Back in 2015 when Windows 10 was first released Microsoft offered free upgrades to users of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. This free upgrade was meant to be valid until July 2016, afterwhich users would have to pay for Windows 10 upgrade.
It is now May 2020 and it is still possible to upgrade a Windows 7 computer to Windows 10 for free.
Today, a customer brought in an old Dell XPS laptop with Windows 7. It had lots of problems which I tried to fix but without any success. I told the customer that we had two options, do a reinstall of Windows 7 or try Windows 10 and see what happens. I installed a new 480GB SSD drive and then installed Windows 10. The installation of Windows 10 really is super easy and quick, especially on a SSD.
Once the installation had finished I went into Settings and Update & Security. There was a message saying Windows wasn't activated. I clicked on Activation and clicked Change product key.
I then entered the Windows 7 license key from the sticker on the underside of the computer.
A few moments later the license key was activated and Windows told me I had a digital license.
I now have a 9 year old Dell XPS laptop, with a 480GB SSD and Windows 10. It runs really well and the customer has saved a fortune compared to buying a new laptop.
I've done quite a few 'free' upgrades from Windows 7 to Windows 10 now and the license key has always worked.