Microsoft Discontinues Free Update of Windows 7 to Windows 10
Are you a loyal user of Windows 7? There seems to be sad news this time for you Windows 7 users because Microsoft stopped the free update of Windows 7 to Windows 10. This announcement was published by Microsoft through its official page on September 20.
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When it released Windows 10 in 2015, Microsoft did offer a free upgrade for older Windows users, such as Windows 7 and 8.
This Free Upgrade Offer Has Expired Since July 2016
However, despite ending long ago, Microsoft still allows legacy Windows users to update to Windows 10 and 11 at no cost. Users can use product codes from older Windows for Windows 10 and 11 activation. Now the upgrade "lane" is completely closed.
"Microsoft's free upgrade offer for Windows 10/11 expires on July 29, 2016. The (free) installation path for Windows 7/8 will be removed. The update from Windows 10 to Windows 11 is still free," Microsoft wrote.
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As compiled from Tech Spot, Monday (2/10/2023), Microsoft itself is currently preparing to update Windows 11 to version 23H2.
The OS update is still in the development stage and was rolled out to beta users on September 26.
The final version of the update will reportedly be released in the fourth quarter of 2023, around October-December. Users who are not registered as beta users can make several settings to get the latest updates.
You can do this by visiting the Settings menu. Select Update Windows. Then, click "Get the latest updates right away, if they're available."
Windows 11 version 23H2 will be equipped with Windows Copilot, a personal assistant based on artificial intelligence (AI / Artificial Intelligence). The presence of this feature serves to increase the productivity of Windows 11 users.
This virtual assistant is similar to Cortana in Windows 10. It's just that the ability is much smarter because it can be combined with other additional software (plugins), such as Bing and ChatGPT.
These AI-powered features will also be available in Microsoft 365 applications, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and many more. Image editing applications, Notepad applications, Narrator, and File Explorer menus will also be supported by AI features.
Windows 10 users can still upgrade to Windows 11 for free if they can meet some requirements.
For example, the device must be powered by a processor with a clock speed of at least 1 GHz, the CPU consists of at least two cores or more, have at least 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, relies on a graphics processing card compatible with DirectX 12 or later, and much more.
If you want to keep upgrading, users can buy a Microsoft package for one full year with a Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2021 license which is priced at 199 US dollars.