[Closed] Window 10 Pro upgrades - Download key legit?

Even cheaper is just to download the ISO for free and use your existing Windows 7 / Windows 8.1 OEM key to install it.

Get the installation tool here and image a USB pendrive.

I thought you only got like for like Cougar, so you need 7 or 8 pro to get 10 pro

I use Software Geek for all my licences.

Sometimes I have had to phone the MS automated line to validate the install but this has never been an issue apart from having to type what seems like several million characters into my phone.

I thought you only got like for like Cougar, so you need 7 or 8 pro to get 10 pro

True enough.  But it's not like older Windows versions, there's little reason to have Pro outside of a corporate environment.  Pro adds things like the ability to join a domain and manage Group Policy.  About the only potentially useful things it gives you is RDP access and Bitlocker, neither of which will be of much interest to your typical home user.

Yeah it's what the op is after though... .

It probably is too good to be true, likely to be OEM licenses. I doubt if Microsoft care if your a home user but I doubt they would allow a business to be correctly licensed.

Yeah it’s what the op is after though… .

Ah, I see what you mean.  "I could do with upgrading to win 10 pro" - it wasn't clear what he's upgrading from.

likely to be OEM licenses

Almost certainly, I'd have thought.

Just installed Win 10 on an old PC using the Win 7 license number on the side of the PC's case. I'd wiped the hard drive, then used a USB installation.  Just tapped in the old key, accepted and all licensed.  I've previously upgraded PC's during the upgrade period, but it looks that it's actually extended on the quiet.

Yeah.

The official MS stance is that W10 is still free for people with accessibility needs.  But there's no policing of that at all, you can just download and install it.

My theory is that MS don't really care about desktop revenue, their goal is to get rid of all the legacy desktop OSes.

I recently bought this from Amazon to do a fresh install on a wiped laptop:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0182DF7IQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Was £15 including a copy of Windows on a nice little USB stick (which can be re-used for whatever you want afterwards) and a license key. All installed absolutely fine, no need to phone Microsoft or any of that.
They say it's all fully legit and I'm just a humble ignorant customer so I can only believe them.

EDIT: That was a complete lie! That was just for a copy of windows (that you can download for free but I had no way of doing at the time). I bought the license key off ebay for about £4 which just came in a message from the seller. The legit thing still applies though - some blurb about taking it off a motherboard and you're welcome to drop in and pick up the old motherboard if you really want to!

I've done four or five PCs now with OEM keys off EBay for £4 no issues yet. I tend to agree that with OS X going'free' (well, after you've bought a Mac) MS aren't really bothered about the money, but want to tie as many as possible into W10 desktops by hook and  by crook.

I recently bought this from Amazon to do a fresh install on a wiped laptop:

That's a nice little earner.  Get a £2 pendrive of the type given away as promotional material at shows and conferences, upload the free ISO to it, drop it on Amazon for £15.

I'm amazed MS haven't trodden on this, historically they were always very precious about third parties distributing their own media.

The official MS stance is that W10 is still free for people with accessibility needs.  But there’s no policing of that at all, you can just download and install it.

I think that ended at the start of the year.

I have a (only slightly) better than a layman’s knowledge of MS Licensing, but in short if the license works then you’re free and clear - doesn’t mean it’s in line with their licensing rules or indeed the law (which are sometimes contradictory) but MS license codes are one-use, as in you use it, if MS severs accept it then they assign an allowance to the device, they’re not transferable, but the code ceases to exist once activated so as long as it works, you’re fine.

If audited they’ll only be looking for OSs that show you they’re activated, not codes as such as they haven’t produced license stickers for years.

That’s a nice little earner.

I completely agree, and I knew exactly what they were doing, but as i acquired the laptop for free from work it had to be wiped clean before they gave it to me. With no other access to write my own ISO this thing rocked up the next day and worked perfectly.
It's just how business works - buy something, sell it for more than you bought it, make a profit.

I am in the same position, its a clean install.  I don't have a copy to upgrade from, and I want professional as this is a work machine so I want to control updates and be able to have more comprehensive domain access etc.

Thanks all for your input, it seems legit, I am going for it.