Quick answer: Open Settings > Update & Security > Activation (on Windows 11, Settings > System > Activation). If you have a Windows Pro product key, select Change product key and enter it; if not, use the Store link under Upgrade your edition of Windows to buy Pro. Windows switches to Pro in place after a restart, and your files, apps and settings stay where they are.
Applies to: Windows 10 Home and Windows 11 Home. The steps are the same idea on both; only the Settings path differs.
In this guide
Before you upgrade
- Check your edition in Settings > System > About. Under Windows specifications, Edition should say Windows 10 Home or Windows 11 Home.
- Sign in with an administrator account and connect to the internet.
- Back up important files. The upgrade keeps them, but a backup is good practice before any system change.
- Install pending updates and restart once, so the upgrade doesn’t stall on a half-finished update.
A note on Windows 10: Windows 10 reached its end of support in October 2025. Home and Pro both get security fixes only through Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates program. If your PC meets the requirements, moving to Windows 11 is worth considering; a Windows 10 Pro licence also activates Windows 11 Pro.
Method 1: Buy Pro from the Microsoft Store
- Windows 10: go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation and select Go to the Store.
- Windows 11: go to Settings > System > Activation, expand Upgrade your edition of Windows and select the button to open the Microsoft Store.
The Store shows the Windows Pro upgrade with its price for your region. Buy it with your Microsoft account, then select Install and follow the prompts. The PC restarts, possibly more than once. Because the licence is a digital licence linked to the PC and your Microsoft account, you won’t need a key if you reinstall later.
Method 2: Enter a Pro product key
Use this if you bought a Windows Pro key from a retailer or already own one.
- Open Settings > Update & Security > Activation (Windows 11: Settings > System > Activation).
- On Windows 10, select Change product key. On Windows 11, expand Upgrade your edition of Windows and select Change next to Change product key.
- Type the 25-character Pro key and select Next.
- Select Start or Upgrade when asked, save your work and let Windows restart.
Buy keys from Microsoft or an authorised retailer. Very cheap keys from marketplaces are often volume or resold keys that stop working later.
Method 3: Switch with the generic key, then activate
Sometimes Windows rejects a valid Pro key on a Home installation, or the edition change stalls. You can first switch the edition with Microsoft’s generic Windows Pro key, which installs Pro but doesn’t activate it, and then enter your own key.
- In Activation, select Change product key and enter
VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T. - Let Windows install Pro and restart. Activation will show that Windows isn’t activated; that’s expected.
- Go back to Activation, select Change product key again and enter your own Pro key, or use the Store to buy one.
You can also start the edition change from an administrator Command Prompt:
changepk.exe /ProductKey VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66TOnly do this if you’re going to activate Pro afterwards. An unactivated Pro shows a watermark and limits personalisation settings.
After the upgrade
Check Settings > System > About shows Pro, and Activation says Windows is activated. These are the main things Pro adds over Home:
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| BitLocker | Full-drive encryption with a recovery key. See where to find a BitLocker recovery key. |
| Remote Desktop (host) | Lets other PCs connect to this one with Remote Desktop. Home can only connect out. |
| Hyper-V and Windows Sandbox | Built-in virtual machines and a disposable test desktop. Hyper-V can conflict with other virtualisation apps; see Not in a Hypervisor Partition. |
| Group Policy Editor | gpedit.msc for fine-grained system settings. |
| Business features | Joining a work domain or Microsoft Entra ID and managed Windows Update policies. |
If the upgrade fails
- The key isn’t accepted: check it’s a Pro key, not Pro N, Education or Enterprise, and not a volume key from a workplace. Try Method 3.
- Windows says it isn’t activated after upgrading: go to Activation and select Troubleshoot. If you bought Pro from the Store, make sure you’re signed in with the same Microsoft account.
- The upgrade stops partway: restart, install pending updates and try again. Temporarily turning off third-party antivirus can help.
- Your PC belongs to a school or employer: the edition is usually managed centrally, so ask that organisation instead of buying a key.
Related guides
- How to reinstall Windows 10: reset, repair install or clean install
- How to downgrade from Windows 11 to Windows 10 (2 ways)
- Dell BitLocker recovery key: where to find it and why it appears
- Not in a Hypervisor Partition (HVP=0): how to fix the VirtualBox error
Official sources: for more detail, see Microsoft’s own pages:
- Microsoft Support: Upgrade Windows Home to Windows Pro
- Microsoft Support: Upgrade to Windows Pro using a product key
Frequently asked questions
Is upgrading Windows 10 Home to Pro free?
No. You need a Pro licence, either bought from the Microsoft Store or as a Pro product key. The only free route is a PC that already had a Pro digital licence, for example from an earlier Pro installation on the same hardware.
Will I lose my files or apps?
No. The edition upgrade changes Windows in place and keeps your files, apps and settings. It’s still sensible to have a backup.
Can I go back from Pro to Home?
Not directly. Going back to Home needs a reinstall with Home, as described in how to reinstall Windows 10, and you’d lose the Pro features you paid for.
Does a Windows 10 Pro key work for Windows 11 Pro?
Yes. A valid Windows 10 Pro licence activates Windows 11 Pro on the same PC.
Leave a Reply