I previously had a laptop that came with Windows 10, which I upgraded to Windows 11. Now, I've got a new laptop without any pre-installed OS. I made a bootable USB drive for Windows 11, expecting it to install without needing a product key since it was created from my licensed device. However, during the installation, it asked me for a product key, which I didn't anticipate since this process worked fine when I upgraded to Windows 10. Has anything changed with Windows 11, or is this issue happening because the previous laptop was originally a Windows 10 device? Is the upgrade from Windows 10 to 11 not transferable?
2 Answers
Have you tried checking if your new laptop is connected to the internet? After you upgrade from Windows 10 to 11, it usually reactivates automatically once the setup is complete. Just select the 'I don't have a product key' option during installation to see if that helps.
Yeah, but what if there's no embedded activation key in the BIOS? Doesn’t that complicate things?
Your previous laptop likely had an OEM license tied to it, which can't be transferred to a new machine. That's why your new laptop is asking for a product key; it doesn't have a license yet. You might want to reach out to Microsoft support to see if they can transfer your license from the old laptop, but keep in mind, that's not always guaranteed.
So it actually might reactivate on the new laptop? I’d think it would reactivate on the old one if I reinstalled it there.