I've been using Windows 10 ever since the first preview came out, as an Insider.
As a result, now my computer has a Digital Entitlement to run Windows 10 Pro. It's permanently activated.
So if i ever decide to get off the Insider Program, can i keep the Pro license? Or is this considered piracy/illegal?
As we all know now, in order to participate in the Windows Insider Program, you have to "upgrade" from Windows 7 or 8.1; not so in the beginning . . .
Personally, I think Microsoft left a loophole open (on purpose or by accident), but Microsoft itself has given you digital entitlement. More on this later.
Here's how it happened for me:
My system was Windows 8.1 and has a 1TB hard drive with 8GB RAM. Hmmm, I have enough space for a dual boot system if I want it, so that's what I did. I divided my hard drive in half; at the very beginning of the Insider Program, we weren't required to update from Windows 7 or 8.1 to participate, so I joined up.
Fast forward to the jumble up with "do the Insiders get it free or don't they", and then "yes we do, no we don't", on July 29, we were given the option to stay on the Insider Program or upgrade to Windows 10 RTM (Build 10240, I think), I chose to continue on as an Insider. I should say here that this was on the "bare metal" half of my hard drive that I'd installed Windows 10 Insider builds on. Windows 10 stayed activated and eventually was "digitally entitled".
Because I wanted to also test the RTM version of Windows 10 alongside the Windows 10 Insider versions, and also being a stickler for being "squeaky clean", I upgraded the Windows 8.1 partition to Pro and then to Windows 10 Pro RTM.
Both partitions are now digitally entitled.
So now we get to your digital entitlement . . . somewhere along the line I've read that if you want to drop out of the Insider Program, you'll have to drop back to the latest "RTM version" of Windows 10, which would be the November Update.
If it were me, though, I'd wait for the Redstone 1 Anniversary version of Windows 10 to drop, since it's so close. Once that version RTMs, that's when I'd drop out if I intended to. (Which I don't! ) Of course, you can drop back to the November Update and wait until the Anniversary version drops too. It's up to you, of course.
At any rate, the bottom line is that your computer, as long as it lasts, is digitally entitled to have Windows 10 installed on it. You could, if you wanted to, take the hard drive back to bare metal, download the current Build 14295 ISO and install it. Once complete, your install will still be digitally entitled. Once digitally entitled, for the life of that computer, always digitally entitled.
Hope this short novel helps you to make a decision.
Cool, thanks for the quick reply.
Some day i may want to drop off the Program, but not anytime soon.
I love testing the new features
I just asked because i was affraid of loosing my activation.
Nope, I don't think that'll happen.Cool, thanks for the quick reply.
Some day i may want to drop off the Program, but not anytime soon.
I love testing the new features
I just asked because i was affraid of loosing my activation.
