Microsoft continually updates Windows 11 through a series of beta channels before a general release. Here's everything announced from Monday, June 16, 2025.

If you've been dragging your feet about upgrading to Windows 11, the opportunity to do so for free may have finally disappeared. Here's what you should know.

You can no longer get free access to Windows 10 and 11 if you’re upgrading from Windows 7 or 8, though you can still go from 10 to 11.

Microsoft ends free Windows 7/8 to 10/11 upgrades. Active HWID activations remain. New web-focused Windows 12 in development, targeting education.

Even when Windows 11 launched in 2021, the keys from Windows 7 and Windows 8 were still valid for upgrades. Technically, they continue to work as of this posting, but it's only a matter of time now.

The software giant said: “Microsoft’s free upgrade offer for Windows 10 / 11 ended July 29, 2016. The installation path to obtain the Windows 7 / 8 free upgrade is now removed as well.

When Windows 10 launched, Microsoft allowed Windows 7/8 users to upgrade for free. That option was meant to end in 2016, but continued to work indefinitely without explanation.

Looking to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7? The Upgrade option is not available in Windows 7 Setup when installing Windows 7 on Windows XP. However . . .

Windows Anytime Upgrade is a method provided in Windows 7 & Vista, for upgrading from one Windows edition to a higher edition. While the WAU procedure in Windows Vista involved a setup.exe, the ...

But with Windows 11 moving to a yearly update cycle, users are unsure if this free upgrade method will see a return. The end is nigh for Windows 10 – here are 5 things Microsoft must do to get ...