Microsoft is officially done supporting Windows 7, which means it won't push security updates to the operating system. You can still freely use Windows 7, but you'll be putting your system at risk when a bug pops up, as Microsoft won't attempt to fix it. If you paid for extended support, you're still safe until 2023.
Don't worry, if you're still on Windows 7, you can score a free upgrade all the way up to Windows 10. However, that's contingent upon having a legit Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 license.
Read our guide for detailed instructions on how to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. The short of it is that you can download the Media Creation Tool, enter your original product key for your license and it'll upgrade your digital license to Windows 10.
A 'Microsoft engineer' took to Reddit and said: "That whole 'free' upgrade for a year was fully marketing fluff," confirming that the update still works.
“You still can do this no problem, however careful, do an upgrade keeping everything as if you choose to yeet everything and start fresh, you lose your free upgrade. That old 7 license converts to a 10 digital license and from there you can clean install no problem,” the self-proclaimed employee said.
Microsoft hasn't given an explanation as to why the upgrade offer still works, but you should take advantage of it now before the company stops the program altogether.
Not convinced Windows 10 is right for you? Read our Windows 10 review to see if you should upgrade or start eyeing macOS or Chrome OS.
Read our full Windows 7 end-of-life guide to learn what you should do if your laptop still runs the dying operating system.
