How to Upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro Using an OEM Key.

Looking for:

How To Upgrade From Windows 10 Home To Windows 10 Pro For Free - What Windows 10 Pro will cost 

Click here to DOWNLOAD

   

 

How to upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Pro for free | ZDNet.

 

While Windows 10 Home already comes with a suite of extra features compared to Windows 8. If you want to take advantage of tools like Bit-locker for disk-encryption and Assigned Access for locking user accounts or to connect to a Windows domain, you may want to upgrade to from Windows 10 Home to Pro.

But, first, let's first see where you can get Windows 10 Product Key. Pro - to help find the best fit for your needs. Note: Check out our product offerings to see which Windows 10 version checks all of your boxes.

If you don't have time to read to the end, watch this video:. First things first: Home is the standard version of Windows It is the baseline package designed for the general user. Windows 10 Pro is more of professional use with improved capability, security, and business features. Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro share many features.

But Windows 10 Pro has a few extra features that the Home version cannot support. If you find most of these features meaningless, that's no surprise. Indeed, most people don't really need the extra features in Windows 10 Pro. Typically, Windows 10 Pro is designed for businesses.

In summary, there are two areas that differentiate Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro. All versions of Windows 10 including Pro and Home come with all the core features targeting a broad consumer market.

Windows 10 Home is compatible with the Windows Insider program, but it does limit the security and group management services made available to other versions.

In short. The main difference between Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro is the security of the operating system. Windows 10 Pro is a safer choice when it comes to protecting your PC and securing your information.

What's more, Windows 10 Pro offers useful functions like Remote Desktop and is best for businesses and enterprises. Get Windows 10 Operating system today from our wide selection. Enjoy speed, security, durability, and great design. Upgrading from Home to Pro is straightforward. When you upgrade, the Pro license supersedes the Home license. One way to do this is to pay for a Windows 10 Pro upgrade.

But if you already have an OEM key for Windows 10 Pro, just follow the steps below to find out how to upgrade and activate your Pro system:. Before we dive into the Windows 10 Pro product upgrade, here're some free keys you can use. Windows 10 Enterprise N Key. Note: Make sure your work is saved and all applications are closed on your computer before starting the upgrade Follow the instructions and your upgrade will now begin. Step 2 : Try entering your Windows 10 Pro product key in the dialog box as shown.

Step 3 : If the OEM key is not accepted, then first try using the Windows 10 Pro product key that Microsoft has provided for users wanting to upgrade their systems. Note : This will allow you to upgrade your Windows 10 Home to Pro, but it will not activate Pro; that comes later. Windows 10 Home Vs. Remote desktop support requires a third-party app.

Windows 10 Pro Domain Join. Azure Active Directory Domain Join. Enterprise Mode Internet Explorer. Remote Desktop with central management. Client Hyper-V. Which features do Windows 10 Home and Pro have in common? But if you already have an OEM key for Windows 10 Pro, just follow the steps below to find out how to upgrade and activate your Pro system: Windows 10 Pro Upgrade Key-Steps to Take Before we dive into the Windows 10 Pro product upgrade, here're some free keys you can use.

A User Account Control dialogue box may open asking if you want to allow the app to make changes. Note : Make sure your work is saved and all applications are closed on your computer before starting the upgrade Follow the instructions and your upgrade will now begin.

Your computer should now be upgraded from Windows Home 10 to Pro and fully activated. You can now enjoy all the features of Windows 10 Pro! From here click on Command Prompt as an Admin. Your product will be listed on the next page. Type: slui. Hit Enter. Enter your Windows 10 Pro key. Once you have your Windows 10 key ready select System.

Select About then Change product key or upgrade your edition of Windows. Click Yes if User Account Control comes up. Windows 10 Professional N Key. Windows 10 Pro for Workstations.

 

How to upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Pro using an OEM code | PCWorld.

 

Looking for a new Windows 10 laptop that won't break the bank? These affordable options are available now. If you purchase a new PC with Windows 10 Home preinstalled, prepare to be annoyed. This down-market edition maybe we should just call it Windows for Cheapskates doesn't have the features you need for getting real work done: Remote Desktop server access, BitLocker disk encryption, group policy support, and control over when updates get installed, just for starters.

Those keys can be reused to enable an upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro, potentially saving you the upgrade fee. In fact, you can use a product key from any of these older Windows versions to perform a clean install or to upgrade to Pro.

It's worth rummaging through your garage, storeroom, or email archives to see if you can locate one of those old keys. Maybe you still have a key for one of the heavily discounted upgrades to Windows 8 Pro that Microsoft offered in the first few months after that product's ill-fated launch in Or perhaps you have a shrink-wrapped retail copy of Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate, where the license associated with the product key is no longer in use.

Best of all, you only need to use the older product key one time. After you complete the upgrade from Windows 10 Home, the Windows 10 Pro digital license is attached to the specific hardware you just upgraded, allowing you to reinstall that edition of Windows on that hardware anytime, without the need for a product key.

This scenario worked during the early Windows 10 upgrade program, and after some testing and multiple reports from independent testers worldwide I can confirm that it still succeeds in , more than five years later. Microsoft first made this option available in Windows 10 version Since then, they have simplified the process dramatically.

Here's the scoop. Some vendors offer an upgrade option as part of the purchase, but many PCs sold in the retail channel are preloaded with Home edition.

This could also be the case if you took advantage of the free Windows 10 upgrade offer on a PC running a Home edition of Windows 7 or Windows 8. In either case, the upgrade takes just a few minutes. You'll see a succession of progress screens and your system will restart. After the upgrade completes, you should see a Success notification.

Check the Activation screen again to confirm that you're now running Windows 10 Pro. After you've successfully performed a Home-to-Pro upgrade, you can file that product key away. Your upgrade is now a digital license, attached to your unique hardware. If you perform a reinstallation of Windows, Microsoft's activation servers will recognize the hardware and activate Windows 10 automatically.

I have tested this scenario multiple times on hardware that originally shipped with Windows Home and was upgraded to Windows 10 Pro. After the upgrade was complete, I used a bootable USB flash drive containing Windows 10 setup files to reinstall a clean copy of Windows 10 Pro, skipping the option to enter a product key as part of setup, as shown below. When prompted, be sure to choose Windows 10 Pro as the edition to install. The system was properly activated, because Microsoft's servers recognized the hardware and used the digital license.

Looking for technical information about Windows 10 releases, new features, known issues, troubleshooting, and tech support? Start here. The one gotcha in this series of scenarios comes when you have a system that includes digital licenses for both Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro. In that scenario, you can inadvertently restore Windows 10 Home.

This happened recently when I used a recovery image to reinstall Windows 10 on a Surface Pro PC that had originally shipped with Windows 10 Home and had been upgraded to Windows 10 Pro.

Not surprisingly, using the recovery image gave me an installation of Windows 10 Home. If that happens to you, don't bother searching for the product key you used to upgrade.

Instead, use Microsoft's generic product key to force the upgrade. Next, enter the default Windows 10 Pro product key:. Follow the prompts to upgrade from Home to Pro. Because your hardware already has a digital license for the Pro edition, it will activate automatically. That generic product key isn't magical, of course. If your hardware doesn't already have a Pro license, you'll get an activation error and you'll need to supply a proper product key or pay for an upgrade.

This article has been completely rewritten to incorporate developments in recent feature updates to Windows You've got a new PC running Windows 10 Home. You want to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro. Here's how to get that upgrade for free. ZDNet Recommends. In recent versions of Windows 10, the upgrade from Home to Pro is quick and easy.

Enter a product key here and then follow the prompts. If your PC already has a Pro license, don't enter a product key when reinstalling. Windows 10 How to recover deleted files in Windows 10 or 11 Microsoft enters the final test phase for Windows 10 22H2 before it rolls out The top Windows laptops compared Here's how you can still get a free Windows 10 upgrade.

Show Comments. Log In to Comment Community Guidelines. Related How to remove bloatware from Windows How to remove bloatware from Windows 10 Windows How to recover deleted files in Windows 10 or How to recover deleted files in Windows 10 or 11 Windows. How to back up your files in Windows 10 and 11 with File History. How to back up your files in Windows 10 and 11 with File History Productivity.