How to activate Windows 10 for free?

Reliablecounter Team

Windows 10 is one of the best operating systems released by Microsoft. It comes with various advanced features that allow users to perform multiple tasks. Suppose you are currently using any Windows OS lower than Windows 10, such as Windows 8 or Windows 7. In that case, it is advised to immediately switch to Windows 10 as Microsoft provides regular updates to keep up with the features and security level of the system.

Since Microsoft has ended the support to Windows 7, many users are looking for ways to upgrade to Windows 10 from it.

If you are looking to activate Windows 10 without buying a new license, we will provide you a few ways to do it in this post.

Upgrade to Windows 10 using Official Method

When Windows 10 was newly launched in 2015, Microsoft provided an offer to Windows 7 and 8.1 users to freely upgrade to Windows 10 using the original product keys of 7 and 8.1. Although this offer was officially ended on July 29, 2018, users can still upgrade to Windows 10 through that method. Here is how you can do that:

  1. Visit Microsoft’s official website and download the Media Creation Tool to install Windows 10.
  2. Launch the Media Creation Tool to begin the installation of Windows 10.
  3. You can either choose to upgrade the current PC or create an installation media.
  4. When you are asked to insert the product key during installation, enter the original product key of your Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 OS.

Your product key can be found in multiple places. Like, in your Desktop box, your DVD installation disc, or behind your removable battery in case you’ve got a laptop.

Also, keep in mind that if you are running the home version of Windows 7 or Windows 8, you can be upgraded to the home version of Windows 10 only. You cannot switch from home to pro or vice-versa.

That’s it. You will be freely upgraded to Windows 10 for free.

Use Freely Available Online Product Keys

If you don’t have the original product key of Windows 7 or 8 and still want to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, you can use the freely available online product keys. To activate Windows 10 using publicly available keys, follow these steps:

  1. On the windows search box, type command prompt, right-click on its icon and run command prompt with admin rights.
  2. On the command line window, type or copy & paste this command: vbs /upk.
  3. Now, again type or copy & paste this command and hit enter: slmgr /ipk <Windows 10 activation key>. Replace the <Windows 10 activation key> with one of the following public keys:
    • Home: TX9XD-98N7V-6WMQ6-BX7FG-H8Q99
    • Home N: 3KHY7-WNT83-DGQKR-F7HPR-844BM
    • Home Single Language: 7HNRX-D7KGG-3K4RQ-4WPJ4-YTDFH
    • Home Country Specific: PVMJN-6DFY6-9CCP6-7BKTT-D3WVR
    • Professional: W269N-WFGWX-YVC9B-4J6C9-T83GX
    • Professional N: MH37W-N47XK-V7XM9-C7227-GCQG9
    • Education: NW6C2-QMPVW-D7KKK-3GKT6-VCFB2
    • Education N: 2WH4N-8QGBV-H22JP-CT43Q-MDWWJ
    • Enterprise: NPPR9-FWDCX-D2C8J-H872K-2YT43
    • Enterprise N: DPH2V-TTNVB-4X9Q3-TJR4H-KHJW4
  1. Next, type or copy/paste the slmgr /skms zh.us.to command and hit enter.
  2. At last, copy and paste slmgr /ato and hit Enter to activate Windows 10 for free with CMD.
  3. You will see the success pop-up

Use KMSpico Activator to activate Windows 10

If you don’t have genuine activation keys and the publicly available license didn’t work for you, you can use the KMSpico Activator for the Windows 10 activation. KMSpico is an online tool that is used for illegally activate the Windows OS and Microsoft Office. It exploits the KMS Technology of Microsoft.

Although, it is highly recommended not to use KMSpico as you are encouraging piracy by using it.

In case you still decided to use it, here are the steps to do that:

  1. Download the KMSpico activator from a trusted source.
  2. Disable the Windows Defender and any other installed security program.
  3. After the download is finished, run the file to initiate the installation.
  4. Run the KMSpico program after the installation.
  5. After the activator is launched, it would automatically detect the Microsoft services that need to be activated.
  6. Click on the red button to begin the activation process of your selected service.
  7. After a while, the “Successfully Activated” message will be popped-up.

Since KMSpico needs to modify some internal files of Windows 10, many security programs, including Windows Defender, would rate it as a malicious program. However, if you download it from its official source, then it is entirely safe to use.

Summing Up

Microsoft is set to launch Windows 11 soon. However, many users will still prefer using Windows 10 till its end of support in 2025. If your Windows 10 is still inactive, you can use the methods explained in this post to activate it. It is highly recommended to use legitimate techniques to activate Windows 10.