Microsoft kills loophole that let Windows 7 keys activate Windows 11 and 10
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Looking at the tiny (relative) number of Windows 7 and Windows 8 systems out there, I suspect Microsoft decided that the remaining systems would never be upgraded. We already know they won't run Windows 11 and were only a little over two years to Windows 10 end of support.
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Looking at the tiny (relative) number of Windows 7 and Windows 8 systems out there, I suspect Microsoft decided that the remaining systems would never be upgraded. We already know they won't run Windows 11 and were only a little over two years to Windows 10 end of support.
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...and therefore, what's the benefit to them? I mean, the more people on 10/11 (rather than 7/8), the better for MS, no? Are they really thinking they're losing so much money on license sales that didn't happen because of that loophole?
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While people frequently gripe about Microsoft, I think the reality in this case is that it's easier to support fewer operating systems, so Microsoft "benefited" by keeping this upgrade route alive.
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That's exactly my point, it still benefits them to keep this loophole...so why close it now?
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I suspect there's a service that needs to be updated or removed and it has a direct impact on this upgrade path.
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Looking at the tiny (relative) number of Windows 7 and Windows 8 systems out there, I suspect Microsoft decided that the remaining systems would never be upgraded. We already know they won't run Windows 11 and were only a little over two years to Windows 10 end of support.
It's not the current hardware that is an issue, it's the key itself. Folks that upgraded to 10 from 7/8 using a 7/8 key can no longer use that key in the future. This is a big deal for folks using 7/8 keys on 10/11.
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I updated a 2015 industrial touchscreen Windows 7 computer to Windows 10 last year and was surprised to find the license update process still worked.It was missing a couple of drivers, yellow exlamation points in Device Manager, but for its stopgap purpose worked fine. I needed a computer for a customer while I waited on their new one to arrive in a month or so.
