Is Windows 10 free?

When was the last time you had to enter your Windows 10 product key?

Previously, with older versions of Windows, every time you reinstall, you would need to enter the key to use it. Today, Windows 10 seems to be able to run perfectly fine, working properly even if you don't 'release' your product key anymore - except for a watermark that encourages you to activate the operating system.

And, if you have activated Windows 10 once before with a product key, then that seems to be enough, no matter how many times you did a new install of Windows 10 - it will completely wipe the hard drive.

So what's going on in the end? Microsoft has come up with a way to associate the Windows 10 product key with your hardware? Many people assume that the product key will also be associated with their Microsoft account. But after trying to reset your PC and signing in with another local account instead - Windows 10 is still activated 'happily' without any issues.

Or does Microsoft not really care much about this? It can also be!

Is Windows 10 free? Picture 1

Why does Microsoft no longer care about the product key?

The question is why Microsoft proved 'careless' with such a product key? Isn't this the company trying to get you to use the Edge browser and their Bing search engine on the go? What is the reason why they suddenly become 'carefree' with Windows 10 so?

You may not notice, but the benefit that Microsoft receives here is to attract as many Windows 10 users as possible, thereby taking this as a 'springboard' to stimulate demand, entice users to use more. many other services in the company's software ecosystem, of which Edge and Bing are simply names.

What makes Edge take just 3 months to surpass Firefox to become the 2nd most popular browser in the world? To be sure, being installed on Windows 10 is one of the main factors. The amount of valuable advertising and user information that Microsoft will get from more and more people using Edge and Bing is enormous, and by getting people into Windows 10 as quickly as possible.

In simple terms, Microsoft loosens control of Windows 10 in order to get more users of other more profitable products and services. Microsoft will want more people to use paid or more profitable services, and to do that, the Redmond company needs to break the biggest barrier: Getting users to pay for Windows. 10. Of course, no meals are completely free, and Windows 10 is simply a 'voucher' that Microsoft gives us.

Is Windows 10 free? Picture 2

Traditional tactics

In many ways, Microsoft is. While they initially offered a free upgrade to Windows 10 for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 users, it was only for a limited period of time.

However, six years after the launch of Windows 10, it's still incredibly easy to upgrade to Windows 10 for free.

Free updates have nothing to do with making or downloading anything illegal. Just use the official Windows Media Creation Tool from Windows, and select 'Download tool now'.

Many people consider this a flaw, but it is not. You are clearly using the official tools that Microsoft provides.

Microsoft clearly has to be acutely aware of having an easy way to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, rather than paying to upgrade, but they haven't done yet. Why?

It is very easy to find cheap Windows 10 keys on the internet. There's no way Microsoft doesn't know about them. They rather turned a blind eye. After all, if that means more people using Windows 10 (and other services in the Microsoft software ecosystem as well), then there's no blame.

With that said, the money Microsoft can make by getting more people to use the software products that come with Windows 10 (and sharing their data) could be much larger than the amount they get. from selling Windows 10 Home keys (mass selling Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise keys to businesses is another matter).

So the answer is simple: by offering Windows 10 Home for free, Microsoft will attract more operating system users than ever and will prevent people from reaching the black market - or even Even worse: Operating system piracy.

After all, think Windows 10 is free? That's not wrong, but there is no need to worry about Microsoft suffering in this "game"!

Samuel Daniel

Update 25 April 2021