Remember Microsoft’s initiative for upgrading pirated copies of Windows 7 and 8.1 to Windows 10 for free? The software giant has been offering quite a few vague clarifications since then, but it has made it clear today; users running non-genuine copies of Windows will have to pay for the upgrade.
You have to wonder why Microsoft took all this time to make this one detail as clear as it should have been in the first place, especially considering that the target audience includes non-genuine Windows users as well. Given some prevailing suspicions, Microsoft has finally spoken: “While our free offer to upgrade to Windows 10 will not apply to Non-Genuine Windows devices, and as we’ve always done, we will continue to offer Windows 10 to customers running devices in a Non-Genuine state.”
The so-called upgrade for pirated copies of Windows is explained by the team at Microsoft as one where: “in partnership with some of our valued OEM partners, we are planning very attractive Windows 10 upgrade offers for their customers running one of their older devices in a Non-Genuine state.”
Now the thing is, this news is probably not as surprising as Microsoft’s “misunderstood” take on enveloping the pirated Windows users into Windows 10 fold without charging them a dime. Ever since that interview to Reuters by Terry Myerson where the Windows chief said: “We are upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10,” the Internet’s been abuzz with the whole free upgrade hype. Of course, a statement by a Microsoft spokesperson suggesting that: “anyone with a qualified device can upgrade to Windows 10, including those with pirated copies of Windows,” only added to that hype.
In reaction to this development, Microsoft issued a clarification that it will allow pirated Windows users to upgrade, but in order to go official, they will have to purchase it still, which had us assuming that this free upgrade would be cutting back on some apps or functions to entice the users into upgrading to an official copy, but that myth has just been busted with this recent and possible final clarification on the matter of genuine vs. non-genuine Windows upgrade for Windows 10.
(Source: Microsoft)
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