Forum Discussion
Transferring digital Windows 10 license to new Windows 11 desktop
Hello
I've been having issues getting Windows 11 activated on my new home built PC.
Background
I have an older PC that was built around 2017. It has Windows 10 Home installed, which was originally activated using a Windows 7 Home product key. Since then the license has been linked to my Microsoft account. I used this PC until recently, and it was not eligible for a Windows 11 update since it lacked TPM 2.0.
Current situation
I have now built a new PC and installed Windows 11, expecting to be able to transfer my license to the new hardware. On my old PC the license is, as mentioned before, digital and linked to my account (I have double and triple checked this). I have checked and confirmed that it is a retail license and should thus be transferable. But when I troubleshoot the activation on the new Windows 11 PC and click that I have recently changed my hardware, I get a completely empty list of devices to transfer the license from, even though I have signed in to the same Microsoft account on my new and old PCs. I can also see my old device if I view all devices that are linked to my account, it just does not appear upon activation troubleshoot.
Suggestion from support
I contacted Microsoft support and they claimed that my old PC does not have a true digital transferable licence as it is linked to my old PC. They suggested that I downgrade my new PC to Windows 10, get the license properly transferred and activated and then upgrade back to Windows 11.
I've tried finding other articles or forum posts about transferring a Windows 10 license to a new Windows 11 machine, but they mostly talk about old Windows 10 device to new Windows 10 device or old 11 to new 11, or don't make it clear exactly what kind of transfer they are talking about. Some also claim that transferring a Windows 10 license to a new Windows 11 device is not possible if you did a free upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7/8.
Do you think the suggestion from support holds any water? I'm concerned that they are hoping that my old Windows 7 product key can be used to activate Windows 10 on my new device and then make it possible to upgrade to 11 from there. But Windows 7/8 keys are unusable for activating Windows 10/11 since 2023 from what I understand.
And shouldn't my old Windows 7 product key be irrelevant in this case? I have a retail license that should be transferable, and Microsoft has offered a free upgrade to Windows 11. I just couldn't do it due to my hardware limitations.
An update. I have been in contact with support, and as it turns out the license I bought for Windows 7 all the way back in around 2012 was an OEM license, so it was locked to my PC. This was my mistake, as I thought I had bought a retail license, which maybe would have made this situation different.
So when I built my new PC in 2017 I took a gamble and installed Windows 10 and entered my Windows 7 key, which was accepted. I think my original plan was to install Windows 7, but the new hardware was incompatible so I took a gamble and got lucky. Since it was a new PC it would have been entirely possible that the key would have been rejected. But as you might remember, the whole free Windows 10 upgrade was quite lenient at the time.
As the support agent explained, Microsoft converted my Windows 10 license to one with a generic key. This was a common procedure with the free update.
I appreciate the agent's attempt to explain to me why it wasn't possible to transfer my license. I can't say I understand it that well, but since my original Windows 7 license was OEM, contrary to what I recalled, I will fully accept that I don't have any right to activate Windows 11 on my new PC, save from just buying a new license.
So in the end the answer is quite simple. Thanks for your responses anyway!
3 Replies
An update. I have been in contact with support, and as it turns out the license I bought for Windows 7 all the way back in around 2012 was an OEM license, so it was locked to my PC. This was my mistake, as I thought I had bought a retail license, which maybe would have made this situation different.
So when I built my new PC in 2017 I took a gamble and installed Windows 10 and entered my Windows 7 key, which was accepted. I think my original plan was to install Windows 7, but the new hardware was incompatible so I took a gamble and got lucky. Since it was a new PC it would have been entirely possible that the key would have been rejected. But as you might remember, the whole free Windows 10 upgrade was quite lenient at the time.
As the support agent explained, Microsoft converted my Windows 10 license to one with a generic key. This was a common procedure with the free update.
I appreciate the agent's attempt to explain to me why it wasn't possible to transfer my license. I can't say I understand it that well, but since my original Windows 7 license was OEM, contrary to what I recalled, I will fully accept that I don't have any right to activate Windows 11 on my new PC, save from just buying a new license.
So in the end the answer is quite simple. Thanks for your responses anyway!
The first screen of the troubleshooter asks you to select the device you're currently using. It doesn't show an empty list; it asks you to select your old PC as the source of the license. Many people, expecting to see the new PC, think it's an error. The correct next step is to select the old device and click "Activate."
The Windows 7 key is not the activation method; Microsoft treats the free upgrade as a digital license. That license appears linked, but the Activation troubleshooter does not offer the PC, so it cannot map the entitlement to the hardware change. The account device list does not prove transfer eligibility. Confirm the new PC runs Windows 11 Home, since Home cannot activate Pro, and use the same Microsoft administrator account. Verify the old PC’s Activation page says its license is linked. Then run Settings > System > Activation > Troubleshoot > I changed hardware on this device recently. Microsoft’s reactivation process does not require Windows 10 first, so do not erase Windows 11 for that workaround. Because the device list is empty, give Activation Support the exact error code and request a license-history review. If Microsoft cannot restore the entitlement, purchasing a new Windows 11 license is the supported fallback.
