Will you be able to upgrade to Windows 11 for free?

Martin Brinkmann
Jun 18, 2021
Updated • Jun 18, 2021
Windows 11 News
|
99

When Microsoft released Windows 10, it made the decision to offer free upgrades for devices running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, provided that these devices were activated with a genuine license. A core reason for the free upgrades was Microsoft's 1-billion devices running Windows 10 goal, which it failed to reach in the projected time. Even today, it is possible to upgrade machines running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 for free to Windows 10.

The upcoming official unveiling of Windows 11, Microsoft's next operating system, will reveal several important tidbits about the operating system. One question that many customers may have is, whether the upgrade to Microsoft's new operating system will be free.

Microsoft has not revealed anything in regards to upgrades to Windows 11 from existing copies of Windows, and whether these updates will be free or not.

windows 11 leak

One thing that has been confirmed already is that upgrades from Windows 10, but also from devices running Windows 7 or 8.1 will be supported.

It makes sense to offer upgrades from earlier versions of Windows and not just Windows 10, considering that it is in Microsoft's interest to make sure that most of its customers move to the latest version of the operating system that it supports.

Windows 7 ESU support will run out in less than 2 years, Windows 8.1 support ends in January 2023, and Windows 10 support will end in 2025.

Will Windows 11 be a free upgrade?

It is likely that Windows 11 will be a free upgrade for consumer devices. Microsoft needs to move the majority of Windows 10 customers to Windows 11 quickly, considering that Windows 10 will run out of support in 2025 and that the last thing that it wants is another fiasco in which many devices are not upgraded to the new version of Windows; this happened when Windows XP ran out of support, and again with end of support for Windows 7.

The most likely scenario has Microsoft offer free upgrades to all home customers who operate devices with Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10.

The offer would entice many to upgrade their devices to Windows 11 right away, giving the new operating system a solid user base right from the get-go.

If Microsoft would not offer free upgrades, Windows 11 would see a slower rise in user numbers as customers might be reluctant to upgrade to the new version of Windows.

Why change a running a system, especially if the alternative includes having to pay for the upgrade. The main reason for upgrades is support, but even that is not a convincing enough argument for some users of Windows. In fact, there are still plenty that run unsupported copies of Windows on their devices.

Closing Words

Microsoft will reveal information about Windows 11 next week. Whether the reveal will include information about upgrades, and whether these will be free, remains to be seen.

Now You: will you upgrade to Windows 11 (if it is a free upgrade or paid)?

Summary
Will you be able to upgrade to Windows 11 for free?
Article Name
Will you be able to upgrade to Windows 11 for free?
Description
Will Microsoft offer a free upgrade to Windows 11 for users of Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10?
Author
Publisher
Ghacks Technology News
Logo
Advertisement

Tutorials & Tips


Previous Post: «
Next Post: «

Comments

  1. DirCompUser said on June 28, 2021 at 12:45 am
    Reply

    I didn’t get an answer to my post above about BIOS/UEFI, but information elsewhere does indicate that only quite modern hardware (cpu etc) will be compatible – unless MS changes its mind in ESG compliant mode over potentially massive landfill implications!

    Another item I had in my scope is the extent of further “invigilation” / as-a-service provision by MS. Here’s what a commenter said at the Register UK:

    “I have had a wee play with the leaked Win11 iso in a virtual machine, and almost everything prompts a login to the Microsoft cloud.”

    I haven’t verified that but if true: quelle surprise!

  2. bucket of mud said on June 25, 2021 at 11:07 pm
    Reply

    UPDATE: Windows 11 will not run on most of the world’s older computers.

    But it is free.

    Yet Linux is also free and will run on most of the world’s older computers.

  3. Anonymous said on June 25, 2021 at 3:37 pm
    Reply

    After seeing yesterdays Windows 11 presentation they will have to pay me money to use that garbage OS.

  4. NeonRobot said on June 25, 2021 at 11:11 am
    Reply

    Another ms abomination with even more telemetry, mandatory ms account, possible sub milking and ads delivery.

    Nah, noway. Everything works fine with trusty Win7. Even top hw like tr3 and 6900xt.

  5. Eaglenik said on June 23, 2021 at 10:27 pm
    Reply

    Can’t wait to update ! Paid or not !

  6. Anonymous said on June 23, 2021 at 10:20 pm
    Reply

    There’s nothing quite like a speculation about the next release of Windows to generate a lot of clicks. We don’t know but here we are chatting about free, not free, what it may or may not include. Not the enthusiasm that surrounded Windows 95 but the world and Windows changed a lot since then. Personally, the most comfortable version of Windows to use was pre-registry. Complete uninstallation only required deleting the program’s directory. As far as I am aware, no programs added to the Windows directory. It didn’t build a clutter of crap over time.

    1. Mark said on June 26, 2021 at 8:58 am
      Reply

      What speculation, this is all from the official Microsoft announcement. Did you miss it?

  7. Christopher Blanchette said on June 22, 2021 at 10:10 am
    Reply

    MS better nail support for Dolby atmos and Dolby vision natively, and day 1.
    It’s 2021 and the fact that we are over here running one chord for video and one for audio is ridiculous. Not to mention that you have to trick windows into thinking you have a duplicate display just to get a lag-free atmos experience.
    How often I have to Uninstall and reinstall audio drivers is a problem.
    How the heck is series X running fine with atmos and now Dolby vision, and windows doesn’t even offer vision, besides as an extension to their browser?
    Absolutely ridiculous. How many hours of my life I have to spend on this nonsense. I came to PC from console for the power and for the control (LOL)

    1. the blame game said on June 23, 2021 at 8:01 pm
      Reply

      @Christopher Blanchette

      Xbox likely has licensing for those proper audio drivers and such. As for Windows 10, if need be, I suggest you buy a proper audio or video card that supports atmos and Dolby vision, with the proper connections.

      Next time, study up before you buy your tech.

  8. Yuliya said on June 21, 2021 at 4:28 pm
    Reply

    Yes, I will upgrade to the next LTSC, tyvm.

  9. RobG said on June 21, 2021 at 3:32 pm
    Reply

    Norman said: –

    “…My desktop computer is a Mesh XGS about 11 years old and runs beautifully on W10”.

    Then why oh why even try to ‘downgrade’ to Windows 11. Havent users learnt their lesson from the previous years of chaos with Microsoft? ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’, since nowadays, what Microsoft mean by an ‘upgrade’ is actually a downgrade..to hand them more control of your OS and your private data.

  10. Norman said on June 21, 2021 at 12:22 pm
    Reply

    I downloaded Windows 11 ISO the other day, but when I tried to install it, an error box came up saying it can’t run Windows 11 with the message The PC must support TMP 2.0.

    My desktop computer is a Mesh XGS about 11 years old and runs beautifully on W10. So I guess I would have to buy a new one.

    1. Mark said on June 21, 2021 at 4:11 pm
      Reply

      I think it is likely that the TPM 2.0 requirement is only for this developer build, which was never meant to be seen by the public. I doubt very much that the final release will require it otherwise millions of computers will suddenly be rendered obsolete.

      1. Mark said on June 26, 2021 at 8:57 am
        Reply

        Well I stand corrected, I underestimated Microsoft’s stupidity.

  11. Anonymous said on June 20, 2021 at 10:38 pm
    Reply

    Microsoft loves KDE!

  12. Miechael said on June 20, 2021 at 10:31 pm
    Reply

    Got a message last night that Windows is going to update because “Windows is a service” (bullcrap) and all I can do is postpone it a few days. My hard drive doesn’t have space available to download a large update. So unless I find a way to block Microsoft’s scheme, I may lose use of my computer. I’ll back up docs and such before the end of the week. But I have blocked updates for 3 years and this one seems different, like I can’t avoid it. If there’s any new utility program to block whatever this new thing is I’d like to know. As far as 11, no, I’ll avoid as long as possible, probably next new box will have it though.

  13. norman ferguson said on June 20, 2021 at 9:37 pm
    Reply

    Go back to 7 and give it updates again, windows 10 is a nightmare for the older generation, the start menu was a work of art, dead easy to understand, and the AOL desktop was unbeatable, i am 78 years old, been 20 years on the computer, i am amazed that no one did not copy it, it had it all, chatrooms for everything, you could find out faults on your computer, etc,etc, we helped each other, it was a delight to use, XP was colourful, another work of art.
    we have now gone to the dark age!!, why has the film industry went that way??,you need night vision to watch these films, the TV is going the same way, try finding a bright and colourful wallpaper for your computer, if you wonder why Titanic swiped the board for everything, it was because you could actually see everything clearly, the public now seemed to accept anything, they must be easily pleased, but they still go like sheep to the slaughter, i would sooner kiss a Cobra than pay to see a film where their faces can be seen, but are clouded in darkness, the TV is going down the same road.

    1. Mark said on June 21, 2021 at 10:01 am
      Reply

      I mean if they were going back I wish they’d go back to Windows 2000 and start updating it again. I know most people disagree but I loved the classic theme and the entire OS was so lightweight and responsive. Of course it’s never going to happen so it’s a moot point.

      I’m using Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC myself and to be fair it is much better than the normal home versions. No Cortana, no Windows Store, no stupid apps, no Candy Crush or other trash bundled in. A clean install is very lightweight and the Start Menu is nearly empty. Add the classic Start menu with Openshell and it’s not bad at all.

  14. Pierre Merlot said on June 20, 2021 at 2:10 pm
    Reply

    Well, we already know Windows 11 won’t be any better than Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.

    The big question is if it will be significantly better than Windows XP!

    I think that’s probably the largest market segment that may actually want to adopt it, but only if it is 100% free to upgrade to Windows 11 Pro. Because, let’s face it, if you’re running Windows XP you are very happy with it or very broke. Either way, you’re probably living a happier life than the rich idiot who just has to throw away their cash on a buggy new Windows 11 machine.

    1. Flo said on June 20, 2021 at 9:51 pm
      Reply

      Are your simply repeating things you read on the internet or have you actually suffered from bugs?

      My bugs with Windows 10 have been minor. Maybe two smiley bluescreens that fixed themselves on restart and a black screen on first reboot after an update that fixed itself on restart. No real pain. Even the issues I caused by ‘over-tweaking’ to improve privacy were easily reversed. Better than XP (major effort to cure a lot of issues). Better than Windows 7 (major effort to cure fewer issues) I don’t recall how many issues I had with 8 or 8.1 but it ran better than Windows 7. At work, supporting laptops, I dealt with a lot issues with Windows 7 blue screens. These all led to the need to have the laptop manufacturer update drivers (BIG organization that dealt direct). I don’t fault Microsoft for that, only the inelegant way it is handled.

      None of the above is to be taken as happiness with changes. Increasing Telemetry is a very sore point. I’d rather pay and know nothing is flowing back to Microsoft. ‘Free’ is a big price to pay. From Microsoft’s perspective, ‘free’ increases profit from OEM versions, as well. Very clever, marketing department.

  15. Kaysmai said on June 20, 2021 at 10:27 am
    Reply

    on the other hand Windows 11 will not be available as a free update for Windows XP and Vista And Windows RT 8 and Rt 8.1 which is limited to the Windows store. is mostly Windows 10 S

  16. Spak Not said on June 20, 2021 at 8:53 am
    Reply

    I would say probably, why not? everyone knows that Microsoft doesn’t really make much money off normal users but new computers that OEMs pay the license, so doing the same win10 strategy would work. I wouldn’t even mind if they charged cheap prices for the upgrade, like $5 or so, that would be better than zero, but zero is fine and free is fine.
    Some people will start talking about how not everything is free and blabla, but you can take as an example a company like Blackmagic Design, they give free licenses of Davinci resolve when you buy a camera, same with Presonus giving a $99 software like Studio One Prime when you buy their hardware too, I think this is the way you can see Microsoft doing with Windows, they care about OEMs paying for it, they know not many people will upgrade and etc etc. So I don’t see a problem as a business for giving the license for free.

    I am actually positive about Windows 11 or whatever it is going to be called, because some people reported big boost in performance compared to win10 and I think that is the best reason to upgrade anyway.
    But I still wish they would make windows more a truly app launcher like having a terminal only mode to run software without any explorer anything or any useless service and process running in the background when I want to only focus in 1 thing, in 1 software or when I want to run like an instance of a program as a render slave and stuff like that. I still think next version of windows will be better and I only care about what I can run on it so I don’t care much about UIs and stuff like that like some people do and make drama about.

  17. Rusty Feart said on June 20, 2021 at 3:33 am
    Reply

    Windows 11 Home will be free to everyone. Windows 11 Pro will cost full price for most eveyone. Windows 11 Enterprise will be a free upgrade for some customers.

    How do I know this?

    I’m omnipotent.

  18. Anonymous said on June 19, 2021 at 8:47 pm
    Reply

    No, thank you, I will keep my Ubuntu with KDE plasma.

  19. Peterc said on June 19, 2021 at 6:33 pm
    Reply

    I agree with Anonymous, above, that Windows 11 is *probably* just an arbitrarily rebadged feature update to Windows 10. I’m guessing Microsoft will limit upgrade-reluctance the same way they did with Windows 10: they’ll stop selling licenses for earlier versions of Windows, and they won’t support previous versions of Windows on newer chipsets. In terms of UI, privacy, and user control, I *greatly* prefer Windows 7 to Windows 10, but I couldn’t run Windows 7 on my new laptop if I wanted to, because my chipset isn’t supported. The same thing will probably happen with Windows 10, but on a shorter time horizon.

    1. Kaysmai said on June 20, 2021 at 10:39 am
      Reply

      on the other hand Windows 11 will not be available as a free update for Windows xp and Windows vista Windows rt 8 Windows rt 8.1 and Windows 10 S which are limited to the Windows store

  20. Anonymous said on June 19, 2021 at 1:46 pm
    Reply

    Considering Windows 11 just seems to be what was supposed to be Windows 10 21H2 repackaged as a new OS, it’s very likely it’ll be offered as a “Feature Update” this fall. And if that’s the case, then the current version (21H1) is also the last version of Windows 10 and will still be updated with security updates until 2025.

    1. Anonymous said on June 20, 2021 at 12:10 am
      Reply

      We call it Autumn but ‘fall’ seems a prophetic word for a feature update. Not much removed from ‘fail’, either for those who believe Soothsayers and signs?

  21. Pierre said on June 19, 2021 at 1:31 pm
    Reply

    Of course I’ll upgrade to W11 if it’s free.
    If it’s paying, i’ll wait for a new PC.

  22. Emil said on June 19, 2021 at 11:51 am
    Reply

    Hmm upgrade for a centered start menu? The start menu is always the first thing I replace with Open Shell Menu…

  23. dqb said on June 19, 2021 at 10:47 am
    Reply

    I have an XP box still running, I have a Win 7 Pro box still running, I have a Win 10 laptop running on AMD and virtual machines don’t work on it, so I use Anaconda with it’s awesome environments. I had a Debian mailserver that ran with no monitor connected for 12 years.

    Biggest annoyance is on Win 10 having to go to a central store for new programs.

    I don’t play games so why upgrade – what I have works. My advantage? I kept all the latest installs for all the software I use, at the level of the operating system, XP service pack 3 installs for the XP box, Win 7 installs for the Win 7.

    I use Bloatbox and strip Windows 10 of adware, just like I use fDroid, Blokada and ClassyShark to identify and deny ad access on Android. Privacy isn’t a thing anymore – it simply doesn’t exist, so take back control.

    If I only allow certain apps to run on my phone, why should I be forced to allow html5 to autoplay on my Win 10 browser, or be dictated to on Playstore? I have apps on play store I haven’t installed updates for years because the version I have does what I need and was the implementation just before they introduced subscription or ads.

    One needs to be active in refusing to allow the corporates to own you. It takes time, and infinite knowledge gained by trawling stackoverflow or xda for suggestions. That said, I use google hacks much that I find any other search engine limiting, and frustrating so bang goes the privacy.

    So back to the question: would I install Win 11? Is UI all it is? I no longer develop professionally, so no long hours in front of three monitors, so probably not.

    I agree with cbarbatus above – stable, robust, multi computer, then maybe, with consistency no matter the chip installed. Then maybe.

  24. Adam Smith said on June 19, 2021 at 10:45 am
    Reply

    I agree that there have been not new features that improve productivity since Windows 7, to counterbalance the enormity of productivity reducing or security reducing issues since this version

    I also resent that Windows enterprise, you are subject to countless unnecessary updates which put at risk your current software configuration

    Lets state the fact: Microsoft should provide all users with regular security updates, and make all other updates optional. As it stands, the standard Windows version is an eternal beta version

  25. Bobo said on June 19, 2021 at 9:58 am
    Reply

    I like cake.

  26. Cbarbatus said on June 19, 2021 at 6:37 am
    Reply

    If Windows 11 includes a stable and robust multi-computer networking system (which is definitely NOT the case with 10), I would be tempted even to pay (a little).

  27. GoodMeasure said on June 19, 2021 at 3:50 am
    Reply

    Stay strong! We must force MS to be pro-user!

    1. owl said on June 19, 2021 at 6:20 am
      Reply

      @GoodMeasure,

      You should learn some capitalist economics!
      As a giant in a global corporation, “Microsoft” is all about capital power.
      With a monopoly on the market, product users are completely powerless.
      Only capitalists (investors) or jurisdiction, and politics can exert influence on Microsoft.
      The choice left to you, the user, is to accept it or to move from Microsoft’s OS to another company’s OS (Linux, Apple).
      In any case, we must not allow the market to become monopolized.

  28. Anonymous said on June 19, 2021 at 3:49 am
    Reply

    I will be able to upgrade to Windows 11 for free, and I’m really looking forward to it, I just hope Microsoft make good use of my telemetry, and each update feels just like a performance boost, for free, safely free.

  29. ULBoom said on June 19, 2021 at 2:14 am
    Reply

    If they charge for it, few will upgrade. Why should they, Win 10 works, at least by MS’s definition and Win 11 won’t be much different.

    We quit using XP on one machine sometime after Win 10 appeared, mainly because it really didn’t work acceptably with current software and games. We upgraded to Win 7, then immediately to Win 10, couldn’t jump to 10 for some reason.

    Thing is, since Vista (which MS got mostly right eventually), not a lot has changed. Telemetry notwithstanding, 7, 8.1 and 10 are almost interchangeable. There are many Win 7 users doing almost everything Win 10 users can do.

    The advantages of Win 11 remain to be seen, I doubt there will be any or they would have been leaked long ago. As it is, Win 11 just sort of emerged from the fog a few months ago seemingly taking the place of a feature update.

  30. DirCompUser said on June 19, 2021 at 12:15 am
    Reply

    Is it true that this proposed Windows 11 will only work on UEFI computers and not “legacy” BIOS computers?

    1. Anonymous said on June 20, 2021 at 12:01 am
      Reply

      BIOS is DEAD and needs to be buried. But, I still run a BIOS PC (it runs Windows 7). As much as it sticks in my craw to recommend Linux, that may be a solution for you if you can find a version that supports BIOS.

      1. Thrackerzod said on June 21, 2021 at 10:05 am
        Reply

        The UEFI interface is usually so godawful though, and every manufacturer makes theirs different and usually overloaded with gaudy gamer neon crap. Something as simple as setting the boot order can be a confusing mess. The old Award BIOS setup program was such a pleasure to use in comparison.

  31. Anonymous said on June 18, 2021 at 8:11 pm
    Reply

    With all the sponsored apps preinstalled, suggestions, tips, MSN news in the taskbar, they would have to pay me to use Windows 11.

  32. ilev said on June 18, 2021 at 8:05 pm
    Reply

    Windows 11 should be LTSC for all.
    Enterprises will wait 2-3 years to upgrade.

  33. allen said on June 18, 2021 at 6:48 pm
    Reply

    Just call it Windows and make all updates free (normal product numbering–v.r.m.x. I mean, it’s only purpose is to sell applications and computers.

  34. Dan said on June 18, 2021 at 6:10 pm
    Reply

    They couldn’t pay me to install Windows OSXI.

  35. Pasfrol said on June 18, 2021 at 5:34 pm
    Reply

    I want not be an beta testers of micro$oft product release.

  36. Anonymous said on June 18, 2021 at 5:18 pm
    Reply

    Win 11 is nothing more than the Windows 10 pig with lipstick and nail polish. If it’s free I’ll upgrade to it after a couple of years. If it costs to upgrade then I’m hopeful the few games I play have been ported over to Linux at that point so I can dump the Microsoft ecosystem complete.

  37. Coriy said on June 18, 2021 at 4:18 pm
    Reply

    Maybe W11 will be subscription deal like it dis with Office. A free tier with basically no support; A home version costing a small amount every month/year with a bit of user control; A more expensive pro version with greater user control and support; and a few enterprise editions, too. Of course, all will come with Google FLOC, MS FLOC, and all sorts of user unfriendly telemetry.

  38. Anonymous said on June 18, 2021 at 4:16 pm
    Reply

    I suspect most users who must continue to use Windows will upgrade to Windows 11 around 2030. It takes Microsoft a good 4-5 years of trial and error product design and troubleshooting before an OS actually becomes stable enough to be called production ready (although even now I don’t really consider Win 10 production ready). Most companies and users who were happy with Win 7 didn’t even start the process till they were forced to with Win 7 End-of-life in 2020.

    Of course if Windows 10 was actually worth using, people would have moved faster. Win 8 and Win 10 offered no compelling reasons to leave Win 7. In fact, Win 10 actually has a laundry list of factors to compel one to never want to use it.

    Without the monopoly they have, Microsoft would have gone down the tubes with Win 8 and Win 10.

    1. owl said on June 19, 2021 at 5:29 am
      Reply

      I agree with your view.

      And view I’d like to add,
      Microsoft is an organization that exists to make money for capitalists (investors).
      The products are a means to monopolize the market, and they are the material for investment decisions (profitability and financial status) to attract the attention of investors. They will never spend development and maintenance costs on a product because If they were to meet the demands of product users, finances and profits would suffer, so would not spend development and maintenance costs on products.
      Furthermore, in order to continue to increase sales, it is necessary to increase product turnover (replacement demand), and in order to do so, one really wants to “shorten the product life cycle”.

      When a corporation goes public and obtains capital, the “shareholders” control the actual rights of the corporation.
      Since Microsoft is the world’s largest stock company in terms of total capitalization, it attracts the attention of investors and a “handful of major shareholders” control the real power.
      The president of the company does not have any real power, and if he does not conform to the wishes of the major shareholders, he is immediately dismissed.
      Therefore, a company cannot ignore the “will of the shareholders”.
      Even if product users unite and raise their voices, they will be ignored.
      The countermeasure is to acquire an absolute majority of the voting shares, but since Microsoft is a huge company, users will not be able to compete with them even if they put their money together.
      https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/
      Microsoft Corp (MSFT)
      $259.43
      -$1.47 (-0.56%)
      Volume 37.20 Mil
      Market Cap 1953.92 Bil
      52 Week High 263.19
      52 Week Low 193.55

      1. Anonymous said on June 19, 2021 at 11:46 pm
        Reply

        Microsoft’s main targets are education and business. Win users there and they get the same to use at home. Education discount. Company-supplied software for home users discount. I qualified for both haven’t paid Microsoft full price yet. Windows or Office. Bearing in mind I work at home at times and program Excel using VBA calls to Windows DLLs, it would make no sense at all to switch to a different OS.

        A majority of home users have different reasons. They DO need to think about the reasons they are using Windows. If the reason is only because that is all they ever used, that’s a poor excuse not to try something different. Mostly the OS is invisible when you run a program. you do get used to another system fairly quickly (I occasionally supported Apple iOS).

  39. Theodore Westerfied said on June 18, 2021 at 3:32 pm
    Reply

    Not going to consider Windows 10 unless Microsoft makes 100% of telemetry optional in the Home and Pro versions. Same with needing an account to use the OS.

    Until then, I’m sticking with Linux, which has NO TELEMETRY and does not require the creation of any accounts.

    1. scuba diver said on June 24, 2021 at 11:11 am
      Reply

      @Theodore Westerfied

      Sounds good. Yet as you likely know, if you are worried about privacy, then just using Linux is a small solution. It’s like wearing rain gear underwater.

  40. Eddie Munster said on June 18, 2021 at 2:18 pm
    Reply

    @Martin Brinkmann

    I disagree that “It is likely that Windows 11 will be a free upgrade for consumer devices”.

    I think the “core reason” the 10 upgrade was offered for free, was that they expected to make more money from their other services, which was likely a failure they don’t want to repeat with 11.

    If anything, they might charge very little for 11, but for free? I doubt that.

    Regardless, we can speculate all we want, but we simply don’t know if 11 will be a free upgrade. Thus, this whole topic is rather moot.

    As it is, it looks to me as if you want to stoke the idea that it will be free, so that if it isn’t, you’ll have a lot to write about for the angry mob here, ha.

    As for your question “will you upgrade to Windows 11?”.. I don’t care to think about that right now. Ask me again in 2025 when it matters.

  41. Anonymous said on June 18, 2021 at 1:47 pm
    Reply

    Would MS really want the backlash if they charge for W11 when the W10 upgrade was free?

  42. Iron Heart said on June 18, 2021 at 1:06 pm
    Reply

    Of course it will be for free, you’ll pay with your data here. I can understand that some people need to run Windows because their applications aren’t available on Linux, but one should at least try to mitigate the MS spying as much as possible. Start with taking a look at your Windows settings.

    1. STAY SAFE, USE WINDOWS said on June 18, 2021 at 3:47 pm
      Reply

      Do not use Linux, it is a security nightmare.

      https://madaidans-insecurities.github.io/linux.html

      1. Dean said on June 20, 2021 at 12:16 pm
        Reply

        none sense written article to make Linux look bad.

      2. Ashua said on June 24, 2021 at 11:52 am
        Reply

        @Dean

        That’s like saying the Linux security updates make it look bad. Where do you think those security updates come from?

        Hint: they start with reports as that

        But if you want to treat Linux as you’re sacred cow, then so be it.

      3. Anonymous said on June 19, 2021 at 11:36 pm
        Reply

        Some of the Linux ‘security’ is probably due to the size of its toehold in the market. The more these Linux users convince people to shift to Linux, the bigger the target for criminals. Look what happened to “iOS is secure”.

        Linux is a totally secure system people. If you change I promise you won’t regret it.

      4. way totally dude said on June 24, 2021 at 11:40 am
        Reply

        @Anonymous

        > “If you change I promise you won’t regret it.”

        I did try Linux (many distros), and after all my hard work, I learned it didn’t do what I required, thus I regret that whole adventure.

        When it comes to computers, I’m into ventures, not adventures.

        Yet if you’re a geek who doesn’t go on real adventures, then Linux is a great way to tinker your life away. Also, if you’re weak minded and looking for a geeky religion that proclaims extreme dogma, then there’s much of that within Linux.

        Also, Linux gets hacked all the time, as much of the world’s servers use it, as it’s mostly free and open, which poor geeks love that, as well as the hackers.

        But there’s a lot of great things to say about Linux, but I’ll leave that to you, being that you know so much. Ha.

  43. Dumbledalf said on June 18, 2021 at 12:45 pm
    Reply

    Q: Will you be able to upgrade to Windows 11 for free?
    A: Yes, yesterday I upgraded over Windows 10 just fine and it’s still activated.

    1. Mark said on June 19, 2021 at 8:19 pm
      Reply

      Just because a leaked private development build activated it doesn’t mean the final release will.

  44. John G. said on June 18, 2021 at 11:31 am
    Reply

    I will upgrade to Windows 11 as soon as I can. ;]

    1. RobG said on June 18, 2021 at 4:20 pm
      Reply

      “I will upgrade to Windows 11 as soon as I can”.

      Be careful:..Microsoft doesn’t do ‘upgrades’ anymore, only downgrades. For example: Windows 10 has been gradually whittled ‘down’ via ‘upgrades’, thereby handing more control to Microsoft and less and less to users.

      Likewise with Microsoft’s takeover of the once successful Skype. With each ‘upgrade’ of Skype, the user now finds that he has less control and more bugs (e.g. Skype now always starts when Windows starts).

      Beware therefore the knee-‘jerk’ reaction to ‘upgrade’ to seemingly ‘better’ and shinier things.

      1. John G. said on June 18, 2021 at 8:40 pm
        Reply

        @RobG, I think W11 will be one of the biggest steps for Microsoft, and I am near sure that mostly all users need to leave behind the W10 dual ISO per year hilarious upgrading, mostly the big frustating experience according to the large amount of problems. Furthermore, I am very surprised that some readers are writing good things about W10 when W11 is upcoming, while in the past w10 was the worst and W7 or W8.1 were the best ones to use. Amazing. :[

      2. RobG said on June 23, 2021 at 10:28 am
        Reply

        ” I think W11 will be one of the biggest steps for Microsoft”,

        Hi John. Microsoft have taken many ‘big’ steps in recent years, sadly these steps have mostly been in the wrong direction. I’m impressed though at your faith in Microsoft and Windows 11.
        But why W11 should be any different from the ongoing fiasco that is W10,I fail to see. After all, W11 will likely be W10 with lipstick on…created by the same bunch at Microsoft, complete with the joys of the same routine of regular updates.

        Bottom line: Beware wishing for ‘shiny new things just over the horizon’. They mostly turn out to be mirages, especially when Microsoft is involved.

  45. DEAN said on June 18, 2021 at 11:23 am
    Reply

    This time I don’t think it will be free upgrade…I installed Win 11 and couldn’t activate it …I went back to Win 10…oh well, I didn’t like it any way.

  46. beemeup5 said on June 18, 2021 at 11:12 am
    Reply

    Would I pay for Windows 11? Haha NO.

  47. Tony said on June 18, 2021 at 10:56 am
    Reply

    I haven’t updated windows in years and i’m not gonna start now.

  48. infernalOS said on June 18, 2021 at 10:10 am
    Reply

    What a waste of resources, just keep improving windows 10 and be done with it. Put time and effort and resources behind the system already in place modernizing as needed.

    What we have here is dumb asses in charge. Dumb asses developing and the dumbasses that keep falling for their antics. Yes, Im one of those too, since I cannot break free from Windows OS because no other OS will run the programs I need.

    Also I dont think this will be a free upgrade, many Windows 10 were, makes no sense business wise to do this with yet another OS.

    What will happen is planned obsolesce, they will stop supporting older hardware by using features only modern HW supports, and a huge new wave of features to block for the average user because and pre-installed rubbish and so on and so forth that will only be forced down everyone’s throats.

    1. Anonymous said on June 22, 2021 at 5:34 pm
      Reply

      yes i actually hoped that microsoft would release the “windows 11” as a feature upgrade for win 10 users….. guess what they just cant give up their old ways.

  49. Anonymous said on June 18, 2021 at 9:23 am
    Reply

    Quote: “but also from devices running Windows 7 or 8.1 will be supported.”

    As well as they were supported computers for Windows 10 upgrades. Provided your hardware is compatible you can upgrade but as soon as they decide to drop support for a hardware component from a feature upgrade…

  50. Tom Hawack said on June 18, 2021 at 9:22 am
    Reply

    I’ll consider abandoning Win7 for a Win1x the moment the latter will have proven to be flawless (or at least free of eternal fixes which repair previous flaws and create new ones) and engaged in moderating its built-in tracking policy, a double handicap, not to mention the additional native crap (games, applications) most users get rid of (more or less easily) on install. Can’t the company make a clean OS?!

    I’ve followed Windows OSs from versions 3 to 7. Win95, WinXP, Win7 in particular. Never encountered a Win10’s abomination, so switching to this monstrosity isn’t in my short-term plans, to put it mildly.

  51. Paul Roberts said on June 18, 2021 at 9:15 am
    Reply

    As there a over a billion users, why not charge the £1 each to upgrade?

    1. Anonymous said on June 19, 2021 at 11:37 pm
      Reply

      I see you are a person of small ambition!

  52. Only if Pro Free said on June 18, 2021 at 8:40 am
    Reply

    I never understand what people mean when they say Windows is “supported”. When was the last time anyone actually called Microsoft for support? And in the rare chance you did, when was the last time the “support” you received actually helped? Usually, if you need support, it’s because you found yet another bug in Windows 10, and there is absolutely nothing the “support” people will tell you except for “try rebooting your computer and unplugging/replugging your mouse”.

    Regarding patches, the patches created by 0patch are much better quality than those provided by Microsoft, and they provide those for just about any version of Windows (including Windows 7). Microsoft patches are notorious for causing more problems than they solve.

    Everyone I know tried Windows 10 years ago, and within a month, we all switched back to Windows 7.

    Windows 11 doesn’t even include the ability to have an offline account unless you shell out your hard-earned cash for the Pro version. Only if MS gives out the Pro edition on Windows 11 for free will any of us even consider trying it.

    1. JF Berne said on June 18, 2021 at 10:34 am
      Reply

      > When was the last time anyone actually called Microsoft for support?

      I did call it ONCE.

      I had changed the motherboard of a PC running Win10 upgraded for free from Win7, and coudn’t activate Win10 on the new hardware. The reason was that I had not priorly created a MS account on the old hardware, in which case activation is not possible this is a known issue, I sort of naively hoped support would make an exception for me since I made the effort to call them maybe they’d give me an activation key.
      My call landed in India or Pakistan, then it was transferred to Nigeria BUT at some point I gave my telephone number. How foolish (please wipe that smile on your face).

      My advice: NEVER give your phone number to MS support. Ever since, I receive spam calls from fake MS support alleging there is a problem on my PCs etc. Don’t ever give out your phone number to MS support. They work hand in hand with spammers.

      1. Reyansh said on June 23, 2021 at 8:15 pm
        Reply

        @JF Berne

        MS support never asked for my phone number or anything like that. I think you called Mocrisoft Soppurt after clicking an add at a pron site that froze your bowser.

      2. Martin P. said on June 26, 2021 at 1:02 pm
        Reply

        “ … Mocrisoft Soppurt …”

        ROTFLOL!!!!

      3. JF Berne said on June 25, 2021 at 2:00 pm
        Reply

        :) I rather believe a rogue employee asked my phone number and I was stupid enough to disclose it.
        From the accent I assume my call first landed in the Indian sub-continent. After it got transferred I asked my interlocutor what time it was where he was sitting, it so happened that we were in the same time zone. He told me he was in Nigeria. I currently live in Bavaria.
        My experience is that the fake MS calls intensified after that useless call to MS support, but anonymous might be right too.

      4. Reyansh said on June 25, 2021 at 10:54 pm
        Reply

        @JF Berne

        Oh boy, you live in the Free State of Bavaria. Nice. Do you wear lederhosen, get drunk from warm beer, blow your alpenhorn and yodel, and then climb the frozen mountain looking for edelweiss?

        I’m in Zürich. I teach pseudoscience at UZH and I run a small puppet theatre for myopic owls.

        Yup, that could have been a rogue MS employee. Regardless, you should have known who you are calling. I’ve always called the number that’s on my MS disks.

        Here’s some hacker dude who screws with those scammers:

        https://www.youtube.com/c/JimBrowning/videos

      5. Martin P. said on June 26, 2021 at 1:08 pm
        Reply

        “… I’m in Zürich. I teach pseudoscience at UZH and I run a small puppet theatre for myopic owls. …”

        LOL!!!

        Thanks for the laughs!

      6. Anonymous said on June 18, 2021 at 9:58 pm
        Reply

        How do you know your call was transferred to Nigeria. Do you have a bias against Indians, Pakistanis and Nigerians? Any individual might sell your details (including a rogue employee at your trusted bank).

        Most people get inundated with fake MS Support calls and most have never phoned MS support. The scammers use robotic dialers.

    2. lordsofkobolgivemestrenghttofightwithstupidity said on June 18, 2021 at 10:19 am
      Reply

      Supported as in “we do release updates that maintain the code for a duration of time we decided is the lifetime of particular version of Windows/other software” and “this software will work with this and this version of Windows, won’t work on other because we decided so”. That’s the meaning of “supported”.

      And as for me, I’m already spending much of my time on Linux but keeping W10 in dualboot configuration just in case something has to be done on Windows that cannot be done via native Linux applications or Wine translation.

  53. they want your goods said on June 18, 2021 at 8:39 am
    Reply

    The real question is what happens if users upgrade. In the case of Windows 10, the box licenses of 7 and 8.1 turned into OEM licenses – they were ascribed to the single device the upgrade was done on and could no longer be transfered between devices.

    It wouldn’t surprise me if Windows 11 was meant to rob people of their box licenses of Windows 10.

  54. ddk said on June 18, 2021 at 7:38 am
    Reply

    If MS has a public beta of 11, I’ll give it a try. I could probably dual boot Win 10 & 11.
    But great question if upgrades will be freebies. Prediction here is yes due to increasingly aggressive marketing by MS which could be enhanced on 11 and the offering of a subscribed/cloud OS service possibly gaining traction with Win 11.

    1. John Lennon said on June 18, 2021 at 8:53 pm
      Reply

      Dual booting 2 windows systems is not possible, unless you have 2 separate disks.
      The only GOOD thing that COULD (but won’t) be announced on the 24th would be that Windows 11 is free for any computer, yes even those 900 billion cracked Windows 7 computers, as well as all Vista/XP etc machines. Imagine that. Imagine the AD REVENUE, Redmond!!!!!!! IMAGINE!!!!!!!!

  55. Jon Forrest said on June 18, 2021 at 7:35 am
    Reply

    One thing that would help Windows 11 compete with Mac OS and Linux would be making Windows 11 Home free. Knowing that I could legally install Windows 11 on any PC in the future would be a big attraction.

    1. RobG said on June 18, 2021 at 11:57 am
      Reply

      “One thing that would help Windows 11 compete with..Linux”.

      You should do ‘stand-up’, Jon.
      …Pure gold. ;-)

      1. MdN said on June 18, 2021 at 9:23 pm
        Reply

        Yeah, seriously funny. No matter how much they try to copy KDE Plasma in looks it will never have half the capability. Windows to compete with Linux, haha. It’s still an OS for common people.

    2. RobG said on June 18, 2021 at 11:54 am
      Reply

      “One thing that would help Windows 11 compete with…Linux”.

      // chuckles x4 //

  56. John C. said on June 18, 2021 at 7:29 am
    Reply

    Because of a medical emergency, I bought a laptop that came with 10. I only rarely use the thing. As for 11, I’ll let others do the beta work. I’ll also keep an eye on which features M$ removes (it’s been a LOOOOOOOOONG time since a new version of Windows actually added a feature that really makes using Windows easier and faster.) OTOH, they keep removing features that I value. Eg. the ability to easily rename folders in the Windows Explorer Navigation pane, a search feature that’s easy to use and actually works, a Start Menu that isn’t an abomination, etc. etc.

  57. amicrazy said on June 18, 2021 at 7:22 am
    Reply

    hahaha…no thank you…didnt upgrade to win 10 & didnt interested in 11 either.

    let just hope they didnt pull forced upgrade again otherwise im gonna roll on the floor laughing out of madness.

    1. Manta said on June 18, 2021 at 11:53 pm
      Reply

      u dont have directx 12 ,, u dont have no protection ,, ued probably be safer on windows 98 hahahaha

      1. RobG said on June 21, 2021 at 3:25 pm
        Reply

        Manta said … “u dont have no protection”.

        Nonsense. That’s a myth circulated by Microsoft to boost Windows 10 sales. There are plenty W7 users still receiving security updates ..via various means. And every anti-virus & firewall programme still supports updates for Windows 7 (and even for Windows XP) and will continue to do so for the next five years at least judging by past expereince.

        Ive personally never seen a security-related issue with with W7, or even with XP, and nor have I seen one in the field (as a PC tech). But I have seen plenty of Windows 10 users shouting for help from various forums because they’d picked a virus, or ransomware, or were just hacked off that Microsoft was messing up their PCs again with yet another botched update.

        So in the end, its all about getting the balance right between risk and stability.

      2. kbye said on June 21, 2021 at 4:52 am
        Reply

        vulkan is the future.

      3. Mark said on June 19, 2021 at 8:23 pm
        Reply

        Windows 8.1 is supported until 2023, and unless you’re a gamer who cares about DirectX 12?

      4. amicrazy said on June 19, 2021 at 11:55 am
        Reply

        yeah probably…but whatever, windows 10 is too much of a hassle. games nowaday is also dissappointing too, too much hype.

Leave a Reply

Check the box to consent to your data being stored in line with the guidelines set out in our privacy policy

We love comments and welcome thoughtful and civilized discussion. Rudeness and personal attacks will not be tolerated. Please stay on-topic.
Please note that your comment may not appear immediately after you post it.