Windows 7 keys no longer activate Windows 11

Until recently, it was possible to activate the respective versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11 with licences for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. This is now a thing of the past. Microsoft has switched off the first activation paths for old Windows licences and will no longer allow activation of older versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11 with the licence keys of earlier Windows versions in the near future. Windows 10 licences, however, still activate Windows 11.

It is still possible to install Windows 7 and activate it online or by phone and then upgrade to Windows 10.

The upgrade option for the latest Windows version has so far been the most frequent use of this licence type by our customers. Windows 8.1 licences, on the other hand, have almost always been used to activate leftover devices with this version of Windows, although sales have fallen sharply since the beginning of 2023.

Microsoft has also announced that it will launch Windows 12 in autumn 2024. Windows 11, however, will remain current for a long time and will receive updates until autumn 2031, by which time all hardware on the market today is likely to be obsolete.

A key date is 14 October 2025, when the last update for Windows 10 will be delivered. After that, Windows 10 will become insecure in the course of 2026.

From now on, we will no longer buy licence keys for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, but we will still sell our remaining stocks.