product-keys/

If that windows is closed, you can always use upgrade to W10 for free using version for disabled people. Still legal, but not quite morally fine, if you ask me...

AcePL

Posted 2016-10-27T09:03:04.337

Reputation: 1 571

Sorry, I am specifically talking about an edition upgrade, from Windows 10 Home, to Windows 10 Pro. Through the store, this costs £99. We would like to buy at retail instead, but can only find full pro licenses for £150+ – Eds – 2016-10-27T10:50:05.093

Believe me, I read and understood the question. And yes, upgrade from home to Pro ion windows 10 is done via change of product key and restart after installation of win10pro features. Combine that with using windows 7 key and voila... I do admit, though - in theory. But you can get W7pro license for less than £15. Worth a try? – AcePL – 2016-10-27T11:04:28.647

Oh I see what you mean. So we purchase a Win 7 pro license, and as we "should" be able to activate Windows 10 with a Win 7 key, we should be able to go to pro using that route. Might be worth a go. – Eds – 2016-10-27T11:09:51.177

Yes, that's the idea... Come to think of it - you might be able to test it with spare win7pro key you might have lying around... If it works, you'll know your options... You can always abort the upgrade process... And change product key on a laptop back. Make either full backup or note of current product key... – AcePL – 2016-10-27T11:13:34.253

Unfortunately, when I entered a Win 7 pro key, I get a message that says "You are running Windows 10 Home. The product key you entered cannot be used to activate this edition. Error 0xc004f210" Guess I will have to purchase a full license, wipe it and start over – Eds – 2016-10-28T13:38:07.940

Looks like there is a freely available diagnostics key that can upgrade the edition. Am going to try that first, then try re-using my old key. – Eds – 2016-10-28T13:55:09.977

Yep, using that key to change the edition from home to pro, then allowed me to activate using a Win 7 pro key that I took from an old machine. Now I know it works, I can find a Win 7 pro key from somewhere. Thanks. – Eds – 2016-10-31T09:28:46.310

Oh, right. This is one downside of W10 fresh install. Thanks for pointing that out, I will add it to the answer for future generations. Also, thanks for feedback - it is deeply appreciated. And - last but not least - congratulations! I am happy it all worked out. Cheers! – AcePL – 2016-10-31T10:37:09.973

Asked: 2016-10-27T09:03:04.337

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Active: 2017-04-09T05:26:15.587