Microsoft is
making Windows 10 available as free upgrade for qualified Windows 7,
Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 devices. It will be available
starting July 29, 2015; people can reserve their free upgrade today.
You only
have until July 29, 2016 to take advantage of this offer. Once you upgrade, you
have Windows 10 for free on that device.
It’s free.
This is a full version of Windows, not a trial or introductory version. It is
available for a limited time: you have one year from the time
Windows 10 is available to take advantage of this offer.
To get your
free upgrade, you can do one of two things:
a) Buy a new
Windows 8.1 device and upgrade it to Windows 10 for free, or
b) Reserve a
free upgrade for your existing Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 PC
Not every device
will run every feature of Windows 10. Be sure to check with your
manufacturer before purchasing.
When you
reserve, you can confirm your device is compatible with Windows 10.
Between reservation and when your upgrade is ready, the files you need for the
upgrade will be downloaded to your PC to make the final installation go more
quickly. Then, when your upgrade is ready after July 29, 2015, you get a
notification that lets you get started with your upgrade.
The only
requirements are that a) your device is compatible, and b) you’re running
genuine Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Windows 8.1 (Update).
Windows 10
is designed to run on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs. That means your
device is likely compatible and will run Windows 10.
New qualified PCs can run Windows 10. Windows 10 is
designed to be compatible with the Windows 8.1 laptop, tablet or desktop
PCs that are for sale now. Device manufacturers make decisions about their
device models and some Windows 10 features may not be available on certain
devices, so be sure to check with the retailer or manufacturer for details.
Plan for
about an hour for the installation. Newer devices may only take 20 minutes, and
older devices may take more than an hour.
You’ll need
to download the installation files before you begin. If you reserve, we’ll take
care of downloading those files for you and let you know when you are ready to
get started.
Just open
the Get Windows 10 app (description below) and click reserve.
Click on the
small Windows icon located at the lower right side of the taskbar.
Click
‘Reserve your free upgrade’ when prompted.
There’s no obligation and you
can cancel your reservation at any time. After you reserve, we will download
Windows 10 to your device when it’s available. Then we will notify you
when your device is ready to install the upgrade.

Get Windows 10 is an app that’s designed to make the upgrade process
easy. It checks to make sure your device is compatible, and it reserves your
free upgrade; it also has information to help you learn about the features in
Windows 10.
For devices running Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 Update with
Windows Update enabled, the app shows up automatically as a Windows icon in
your system tray at the bottom right-hand side of your screen.
Just click reserve in the Get
Windows 10 app and then enter your email address at the confirmation
screen.
You can also check your
reservation status here:
Right click on the Get
Windows 10 app or Windows icon located at the right end of the taskbar.
Select “Check your upgrade status”
You can cancel your
reservation at any time prior to installing Windows 10. Here’s how:
Right click on the Get
Windows 10 app or Windows icon located in right end of the taskbar.
Select “Check your upgrade
status”
Click the menu in the upper
left corner, then select “View Confirmation.”
In the lower left, select
“Cancel reservation.”
The easiest way to get the free upgrade is to reserve, but you can upgrade
even if you don’t reserve.
Once Windows 10 is
available, we’ll begin notifying devices that their free upgrade is available.
Just open the Get Windows 10 app to schedule your upgrade. Note: Some
notifications will go out as soon as Windows 10 is available; others may
go out in the weeks or months following.