• Source:IANS
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Microsoft has finally closed a long-standing vulnerability that allowed customers to activate Windows 11 using older keys from Windows 7. This came after the company announced that it would stop Windows 7 and Windows 8 keys from being used to activate Windows 11 a few months back. This has been in operation for several years.

Previously, the users were exploiting the problem which allowed the users to upgrade from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10 and 11 without paying any amount, which means a free upgrade. Now Microsoft has put the limit and stopped the free upgrades for customers.

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Microsoft made it clear that the July 29 deadline has passed for the free upgrade offer for Windows 10 and 11. Additionally, they eliminated the path for installing the free Windows 7 and 8 upgrade. Because of this, Windows 7 keys are currently totally barred from fresh installations of Windows 11. Users who try to activate Windows 11 with Windows 7 keys will encounter an error saying, "We can't activate Windows on this device because you don't have a valid digital licence or product key."

It's crucial to remember that consumers' activation status is unaffected if they already upgraded from Windows 7 or Windows 8 to Windows 11 or used one of these older keys. This indicates that the most recent adjustments won't have an impact on people who already exploited the loophole.

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Devices must comply with Microsoft's minimal system requirements in order to update to Windows 11. The company also noted that although qualified users can still upgrade for free to Windows 11, some features and applications from Windows 10 might not be included in Windows 11. Furthermore, some Windows 11 features can call for hardware configurations that go beyond the bare minimum needed to run the operating system.