Solved Windows Home to Windows Pro upgrade

Hi !
I just bought a new laptop that comes with windows 10 Home pre-installed. I would really like to upgrade it to Windows Pro version.
For this I need your help and advice. What is the cheapest way to get an upgrade key and also how should I proceed? Should I first
update Windows 10 home to 10 pro and then update to Windows 11 Or can I update to 11 and then get update key!?

rezpower said:

I just bought a new laptop that comes with windows 10 Home pre-installed. I would really like to upgrade it to Windows Pro version. ... how should I proceed? Should I first update Windows 10 home to 10 pro and then update to Windows 11 Or can I update to 11 and then get update key!?

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Welcome to Eleven Forum

It really makes no difference, all keys are valid for Windows 10/11. A Pro key will upgrade Home to Pro whether you upgrade while running 10 Home or 11 Home. The end result will be the same whichever upgrade you do first.

You'll have to buy a Pro key, but it doesn't matter if it says it's for 10 or 11 - Microsoft make no distinction between the two and each key is equally valid for both.

Even better if you have an old spare Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 Pro key. Those too can be used to upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro.

Bree said:

Even better if you have an old spare Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 Pro key. Those too can be used to upgrade Windows 10 Home to Pro.

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This. And I've even known cases where a visit to the local second hand auction house has picked up an old device with a Win 7/8.x license, cheaper than buying a (legitimate/valid) license key separately.

Thanks a lot for your replies. Unfortunately the only pro license I have is tied to my actual laptop (you can see it in my profile)! I never imagined that this laptop would last and work 10 years for me! Even if it still runs like the first day it was time and I felt I needed to upgrade :)
So my only choice is to buy a new or an upgrade license.

Is there a particular feature in pro that you are wanting to use? Just making sure that you really have a need to purchase that pro key in the first place.

If you're feeling lucky, there are sites that offer OEM keys for much less than retail. Example: Guru3D (not a piracy site). (At the moment, an offer is on page 2.) I have no idea what the source of the keys is, or whether they would never be blacklisted by Microsoft. But they probably will work now.

In principle, OEM keys are not intended to be used for personal use, but there is no enforcement of that.

Not advocating anything illegal, by any means but ...

But I think Microsoft don't give a fig anymore, since they released free upgrades to Win10/11 ... if you've got a Win7/8.x key, then you could probably use it

Case in point .... I have 6 devices in this household, all but 1 came with Home, the other came with Pro. All the Home were upgraded to Pro with a leftover keys previously used but then unused Win7 Pro Retail.

Before I became an imagingo-phile, my first recourse was always to a clean install (never was, still not, a big fan of hours & hours/days of troubleshooting with scans/Recovery/Repair/Restore etc options, when a full clean re-install of Windows+software was over and done in a couple of hours)

Because 5 of the devices came with Home OEM, even though upgrade keys were applied, Windows always re-installed itself as Home version and the Pro keys had to be re-applied.

In the beginning, I was diligent in my record keeping, what device go what key. That lasted about 12 months ...needless to say, after that, when I had to do clean install, I just grabbed any Pro key and stuck it to that device (whether it was already in use on an existing device, or not) .... it was always accepted and none have been subsequently rejected. I consequently concluded the Microsoft couldn't care less, as long it was a legitimate (personal user's type) key.

bobkn said:

If you're feeling lucky, there are sites that offer OEM keys for much less than retail. Example: Guru3D (not a piracy site). (At the moment, an offer is on page 2.) I have no idea what the source of the keys is, or whether they would never be blacklisted by Microsoft. But they probably will work now.

In principle, OEM keys are not intended to be used for personal use, but there is no enforcement of that.

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Thanks a lot , will have a look :)

pparks1 said:

Is there a particular feature in pro that you are wanting to use? Just making sure that you really have a need to purchase that pro key in the first place.

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Well I use BitLocker and mostly the Group Policy. It's not a deal breaker if I loose them but I really prefer to conserve those!

rezpower said:

Thanks a lot , will have a look :)


Well I use BitLocker and mostly the Group Policy. It's not a deal breaker if I loose them but I really prefer to conserve those!

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Gotcha, well those ARE both really solid reasons to use Pro.

@idgat,

I have solution for you to the issue of having to first install the home edition on a system that came with OEM Windows and then upgrade to Pro by changing the license key.

First the reason for this behavior is because the system BIOS has a signature that effectively informs Windows setup that "I came from the factory with Windows Home edition installed". This makes it easier for the average consumer because many may not even know what edition of Windows they have.

The solution is super simple:

Open notepad and enter these two lines of text:

[Channel] Retail

Save the file as "ei.cfg". Make sure notepad does not add a ".txt".

Save the file in the \sources folder of your Windows installation media. Now, it won't automatically choose the Windows edition to install. It will present a list of editions and you can simply choose Pro.

hsehestedt said:

I have solution for you to the issue of having to first install the home edition on a system that came with OEM Windows and then upgrade to Pro by changing the license key.

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No solution needed, not an issue having to upgrade from Home to Pro.

hsehestedt said:

Save the file in the \sources folder of your Windows installation media. Now, it won't automatically choose the Windows edition to install. It will present a list of editions and you can simply choose Pro.

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Not worth the effort having to manipulate a newly downloaded installation every time I create a new boot USB. Probably takes the same amount of time just to enter the upgrade key as it does to create and add the cfg file to the newly created installation media each time.

Anyway, not required any more, haven't done a clean install for a while, all the devices are imaged frequently, I just restore one of those.

Understood. I was merely presenting it as option. It's my preference because I then know I will never need the key. Once I activate a machine I toss the key knowing I will never ever need the key again, even if I've upgraded from Home to Pro.

It's also kinda easy for me because I use my own scripts to create install media and that ALWAYS inserts an ei.cfg automatically.

Hello all. Just wanted to let you all know that my problem is solved. A very kind, well known, VIP member of this forum pm'd me and offered me an upgrade key to windows PRO. A very kind gesture and a generous gift :) (Not mentioning his name just because I don't have his permission to do so )

rezpower said:

Thanks a lot for your replies. Unfortunately the only pro license I have is tied to my actual laptop (you can see it in my profile)! I never imagined that this laptop would last and work 10 years for me! Even if it still runs like the first day it was time and I felt I needed to upgrade :)
So my only choice is to buy a new or an upgrade license.

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Unfortunately I have some Notebooks and couple of Desktops that are more than 4 years old that work fine with Win10 but cannot be Upgraded to Win11 whether Home or Pro. Two things against properly Upgrading on the hardware side are the Intel CPUs are not 8th Generation or later and they do not have the TPM module/feature on them. To keep up with my clients and learning the new or changed things I purchased a new Notebook in Oct. and Desktop in April, both came with Win10 Pro and after setup and the updates done they got the Win11 Upgrade.

bobkn said:

I have no idea what the source of the keys is

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My guess is that they are MAK keys. My two mini pcs came preinstalled with Widows that used a MAK key.

Berton said:

Two things against properly Upgrading on the hardware side are the Intel CPUs are not 8th Generation or later and they do not have the TPM module/feature on them.

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You can of course 'improperly' upgrade almost anything. But in your position with your clients to deal with that's probably not a good idea (fun to try though ).