Microsoft ends free upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 7 and Windows 8

We’ve come a long way from the good ol’ days of Windows 7 with the now-AI-powered Windows 11. But suddenly, Microsoft has removed the installation path to obtain the free Windows 7/8 upgrade. No more free upgrades.

This announcement was definitely a shock for some. It means that users who are still running on Windows 7 or 8 will need to purchase a license for Windows 10 or Windows 11 if they want to upgrade.

The free upgrade offer for Windows 10 ended on July 29, 2016, but some sites have reported that the free upgrade policy continued even past the announced expiration date.

The reason for this change? It’s highly likely to ensure that users are running on a supported version of Windows. Windows 7 and 8 are no longer supported by Microsoft, and they do not receive security updates. 

Apparently, as tested by Paul Thurrott, you still won’t be able to use Windows 7/8.x retail product keys to get the free update to Windows 11 even if you’ve gotten them from MSDN/TechNET. This change is already in effect in the Canary channel of the Windows Insider Preview build, and it is likely to be rolled out to other channels and eventually to the stable version of Windows 11 in the future.

Microsoft is encouraging users to upgrade to Windows 11, which is the latest and most secure version of Windows. However, users who are not able to upgrade to Windows 11 can still purchase a license for Windows 10, although the days of its latest version are pretty much numbered anyway.

Thoughts on this sudden change?