It will not work. As I have downloaded the windows 8.1 as per Andre comments and it refuses my Retail key of Windows 8 Pro. So now I will have to reinstall Windows 8 and wait for the 8.1 upgrade again. Hopefully it's still available.
There will be no ISO downloads of Windows 8.1 for the public.
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(128, 8%, 22%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EA%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Anonymous
Microsoft has made it known there will be no .ISO file for Windows 8.1 available to the general public.
"Consumers" here really means any copies of Windows 8 that weren't purchased through Microsoft's Volume Licensing programs. So a small business with 20 PCs to upgrade, for example, will have to do them one at a time via the Windows Store – so that's 20 separate 3.5GB downloads.
The Windows Store is the only way for consumers (non-enterprise, non-IT Pro) to download and install Windows 8.1. No ISOs will be made available, so each device needs to be updated individually via the Windows Store.
UPDATE:
Since I started this discussion, Microsoft has introduced a Media Creation Tool that makes it easy to download a .ISO file and create bootable media:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media
The new downloader allows for selection of:
⦁ Language
⦁ Windows 8.1 Version
⦁ Architecture
Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Install and upgrade
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
47 answers
Sort by: Oldest
-
Anonymous
2013-10-20T17:33:58+00:00 -
Anonymous
2013-10-20T18:42:42+00:00 Here is the proper work around:
http://philipyip.wordpress.com/download-windows-8-1-iso/
Andre missed out the fact that you need to use a generic key to install but can use your actual Windows 8.0 product key to activate Windows 8.1.
-
Deleted
This answer has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The answer was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
Comments have been turned off. Learn more
-
Anonymous
2013-10-20T23:44:20+00:00 Thanks for your help on this nightmare. I am trying as I type.
-
Anonymous
2013-10-21T01:53:53+00:00 1). As a WIndows 8 user am I entitled to get free upgrade to Windows 8.1?
2). Isn't signing in to Windows 8 with online account optional?
3). Do I have to sign up to Windows Store to use Windows 8 on my machine or is it optional?
If the answer is "yes it is optional (hxxp://www.thefreedictionary.com/optional)" then Microsoft must provide me with a way to get my Windows 8 upgraded without using Windows Store for that otherwise I would like to return all the disk instalation media of Windows 8 I have and get my money back.
I had installed 8.0 with a local account. The upgrade did not work after downloading. In the end I created a "dummy account" with admin privileges, added a Microsoft Live account, downloaded again and installed (with difficulty - more later). Afterwards deleted the dummy account and am using the dummy account. Deleted the Skydrive app. Am not using Microsoft's included email either.
Re difficulty installing: Since I use partition imaging backup I have turned off system restore / backup. This caused the upgrade to fail. Best is before downloading to test if other updates in the Apps will be applied.
I rank this 8.1 on a scale worse than Windows Millennium.