Microsoft has closed a long-standing bug and is now investigating Windows activation concerns

Thanks to a long-standing bug, owners of Windows 7 and 8 have been able to update to Windows 10 and 11 for free for years. As of September 2023, Microsoft has formally prohibited the chance to update for free. Nevertheless, it appears that the modification has accomplished more than just removing the update’s installation route; current Windows customers are now expressing problems with their product keys.

The Verge reports that a number of Windows users—particularly those who have replaced their device’s hardware—cannot longer activate their software with an active license. According to the magazine, a user had an issue when trying to activate automatically after making a hardware modification. Customer assistance was unable to recover the user’s product keys, despite pointing out that these kinds of modifications do not nullify a Windows license. The owner in question was attempting to use a Windows 10 license that was obtained through an upgrade from Windows 7. The business admitted that it is aware of the problem in a statement to the media. The Verge spoke with Bill Babonas, chief product manager of Windows, who advised anybody experiencing technical difficulties to get in touch with customer support.

Microsoft offered current users a free Windows 10 upgrade when Windows 10 was released in 2015. But as the business just disclosed when it closed the loophole, the deal expired on July 29, 2016. Additionally, Microsoft said in April 2023 that feature updates for Windows 10 will cease, but security updates would continue to be released until October 14, 2025, when support would finish.

The business plans to release Windows 11 Enterprise IoT LTSC and Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC (long-term servicing channel) in the second half of 2024. Business customers have been eagerly awaiting both, especially since there have been whispers that Microsoft is also working on Windows 12. It is not yet known if users would need to pay to update to the upcoming operating system version.