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Image Courtesy: PCWorld.com

For more than one year, Microsoft allowed all the Windows 7 and 8 users with theĀ genuine licence to upgrade to the new operating system for free, the actual offer however ended in summer 2016. Despite Microsoft ended its free Windows 10 upgrade offer, the company still allowed the users to install the new operating system using an official loophole.

The customers using assistive technologies are still able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, however, Microsoft has now decided to end this offer on December 31. The Redmond giant recently updated the dedicated FAQ page where the company has explained that it would end the free Windows 10 offer on December 31.

Microsoftā€™sĀ Chief Accessibility Officer, Jenny Lay-Flurrie has also confirmed in a blog post that the company plans to retire the offer later this year. “In July 2016, we shared the offer to extend the free Windows 10 upgrade. This extended availability is now coming to a close, as weā€™ll wrap this offer at the end of 2017. Please take advantage of this offer before it is retired at the end of this year,” he explains.

Microsoft has however confirmed that users will be able to upgrade their Windows machines to Windows 10 for free if they have a genuine licence (with product key) of Windows 7 and 8.1. When asked whether the free upgrade offer will end later this year, a Microsoft spokesperson replied:

“People will be asked to enter a valid product key when upgrading for the first time from Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 through both the Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant and the Media Creation tool. People can continue to use the Media Creation Tool to create Windows 10 installation media. A product key will be required when installing Windows 10 on a device for the first time. People can also use Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant to update their Windows 10 PC to the latest version, a spokesperson told Wccftech.

You should, however, upgrade to Windows 10 before the offer ends as Microsoft could block the path to activate Windows 10 with Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 product key in near future.

About The Author

Mayank Parmar

Mayank Parmar is an entrepreneur who founded Windows Latest. He is the Editor-in-Chief and has written on various topics in his seven years of career, but he is mostly known for his well-researched work on Microsoft's Windows. His articles and research works have been referred to by CNN, Business Insiders, Forbes, Fortune, CBS Interactive, Microsoft and many others over the years.