Solved Installing windows 10 on a win 11 pre installed laptop

hasebsiddiqui · Dec 2, 2021

I just bought a laptop with windows11pro preinstalled by the manufacture(digital license). I don't like windows 11 at all and want to install windows 10 on this laptop. My question is if I clean install windows 10 (delete recovery drives etc and complete format SSD) will I be able to upgrade to Windows 11 in the future with the same license? And do I need to buy a separate license for windows 10 or will my windows 11 license will just magically work with windows 10?

Edit:
After posting here and waiting for the answer I also directly asked from Microsoft support. They confirmed that I can install windows 10 using the same license and can easily upgrade back to win 11 in the future whenever I want.

Edit 2:
I finally installed Windows 10 today and it got automatically activated with windows 11 license. without any issue.

Bree · Dec 2, 2021

hasebsiddiqui said:
do I need to buy a separate license for windows 10 or will my windows 11 license will just magically work with windows 10?

Welcome to Eleven Forum.

There is no difference between a Windows 10 or Windows 11 key or digital licence. If the PC is activated in Windows 11 then a clean install of Windows 10 will activate too. Windows 10 can be upgraded for free to Windows 11 at any time.

hasebsiddiqui · Dec 2, 2021

Bree said:
Welcome to Eleven Forum.

There is no difference between a Windows 10 or Windows 11 key or digital licence. If the PC is activated in Windows 11 then a clean install of Windows 10 will activate too. Windows 10 can be upgraded for free to Windows 11 at any time.

Thanks

cereberus · Dec 2, 2021

Bree said:
Welcome to Eleven Forum.

There is no difference between a Windows 10 or Windows 11 key or digital licence. If the PC is activated in Windows 11 then a clean install of Windows 10 will activate too. Windows 10 can be upgraded for free to Windows 11 at any time.

We know the digital licence is the same but can we be certain the W11 licence is backwards compatible e.g. on a clean install on a pc without any embedded licence or previous digital licence, a Windows 10 installation can be activated using a 7/8 licence, but a W7/8 installation cannot be activated with a W10 licence.

So, by same token, has anybody categorically, proven that a W11 licence will directly activate a Windows 10 installation.

It is not a major issue if it does not, as you would have to install W11 first to get a digital licence, then install W10 afterwards.

In OPs case, I see no issue for sure, provided OP fully installs W11 first to establish a W10 licence. As usual, it is always a good plan to make an image backup of pc BEFORE installing W10.

AddRAM · Dec 3, 2021

You should learn W11 now, it`s so much better than W10.
Yes your license will work either way.

Bree · Dec 3, 2021

cereberus said:
has anybody categorically, proven that a W11 licence will directly activate a Windows 10 installation.

Microsoft do not make a distinction between Windows 10 and 11 when selling keys in the Store. They describe them as a "Windows 10/11". That seems to imply a key is not specifically tied to one version or the other.

davewin11 · Dec 3, 2021

AddRAM said:
You should learn W11 now, it`s so much better than W10.

Hardly

NavyLCDR · Dec 3, 2021

cereberus said:
We know the digital licence is the same but can we be certain the W11 licence is backwards compatible e.g. on a clean install on a pc without any embedded licence or previous digital licence, a Windows 10 installation can be activated using a 7/8 licence, but a W7/8 installation cannot be activated with a W10 licence.

So, by same token, has anybody categorically, proven that a W11 licence will directly activate a Windows 10 installation.

It is not a major issue if it does not, as you would have to install W11 first to get a digital licence, then install W10 afterwards.

In OPs case, I see no issue for sure, provided OP fully installs W11 first to establish a W10 licence. As usual, it is always a good plan to make an image backup of pc BEFORE installing W10.

Yes. Windows 11 product keys and digital licenses will activate Windows 10 as well. Both Windows 10 and 11 use the exact same product keys and digital licenses.

spapakons · Dec 3, 2021

I would create a full disk backup or clone to a spare disk with Macrium or other utility, so anytime I would like to go back to Windows 11, I could just restore the backup. Then I would delete all partitions to gain valuable space before proceeding to install Windows 10. Normally the key is stored at the UEFI firmware (BIOS), so Windows Setup will detect it and use it automatically. If you want to see it and take a note before formatting the disk you can use the ShowKeyPlus tool.

BunnyJ · Dec 3, 2021

davewin11 said:
Hardly

Care to expand on that comment/thought??

moob · Dec 3, 2021

AddRAM said:
You should learn W11 now, it`s so much better than W10.

What??? yeahhhh, and I am Clark Kent

BunnyJ · Dec 3, 2021

moob said:
What???

Care to expand on that??

moob · Dec 3, 2021

BunnyJ said:
Care to expand on that??

I do things in w10 that you can't do in w11, like folder thumbnails, like many other things that for now windows 11 is limited.

Of course without using third-party apps.

spapakons · Dec 3, 2021

Regarding Windows 11 vs 10, if you install all drivers properly, I haven't seen any perceivable difference in performance. What it changes is the user interface. Some things are at different places or are done differently in Windows 11. Any single game or application that I have tried, no matter how old, as long as it works in 10 it also works in 11. All devices with a proper driver to work in 10 also work in 11 with the same driver, even if this is as old as Windows Vista. So it is a matter of preference if you like the new interface, or not. Most of us don't like the annoying "Show more options" when we right-click on the desktop, but there is a registry patch to disable it and show the expanded list by default. Also we prefer the start menu at the left, as we have been used to so many years. Again there is an option to put it at the left. If you prefer the Windows 7 start menu, you can install Open Shell or Classic Start or similar utility. I found a bug, Open Shell doesn't work unless you also replace the start button. If you replace the start button, then it works as expected. One glitch is that the start button is drawn a little to the left of the default button and looks weird. You can fix that by setting the appropriate size in pixels to cover the whole original button. For screens with 100% scaling this is 60 pixels, and I think for 150% scaling it is 72 pixels,

BunnyJ · Dec 3, 2021

moob said:
I do things in w10 that you can't do in w11, like folder thumbnails, like many other things that for now windows 11 is limited.

Of course without using third-party apps.

Reg hack and thrid party apps let you use 11 just like 10.. I take it you just prefere 10 over 11.. and that's fine but it doesn't prove that 10 is that much better than 11.

moob · Dec 3, 2021

BunnyJ said:
Reg hack and thrid party apps let you use 11 just like 10.. I take it you just prefere 10 over 11.. and that's fine but it doesn't prove that 10 is that much better than 11.

the same applies to w10 compared to w11, so....

say that windows 11 is much better than windows 10 is a complete lie.

and I wrote no third-party applications and hacks.

spapakons · Dec 3, 2021

To save you time, I recommend download Winaero Tweaker. You can tweak just about everything in Windows 11. Have a look, all the registry hacks in one place easy to use. Also tested and working, old calculator, classic Windows games, classic sticky notes, Windows gadgets (www.8gadgetpack.com) and more.