Win 10 digital license and upgrading a motherboard with soldered cpu

GormTheOld · 01 Aug 2021

Hi!

I have a laptop which came with a Windows 8 digital license. So when upgrading to Windows 10 the activation went automatically.

The motherboard have a soldered Core i5, but I would like to upgrade it to a Core i7. My issue becoming that I have to change it to a motherboard with a soldered Core i7.

I am wondering if it is possible to do this and keep the current license belonging to the laptop, or do I have to get a new Windows 10 license?

Thanks.

GormTheOld

hsehestedt · 01 Aug 2021

You can keep the license. See the link below.

NOTE: This process is easiest if you have a digital license linked to your Microsoft account. That is described in the article as well.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...d-fb3fc72b6665

GormTheOld · 01 Aug 2021

hsehestedt said:

You can keep the license. See the link below.

NOTE: This process is easiest if you have a digital license linked to your Microsoft account. That is described in the article as well.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...d-fb3fc72b6665

Thanks a lot for your help! Really appreciate it ��

hsehestedt · 01 Aug 2021

Glad to able to help!

Paul Black · 01 Aug 2021

Hello @GormTheOld,

Some information that you might find useful . . .

License Types and Rules

MS offers Win 10 Licenses in many channels governed by different rules, but for most users, you can only acquire a License through the OEM [ Original Equipment Manufacturer ] or Retail channel.

An OEM License refers to the License that a manufacturer installs on new devices. If this is your case, the Product Key is NOT transferable, and you can NOT use it to Activate another installation [ unless you are re-activating a new installation on the same computer ].

A Retail License refers to the License that you acquire when purchasing a copy of Win 10 from your local store or an online retailer [ such as from MS or Amazon for example ]. If you have a Win 10 Retail License, you CAN transfer the Product Key to another computer, as long as you DEACTIVATE the Product Key on the other computer.

A Volume License is designed for large Businesses, Education, and Government. Usually, a Volume License allows organizations to use one master Product Key to Activate ANY installation of Win 10. Although you can use this License multiple times on different computers, you can NOT transfer it with the device when the system ownership changes, and you are NOT allowed to use the License to Activate devices that are NOT part of the Organization.

I hope this helps.

NavyLCDR · 01 Aug 2021

Once a digital license is granted by Microsoft initially from a retail or OEM product key, they (Microsoft) does not seem to track or care what the source of the digital license was. It will remain transferrable through a Microsoft Account. For example, take a Windows 10 installation that is activated on the OEM channel and change the product key to the generic product key for that same edition and it will move to being activated by the retail channel. Many people, including myself, have been surprised when they have succeeded in activating "different hardware" from a previous computer that had a digital license with a strictly OEM source via our Microsoft Account.

Now, reusing a product key is completely different. Microsoft does track the number of times and how frequently a product key is used and they will block both an OEM and a retail product key if it is reused on different computers too many times within a time period.