Installation and Upgrade Downgrade Windows 11 Pro to Windows 11 Home


Windows_11_downgrade_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to downgrade from Windows 11 Pro, Education, or Enterprise to Windows 11 Home without losing anything.

You may find yourself needing or wanting to downgrade from the Windows 11 Pro, Education, or Enterprise edition to the Windows 11 Home edition.

A direct downgrade from Windows 11 Pro, Education, or Enterprise to Windows 11 Home is not supported, and would normally require a clean install of Windows 11 Home resulting in the loss of all your data.

Using a workaround in this tutorial, you can downgrade your device from Windows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Education, or Windows 11 Enterprise to the Windows 11 Home edition without data loss.


You must be signed in as an administrator to downgrade to the Windows 11 Home edition.

Downgrading to Windows 11 Home will result in the loss of features only available in the Windows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Education, or Windows 11 Enterprise editions.




Here's How:

1 Click/tap on the Download button below to download the REG file below.

Downgrade_to_Windows11-Home.reg


(contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion]
"CompositionEditionID"="Core"
"EditionID"="Core"
"ProductName"="Windows 10 Home"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion]
"CompositionEditionID"="Core"
"EditionID"="Core"
"ProductName"="Windows 10 Home"

2 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

3 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

4 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

5 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.

6 Perform a repair install of Windows 11 (click on link) with a Windows 11 ISO or USB installation media from within Windows 11 and not at boot.

You can use the Media Creation Tool with Use the recommended options for this PC checked to get an ISO for this.


You will need at least 20 GB of free space on the Windows drive to perform an in-place upgrade (aka: repair install).

This will take some time to finished.



7 When the repair install has finished, you will now be downgraded to the Windows 11 Home edition without losing anything. (see screenshot below)

Windows_11_edition.png

8 If your Windows 11 Home is currently not activated by a digital license, then you will need to Change product key to a valid Windows 11 Home key to activate.

Windows_11_activation_state.png



That's it,
Shawn Brink


 

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Hi I recently downgraded my HP mini pc from windows 11 Pro to Windows 11 Home. the original key was originally Windows 11 Pro.... So I had to get a new windows key for windows 11 home... Already had a spare windows 11 home key that was unused so that saved me some money... What I wanted to ask cause the Original Product key was windows 11 Pro and I had to use the new key for Home to activated how come when checking for the windows key using a command prompt how come it still shows the original pro key and not the new home key? But when I use an app that let's you see the windows key it shows the windows pro key as old and that the home key as new and installed... Shouldn't the new key over write old key and show up when I search for it using CMD?

Aslo I wanted. To know if I clean install windows at a later point in time will it revert back to the original pro key or will it stay as windows home key? It was my first time time doing a downgrade of windows from pro to home. So it's all new to me any help would be appreciated Thanks
Hello, :alien:

If the Pro key is embedded in the UEFI of the OEM HP computer, then when you clean install Windows 11 it will automatically detect the Pro key and install that edition.

Luckily, you'll just have to downgrade again using the Home key.

If you use an app like, ShowKeyPlus, it'll show you the installed key Windows is currently activated with, and the OEM key embedded in the UEFI.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
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    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
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    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Hello, :alien:

If the Pro key is embedded in the UEFI of the OEM HP computer, then when you clean install Windows 11 it will automatically detect the Pro key and install that edition.

Luckily, you'll just have to downgrade again using the Home key.

If you use an app like, ShowKeyPlus, it'll show you the installed key Windows is currently activated with, and the OEM key embedded in the UEFI.

Thanks. I'm not planning to clean install again I useley backup everything using Casper so if I have problems I can always start over with my backup
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Thanks. I'm not planning to clean install again I useley backup everything using Casper so if I have problems I can always start over with my backup
:shawn:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I recently downgraded my HP mini pc from windows 11 Pro to Windows 11 Home

What were / are the list of benefits using home compared to pro?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
    Motherboard
    Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
    Memory
    16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
    Hard Drives
    Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Mobile Workstation
What were / are the list of benefits using home compared to pro?
I've never used pro before and don't need the extra features.... I bought a used HP elite mini 800 g9 pc that came with windows pro
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
It was what you had been accustomed with rather than any specific pro / con?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
    Motherboard
    Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
    Memory
    16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
    Hard Drives
    Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Mobile Workstation
Will I lose my files with this method?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Ideapad 5

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I re-did this downgrade on 24H2 (released 10/01/2024). it worked, from Enterprise/Pro to Home.


however, I confirmed an issue. i.e. the file Downgrade_to_Windows11-Home.reg NOT always works. unreliable.
So, prior to in-place install, you have to run "RegEdit" to verify the ProductName. If NOT updated yet, manually do it, exit.
then re-run "Regedit" to re-confirm.
It's tedious. but it's necessary.

this time, before my last successful test, my first 5-6 trials all failed. i.e. when run in-place install, version prompt still "Enterprise/Pro". each time, I repeated same procedure, changed Reg running Regedit, exit then run setup.exe. alternatively tried 23H2 and 24H2. I was very sure "ProductName"="Windows 10 Home" confirmed.

but my in-place install still failed. I almost gave up. (even it's well-known that my present 23H2 Home was obtained this way)

at final, I got once successful. Now I am running 24H2 Home. ;-)
 

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    Lenovo Legion 5i Pro Gen 6
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    32GB DDR4 3200MHz
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I joined just to thank Brink for this tutorial. I just bought a refurbished computer and the guy put Windows 11 Pro on it but provided an 11 Home key, so it wouldn't activate. So now I followed your "hack" to fool my computer into thinking it had Home so I could "reinstall" it. So now I have an activated computer with Windows 11 Home. Phew! I was about ready to return this computer. No way was I going to pay $199 to buy a Pro key. Thank you thank you!!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
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    PC/Desktop
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    Lenovo
    CPU
    13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-13620H
    Memory
    23 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) UHD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek(R) Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080, 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    1 TB
    Browser
    Chrome
    Other Info
    All in One with Touch Screen
I joined just to thank Brink for this tutorial. I just bought a refurbished computer and the guy put Windows 11 Pro on it but provided an 11 Home key, so it wouldn't activate. So now I followed your "hack" to fool my computer into thinking it had Home so I could "reinstall" it. So now I have an activated computer with Windows 11 Home. Phew! I was about ready to return this computer. No way was I going to pay $199 to buy a Pro key. Thank you thank you!!

You're most welcome, and welcome. I'm glad it could help. :shawn:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Hi, I just registered to compliment you, it's amazing how a simple registry key downgraded from Pro to Home, without even downloading the iso, thanks and great work
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 11
Hi, I just registered to compliment you, it's amazing how a simple registry key downgraded from Pro to Home, without even downloading the iso, thanks and great work

I'm glad it could help, and welcome. :shawn:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I just registered to say thank you guys for posting this. We ordered for an executive a new Surface Pro 11 with one of the Snapdragon chips(n). One of the more frustrating computer experiences ever. We'd updated the system to Windows 11 Pro to join to our domain and went to load the antivirus software only to discover that our antivirus software and vpn was not compatible. We had used our volume license key to upgrade it and I was having a rough time trying to figure out how on earth to downgrade it back to home edition. Thankfully between a combination of this thread and using uudump in order to create a Windows 11 home only installer, I was able to get it finally downgraded after spending much of the morning on this.

Microsoft....if you ever read this, as much as I can't stand Apple products at times, take a lesson and if you are planning to move forward with ARM chips, please develop something similar to Rosetta that Apple has created for their systems. It seems to work quite nicely. The experience of fighting with the Surface Pro 11 has been extremely maddening. We spent a great deal of money for that system, the docking station and accessories. Now that the system is reset, it is being returned in favor of a Dell 2 in 1 with an Intel Ultra 7 cpu that should work as normal.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop

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