How to upgrade 1511 from Home to Pro?

Anonymous

I'm not having any luck figuring out how to upgrade from Home to Pro with an existing key. My system has been running Home and is currently running version 1511. I've decided to go ahead and use an existing key to upgrade to Pro. I did a clean install, expecting to be asked to specify a version and provide a key during install, but was never asked for either. The installer simply formatted the hard drive and installed Home and activated it, with no input from me after the install started other than agree to the terms and tell it my language.

OK, no problem I thought, I'll just go to the Activation setting and give it the new key from there. However, if I tell it I want to change the key it comes back and says the key I'm giving it can only activate Pro and I'm running Home. If I go the Store route and tell it I already have a Pro key, it gives me the same message - it tells me my key is for Pro but I'm running Home. Nowhere along the way does it offer to take my key and give me the upgrade, rather it implies that I must somehow magically upgrade it myself before changing the key. And that would be fine if I could figure out how to do that.

Anyone know how to force an install of Pro when the installer automatically installs Home with no option given to change it?

Volunteer Moderator/MVP Edit 4/21 -

One must insert the Generic Version Key to first change to Pro. After Version 1803 if you don't yet have a Digital License for Pro it will not change to Pro version by inserting the default Version key. So access Action Center at right end of task bar to turn on Airplane Mode to go offline, copy and paste the Generic Pro Key VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T in Settings > Update & Security > Activation > Change Product Key which will change Home to Pro, then go back online and it will activate with your Pro Product Key or Digital License.

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181 answers

Neil D 34,280 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2015-12-01T17:01:04+00:00

Were you using the Nov release v1511 and if you were I assume you didn't get the option to input your Win 8.1 Pro key.
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Anonymous

2015-12-01T12:42:50+00:00

PS: Just to confirm what I'm seeing:

PC came bundle with Windows 10 Home

Clean installed Windows 8.1 Pro and activated (wiping existing partitions)

Use MCT to upgrade to Windows 10

MCT wizard moaned that I can't keep settings and apps because I'm going to a different edition of Windows 10

The last page of the MCT wizard, before starting install says, "To confirm, you're going to: Install Windows 10 Home"

So it's clearly preferring the embedded key to the version that's currently installed. I expect that after following Charles' advice after the upgrade to get to Pro, then doing a clean install will force Home Edition.

I'm actually an IT Pro and I'm thinking of the implications this has for corporate deployment. We have a Microsoft Site Agreement and I'm thinking that if we buy PCs with Pro on (that have an embedded key), but deploy Enterprise as part of our agreement, will it force Pro, with us having to visit each machine after deployment to activate Enterprise!
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Anonymous

2015-12-01T12:15:06+00:00

From your Windows 10 Home running Version 1511, enter the Windows 10 Pro Default key under change product key.

VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T This default key will not activate the system, just take you to Pro so you can activate using a valid Pro key that you will provide.

Once you have done this, the system will go through an upgrade process from Home to Pro, but will not be activated on Pro. You can now enter your Windows 8 Pro key into your Windows 10 Pro system and it will activate.

I hope this helps

Charles

I'm having the same as the OP. I will try this too. But just to ask, will subsequent clean installs have to follow the same path, or will it then know that a previous Pro version has been used and prefer that over the embedded BIOS key.

Maybe the Home to Pro upgrade process ought to overwrite the embedded BIOS key. Is that even possible?
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Greg Carmack 24,780 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2015-11-24T02:21:12+00:00

After doing several installs with V.1511 recently it does offer a choice of Home or Pro if there is no embedded Product Key. So clearly it was programmed to read the 8/8.1 embedded Product Key and then not offer the choice so that confused consumers wouldn't install the wrong version - something which was causing problems when creating media in the Release Version evidenced by no Skip or Do This Later button on Product Key panel during install.

So it was this and possibly other ancillary issues with Digital Entitlement which likely caused the V.1511 ISO's to be pulled down by the end of the week after I elevated this issue earlier in the week.

Again, what we are seeing is obviously the result of a feature that was not able to be tested in Insider Previews because they used Product Keys, so effectively Digital Entitlement had had no stress testing during the year of Previews when it was released and placed under demand by tens of millions. This caused an avalanche of failures that swamped the Installation Forum for over a month and had Engineers in 80+ page threads gathering information to reprogram servers as we tried to calm and do workarounds with some very upset consumers.

What's surprising then is that when Version 1511 with new features rushed in to ease Entitlement Activation problems was previewed in at least two Insider Previews, instead of actually testing Entitlement Activation it again used Product Keys! So there should be no surprise that more unintended consequences arose and fell to us to sort and then elevate.

As an aside, over a month ago in the MVP Yammer communications channel set up for us to communicate with the Product Team, I actually asked specifically if the new feature was going to be tested enough to avoid unintended consequences. For this I was pounced upon by another MVP who informed me I knew nothing about Windows as a Service. Would that there have been more fulsome discussion at that time about this and MS might not have suffered such embarrassment here.
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Anonymous

2015-11-24T01:31:24+00:00

Hi DarrenC1,

We are going to make these steps more visible and easier to find for folks. Sorry that has not been the case. The process is not really straight forward; I guess we were hoping folks would upgrade their 8 PCs to Pro and then upgrade to 10. Well we have lots of people and lots of scenarios and lots of folks want to start fresh.

From your Windows 10 Home running Version 1511, enter the Windows 10 Pro Default key under change product key.

VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T This default key will not activate the system, just take you to Pro so you can activate using a valid Pro key that you will provide.

Once you have done this, the system will go through an upgrade process from Home to Pro, but will not be activated on Pro. You can now enter your Windows 8 Pro key into your Windows 10 Pro system and it will activate.

I hope this helps

Charles

This is awesome!

My thoughts...

The obvious next step is to have setup prompt and recognize the generic Home/Pro keys during a clean install. Or better yet, setup asks what version and installs. At the end of setup, if the hardware has the proper digital entitlement, it should activate. If no entitlement or wrong version entitlement, then no activation. Windows should then start with the normal limited use and "please activate" nag prompts. :-)

Randy
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