The Truth About Windows 10 Annual Fees

The internet has been awash with rumours ever since Microsoft announced that Windows 7 and 8.1 users will be eligible for free upgrade to Windows 10 within one year of the new operating system’s release, with the talk being that Microsoft will charge annual subscription fees beyond that one-year, making the upgrade far from free. Those rumours have now been tackled by Gabriel Aul, the Engineering General Manager for Microsoft’s Operating Systems Group, in a clarification on Twitter.

Twitter user @OjJanne tweeted Microsoft, concerned that the statement “free for a year” could “[leave] the door open for annual fees later”. Aul (@GabeAul), who was not tagged in the tweet, responded with a categorical statement: “Please allow me to close that door for you: No annual fee for Windows 10.”

@OjJanne @Microsoft Please allow me to close that door for you: No annual fee for Windows 10.http://t.co/aWw4IGP8AIhttp://t.co/mElVszkj0U

— Gabriel Aul (@GabeAul) June 5, 2015

Aul later linked to the FAQ section on the official Windows site, which deals with the “free” upgrade explicitly:

Is the upgrade really free?

Yes, it’s free. This is a full version of Windows, not a trial or introductory version. It is available for a limited time:  you have one year from the time Windows 10 is available to take advantage of this offer.

Windows 10 is released on 29^th July 2015, at which point Windows 7 and 8.1 users (minus Enterprise users) will have until 29^th July 2016 to claim their free upgrade to the new OS. Microsoft estimates that the Windows 10 upgrade should take around an hour to install.

Thank you Digital Trends for providing us with this information.