Upgrade Win10 from Home to Pro without Reinstall

[branx86]

 default Windows 10 Pro key VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

SCENARIO 3: UPGRADING A NEW PC FROM HOME TO PRO

Let's say you buy a new PC with Windows 10 Home installed by the OEM. When you check the Activation page in Settings, it should look something like this:


If you have a Windows 10 Pro product key, you can click the Change Product Key button and enter it here. Easy.

If you don't have a Pro product key and you want to buy one, you can click Go To Store and purchase the upgrade for $100. Also easy.

But what if you have a Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate key, or a Windows 8/8.1 Pro key? In that case, you need to do the upgrade in two steps.

First, make sure you've installed the November update and you are running version 1511.

Next, click Change Product Key and enter the default Windows 10 Pro key (see above). After the upgrade completes, check the Activation screen again and you'll see this:


What, you were expecting that default key to magically give you a $100 upgrade? Sorry, that's not how it works, despite what you might have read elsewhere.

Instead, click the Change Product Key button and enter your Windows 7 Pro/Ultimate or Windows 8/8.1 Pro key. Assuming it's a legitimate key and you are running Windows 10 version 1511 or later, your activation should complete successfully.

If that process seems cumbersome, you're right. It does go fairly quickly, however.