Windows 11 can no longer be activated with keys for Windows 7 or 8
For a long time, PC users have been able to legally activate Windows 11 and 10 with valid keys for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. This practice has been available since 2015, when Microsoft released Windows 10 with a one-year free update window.
However, when the allotted year for free OS upgrades expired, the company did not close the possibility of upgrading from Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 to Windows 10. And after the release of Windows 11 in 2021, you can still use the keys from previous releases to activate the latest OS.
But now Microsoft is closing this loophole, and upgrading from Windows 7 and 8 to Windows 11 is no longer possible. The company has published a corresponding message in the Device Partner Center:
“Microsoft’s free upgrade offer to Windows 10/11 ended on July 29, 2016. The path to get a free upgrade to Windows 7/8 has also been removed. Upgrades to Windows 11 from Windows 10 are still free”
It is noted that old Windows 7 and 8 keys still allow you to activate Windows 11 22H2, but newer versions are no longer activated by them. This is evidenced by the experiments of the neowin resource.
