Windows 10’s free upgrade offer is over, according to Microsoft. But this isn’t completely true. There are a bunch of ways you can still upgrade to Windows 10 for free and get a legitimate license, or just install Windows 10 and use it for free.

There are a few ways you can still get Windows 10 for free, without using a pirated license: you can install Windows 10 with a 7 or 8 key, or install Windows without a key—it will work just fine, save for a small watermark reminding you to purchase a license.

Here’s how each of those methods work.

Download All Windows 7 Updates

When you’re asked to enter a key, enter the Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 key. The installer will accept this key and the installation process will continue normally. After you’ve installed Windows 10, head to Settings Update & Security Activation and you should see that your PC has a digital license.

Provide a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 Key

RELATED:You Can Still Get Windows 10 for Free With a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 Key

While you can no longer use the “Get Windows 10” tool to upgrade from within Windows 7, 8, or 8.1, it is still possible to download Windows 10 installation media from Microsoft and then provide a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 key when you install it. We tested this method once again on January 5, 2018, and it still works.

Windows will contact Microsoft’s activation servers and confirm the key to the previous version of Windows is real. If it is, Windows 10 will be installed and activated on your PC. Your PC acquires a “digital license” and you can continue using and reinstalling Windows 10 on it in the future. If you head to Settings > Update & security > Activation after installing Windows in this way, you’ll see the words “Windows is activated with a digital license”.

• Step 1, Download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from here.Step 2, Run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor installer.Step 3, Run the actual upgrade advisor once it is installed. Remember to plug in any devices that you regularly use (printers, scanners, MP3 players etc).
• Microsoft is offering Free windows 7 upgrade under the Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program.Under this program, licensed end users of selected Microsoft Windows Vista operating system editions can obtain an Upgrade license (the Upgrade) to the appropriate Windows 7 edition at reduced or no additional cost if the end user meets program qualifications.

Microsoft hasn’t communicated what’s going on here, or whether it will block this method in the future. But it still works right now. Even if Microsoft blocks this trick in the future, your PC will keep its digital license and Windows 10 will remain activated.

Reinstall Windows 10 if You’ve Already Upgraded

RELATED:How to Use Your Free Windows 10 License After Changing Your PC’s Hardware

If you’ve taken advantage of any free upgrade offer–either the original free upgrade offer during the first year, the accessibility offer, or by installing Windows 10 and providing a key for an eligible previous version of Windows–you can continue to “get Windows 10 for free” on the same hardware.

To do this, just download the Windows 10 installation media and install it on that computer. Don’t provide any key during the installation process. It should automatically activate after it contacts Microsoft’s servers.

Sure, you can only do this if you’ve already upgraded to Windows 10, but you can continue to install Windows 10 for free on the same computer in the future–even if you replace its hard drive or other components. The new activation wizard in Windows 10’s Anniversary Update will even help you troubleshoot hardware changes and reassociate the digital license with the correct PC.

Skip the Key and Ignore the Activation Warnings

RELATED:You Don’t Need a Product Key to Install and Use Windows 10

Here’s the real secret: You don’t need to provide a product key to install Windows 10. You can download Windows 10 installation media from Microsoft and install it on a PC, in Boot Camp on a Mac, or in a virtual machine without providing a product key. Windows will continue to work normally and you can do practically whatever you want.

Windows 10 will keep nagging you to activate it and won’t allow you to change any of the options under Settings > Personalization, but otherwise work just fine. It’s not something you’d necessarily want to do on your main computer, but it’s a very convenient way to set up a quick virtual machine, test Windows 10 on a PC, or install Windows 10 in Boot Camp. You can even pay to upgrade to a legal, activated version of Windows 10 from within your unactivated Windows 10 system after installing it.

This isn’t technically allowed by Microsoft’s guidelines, but they’ve specifically designed Windows to work this way. If Microsoft doesn’t want people doing this, it’s free to change Windows to block this in the future–and it might. But Windows has worked this way for years. This was even possible with Windows 7.

You can also head to Microsoft’s website and download a 90-day evaluation version of Windows 10 Enterprise. It will continue working for 90 days–about three months. It’s designed for organizations to evaluate Windows 10 Enterprise.

This evaluation copy comes with the extra features built into Windows 10 Enterprise, so it’s also a convenient way to test these Enterprise features. However, you can upgrade any edition of Windows 10 to the Enterprise edition if you have a key.

Unfortunately, other free offers—like the Accessibility offer from Microsoft—are now over. But these methods should cover you pretty well.

Of course, you can also just buy a new PC that comes with Windows 10. It’s not really free because the manufacturer has to pay for the Windows license. But, if you’re looking to upgrade from Windows 7, 8, or 8.1, it makes a lot more sense to buy a new computer that comes with Windows 10 for a few hundred bucks rather than spend $120 on a Windows 10 Home license to upgrade an old PC. PC manufacturers get a good deal and pay less than normal Windows users do for those licenses.

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The first thing you will need to ensure is you have the latest Windows Updates installed.

Windows 7 users should ensure they have Service Pack 1 or later installed.

Windows 8 users should ensure they have Windows 8.1 with Update 1 installed or later.

Free Windows 10 Upgrade Windows 7

For Windows 8.1, see the following article:

For Windows 7, see the following article:

Backup your computer:
When making significant changes to your computer such as updating the operating system, you should always backup. See links to resources about backing up by clicking the link for the respective version of Windows you are running: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1

Also review:

Once you have installed these important updates and followed the prerequisite instructions, you should be ready to receive your free update to Windows 10 this summer.

How will I know when Windows 10 is available?
Between now and launch, the following KB update (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3035583) should be installed on your Windows 7/8.1 computer. Volume License customers will not receive this update because of IT requirements in managed environments. If its not already installed, open Windows Update and check for Updates.

To check if the updates already installed:

Click Start (or press Windows key + S for Windows 8.1 users)

Type: view installed updates

Hit Enter on your keyboard

Look through the list for the KB3035583 update.

Once that is installed, you should see the following pop up in the Notification area of the Taskbar.

Windows 7 Update Windows 10 Free

Double click the Windows icon to learn more.