14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft will allow customers with assistive technologies to upgrade from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 free of charge until January 16, 2018.
Previously, the company planned to end the free upgrades on December 31, 2017, but earlier this week it was discovered that this method of installing the latest OS at no cost still worked.
Microsoft has quietly modified the official page of the promo to state that “the accessibility upgrade offer expires on January 16, 2018.” The site previously stated the campaign comes to an end on December 31.
Oddly enough, Microsoft has only updated the expiring date of the offer on the site, leaving the rest of the text untouched. The page still points to Windows 10 Anniversary Update as the OS version coming with accessibility improvements, despite the fact that the company has already shipped two newer updates called Creators Update and Fall Creators Update.
The “loophole”
Even though the free upgrades available as part of this program are specifically aimed at users with accessibility features enabled, this method can be used to upgrade any Windows 7 and 8.1 computer to Windows 10, as Microsoft doesn’t perform any checks before the setup.
Often described as a loophole enabling free Windows 10 upgrades, this accessibility upgrade offer uses an application called Windows 10 Upgrader to launch a wizard that guides users throughout the entire process of installing Windows 10.
Microsoft hasn’t provided any data to tell how many users took advantage of the free upgrade offer, but NetMarketShare figures indicate that right now, Windows 10 holds a market share of 32.93%. Windows 7 is the leading operating system on the desktop with 43.08%, while Windows 8.1 is the third choice with 5.71%.
Windows 10 launched in July 2015 and it was offered as a free upgrade to all Windows 7 and 8.1 users in the first 12 months of availability.