Microsoft has not set an end date for a possibility that consumers can use to upgrade their computer to Windows 10 for free, a company spokesperson reports to NU.nl.
It is a tool called Media Creation Tool (MCT) that Microsoft uses on its website offered. Consumers can upgrade their computer with a valid license for Windows 7 or Windows 8 to Windows 10 with the program.
Formally, Microsoft offered customers the opportunity to upgrade their computer to Windows 10 for free until June 29, 2016, but the tool has remained available to consumers in recent months.
Several users of the NUjij response platform have informed NU.nl that they have successfully upgraded their Windows 7 computer in this way. The same applies to Marie Louise Kutík-Veldman, system administrator by profession, who downloaded the tool for both business and private use.
“A product code is not requested unless there is no activated product code on the machine,” she says. “I happened to have a case like this on Monday, but if it’s okay you have it in your possession. In my case it was on a sticker on the machine. Without this code you won’t get further in the process, since the MCT code directly. “
The Microsoft spokesperson emphasizes that the Media Creation Tool is not formally intended for consumers, but only for business customers. “We really advise consumers not to activate Windows 10 via this tool, because it is a non-supporting route.”
Consumers also receive Windows 10 updates
Users who upgrade their Windows version are advised to back up for safety. The NUjij’ers who have used the tool let us know in additional responses in all cases that they subsequently also receive the security updates.
They also receive the bi-annual updates with new functions if there was already one in their situation. Microsoft usually gives Windows 10 such a major update in the spring and autumn.
“The Media Creation Tool is self-explanatory and very easy to use,” says Kutík-Veldman. “With the program you perform a complete update of the operating system.
So you install a full version, as you would have if you bought it separately. Of course, this includes security updates, because this is a legitimate full Windows 10 version that Microsoft simply maintains. “
From 2023 only Windows 10 is supported
On January 14, Microsoft stopped support for Windows 7. As a result, devices with the operating system no longer receive security updates. From 2023, this also applies to Windows 8. From that moment, Windows 10 is the only system that is still supported by Microsoft with updates.
Microsoft emphasizes that users who install Windows 10 without using a valid license do not have security updates and therefore run an increased risk of risk.
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