Why you should never buy "cheap" low cost Windows Product Keys

[trs96]

If you search Google for low cost Windows CD-Keys or Product Keys you'll get thousands of results offering too good to be true prices for most any version of Windows. Many people buy these and think that they are perfectly ok to use. They're not. There are many different kinds of keys you can buy. The following video by Chris Titus covers all of these in great detail. You'll learn how sellers can sell these so cheap and still make a profit.

In summary when you buy these cheap keys you are supporting people that are breaking the law. You are technically just as guilty as they are. Your product key might work initially and then stop working. If you really can't afford to pay at least 50 dollars for a genuine OEM key, simply buy a Dell, Lenovo or HP business PC with Windows 7 on it. They often have the product key sticker on the case. Install Windows 10 on that PC hardware, then activate it online by entering the Windows 7 key. At least then you can be certain it's a genuine key and not an MAK or KMS key. Look for low cost PCs on Ebay and make sure the seller tells you or you can see from the pictures it has the intact sticker on the PC.

 

[Going Bald]

.... If you really can't afford to pay at least 50 dollars for a genuine OEM key, simply buy a Dell, Lenovo or HP business PC with Windows 7 on it. They often have the product key sticker on the case. Install Windows 10 on whatever PC hardware you want, then activate it online by entering the Windows 7 key. At least then you can be certain it's a genuine key and not an MAK or KMS key. Look for low cost PCs on Ebay and make sure the seller tells you it has the intact sticker on the PC.

Microsoft supposedly has stopped supporting the free upgrade from Win7 to Win 10, so this may not be a viable alternative for very much longer.

Unfortunately, with the way the Win10 licensing is set up, this procedure will not work for Win10 on any computer that has a broadwell, ivy bridge or later CPU. When Win10 is installed on OEM machines, the license key is registered to the hardware on that particular OEM machine (CPU serial number, main board serial number are sent to Microsoft and are associated with the key of the product installed and the license key is added to the firmware of the board). While you can then re-install Win10 on the machine as many times as you want without needing the key, you will not be able to use that key to install on new hardware. According to Microsoft, replacing the board or the CPU constitutes a new computer and requires a new key. You can sometimes call the tech help line and get a new key if you have to replace the CPU/board and you explain the problem, but not always.

The least expensive license key you can buy is the OEM key - it is an install on single computer and only that hardware forevermore.

 

[trs96]

I have mostly upgraded older Windows 7 and 8 machines to Win 10 and it has always worked. I just upgraded a Win 7 Pro Dell to 10 Pro with no problems a few days ago. Too bad to hear that will be going away. A few times I have transferred a 7 product key to another computer with a new install of Win 10 and that worked as well, may have been an anomaly. The main point I wanted to get across is that the practice of buying keys from the sites that have steep discounts is going to lead to problems later on. One thing I forgot to mention is that you can still use a fully functional version of 10 without activating it. MS just disables all the personalization features. There's also a small watermark that won't go away.

 

[trs96]

Microsoft supposedly has stopped supporting the free upgrade from Win7 to Win 10, so this may not be a viable alternative for very much longer.

See this article by Chris Hoffman:

You Can Still Get Windows 10 for Free With a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 Key

Microsoft's free Windows 10 upgrade offer is over--or is it? There's still a way to activate Windows 10 with a Windows 7, 8, or 8.

www.howtogeek.com

Since so many people are still on Windows 7 you'd think that they would keep it working once 7 support ends in January. If people have to pay 79-100 dollars for Windows 10 they may just buy a new Mac or an iPad for $329. They could install Linux on their older slow Windows PC. It sure runs a lot faster with one of the lighter versions of Linux like Pup Linux.

Here's an average price for Windows 10 Home OEM on Amazon. $99.95. I think that most people who have stayed with Windows 7 this long will balk at these prices. Or probably buy the cheap keys mentioned earlier that don't work for very long. Every other company has made their OS free, MS is still the last holdout. Most people now expect it to be free.