14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft launched Windows 10 with much fanfare in July 2015 and the company offered the new operating system as a free upgrade to Windows 7 and 8.1 in the first 12 months of availability.
Shortly after this promo came to an end, it was revealed that Windows 7 and 8.1 users with accessibility features activated were still capable of upgrading to Windows 10 free of charge, and Microsoft said that it allowed the upgrades on purpose because it wanted these users to benefit from the new operating system too.
Redmond, however, promised to block the free upgrades for those using assistive tech, as this was obviously a loophole that allowed pretty much anyone to get Windows 10 free of charge by simply enabling accessibility features.
And yet, here we are today with the same free upgrade offer still available, no less than seven months after Microsoft announced that it would block the trick.
No change just yet
Nothing has changed about the free upgrades offered to users with assistive technology, and just like it happened before, there’s absolutely no verification system in place that would prevent someone from benefitting from the offer. Although the promo is specifically targeting people with disabilities, pretty much everyone can upgrade to Windows 10 if they claim they’re using assistive tech.
“We are not restricting the free upgrade offer to specific assistive technologies. If you use assistive technology on Windows, you are eligible for the free upgrade offer,” Microsoft says. “We have not announced an end date of the free upgrade offer for customers using assistive technology. We will make a public announcement prior to ending the offer.”
Microsoft is yet to update the page with a target date for ending the upgrade promo, but we’ve reached out to the company to ask for more information and we’ll update this article to let you know when an answer is offered.
In the meantime, it’s pretty clear that Microsoft needs more users to upgrade to Windows 10 and keeping such a loophole available is one of the ways to make sure this goal is achieved. And in the end, the company can’t be accused of anything, as the main purpose is to give people using assistive tech the chance to upgrade to Windows 10 without a fee.