Ars Technica

Microsoft says you can’t activate Windows 10/11 with old Windows 7/8 keys anymore

Ugh this kinda sucks but I guess it doesn't really matter. I had a bunch of Windows 7 keys from 2009 that have been great with 10 and 11. I get that this free ride is over but it still sucks. It ...
XDA Developers

What happens if you never activate Windows 10 or 11?

Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap Microsoft allows you to install Windows 10 or 11 without a product key. When asked for one during installation, you can simply skip ...
Android Authority

This open-source tool can activate practically every Windows and Office release

Popular Windows activator tool MAS (Microsoft Activation Scripts) has been updated to v3.0 with TSforge, the developer group’s most powerful activation exploit yet. With TSforge, MAS can activate ...
The Verge

Microsoft investigating Windows activation issues after closing a key loophole

Microsoft closed a Windows 7 / 8 key loophole last month, and now people are experiencing issues reactivating some Windows 10 / 11 installs. Microsoft closed a Windows 7 / 8 key loophole last month, ...
Ars Technica

Microsoft will stop old Windows product keys from activating new Windows installs

At least for now, though, it seems like this change will only apply to future Windows versions. We were able to activate a fresh Windows 11 Pro 22H2 install with a Windows 8 Pro product key as of this ...