Windows 10 free update: Do you REALLY have to pay to upgrade after Windows 7 End Of Life?

A vast number of readers have reached out to say that Microsoft’s upgrade tool – you know, the one that was supposed to have shuttered back in July 2016 – is still working. Unfortunately, we’ve yet been able to verify this claim, but if you have a valid license key for your current version of Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, it’s surely worth a shot?

It’s worth pointing out that a number of online sources also claim Microsoft is quietly enabling users with official builds of its older operating systems to make the transition to Windows 10 and therefore avoid the risks of using an operating system that’s no longer supported. In fact, someone who claims to be a Microsoft employee has posted on social news website Reddit to explain that this is by design – and Microsoft is completely aware that some users are using the loophole to avoid the £119.99 cost of upgrading to Windows 10.

Posting on a sub-Reddit dedicated to Computer System Administrators using the username Cokerobot, the alleged employee wrote: “Well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag… I work at Microsoft and have been since before the Windows 10 launch. That whole “free” upgrade for a year was fully marketing fluff.

“After the cut off happened, the direction given was that it requires a paid license HOWEVER, this was brought up by the brick and mortar stores that they were doing simple clock changes on customer devices during the upgrade challenge to get around it and then ultimately it was clear two years later that anything Windows 7 and up would go to 10 fully activated and still to this day.”

source: express.co.uk