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Free Upgrade To Windows 10 Mobile Will Continue Past July 29 (thurrott.com)
Microsoft watcher Paul Thurrott writes: After I asked about whether the free upgrade for Windows 10 Mobile would end on July 29 as it is for Windows 10 for PCs, Microsoft's Dona Sarkar clarified the firm's evolving strategy: The Windows 10 Mobile upgrade will now continue to be free past the end of the month. "So, the free upgrade to Windows 10 ends for Windows phones on July 29, too. Right?" I tweeted yesterday morning, seeking clarification for a reader who had asked me this question. After all, Microsoft had said nothing about the expiration of the free Mobile upgrade since last year. "Clarification from this morning," Ms. Sakar tweeted later in the day. "The free upgrade offer for PC ends on July 29 but as always there are no implications or cost on phone." Hm. Not sure about the "as always" bit, as Microsoft's plans for the free Windows 10 Mobile upgrade have changed repeatedly since the firm announced this upgrade in January 2015. And over time, many of these changes enraged users who had believed earlier promises. You may recall that the original plan was to upgrade all Windows Phone 8.1 handsets to Windows 10 Mobile ... for the first year only. But over time, that changed. It was going to be all handsets with at least 1 GB of RAM. And then it was going to be some subset of handsets sold over the previous two years, but not the Lumia Icon for some reason.
Free upgrades to Linux, BSD or whatever flavor will be available for quite some time longer.
Has any mobile OS provider, Microsoft included, ever charged for a software update/upgrade? I have never heard of that happening. I think thats what he meant by "as always".
"The free upgrades to Windows 10 will continue until morale improves."
If your laptop is Win 8 Pro, go for it. If not you will run the risk of Win10 Home bricking (or essentially bricking) your laptop by forcing a driver update (that you can not block because Win10 Home assumes you're an idiot) that crashes your laptop. This occurred to me and I had to reinstall Win 8.1 Home, where I can effectively block the driver update that isn't compatible with my hardware.
Crashing != bricking
You were able to recover. If your device was "bricked" that would not be an option.
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
The article is about Windows 10 Mobile, not the desktop OS.
I don't respond to AC's.
And here I thought we would be done with this drama and nonsense from Microsoft at the end of this month.
I just turned the laptop on.
Well, actually, in System, it says: "Windows 8.1 with Bing" 2013 Microsoft Corporation
Dell Inspiron 3531
Celeron CPU N2830
2.16GHz (dual core)
64-bit
A little Googling says planned mainstream EOL for Windows 8 is 2018 while mainstream EOL for 10 in 2020:
Extended support includes security updates:
Extended EOL for Windows 8 is 2023 while Extended EOL for 10 in 2025:
https://support.microsoft.com/...
I guess I might just stick with Windows 8.1 (security updates till 2023) and turn the laptop into a Linux then if it is still working...
I do not need any Windows 10 "nifty features" ;-)
Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
Nooooooo! Please not free! I want to make sure that they ask for my credit card and that I don't provide it, this way I will not be upgraded against my will!
For at least portable devices one must purchase network time through Microsoft. Win10 > Under all files > Microsoft WiFi > is this ToS, it's not a link but a local file.
X:/Program Files/WindowsApps/Microsoft.ConnectivityStore_1.1604.4.0_x86__8wekyb3d8bbwe/TermsOfService/en-US/TermsOfService.htm
Found by clicking on the lone title of "additional terms" - It's a pretty good read, below and the third party abilities only confirms Win10 as spyware.
"SERVICE . After you select a Service plan and buy it, you will be connected automatically whenever you’re near an access point that provides the Service (and is within the country in which you originally purchased the Service plan) and you have time remaining on your plan. Your connectivity begins immediately after you buy a Service plan through the Windows Store and ends at the specified expiration time, regardless of how long you are actually connected to the Service. You cannot save time for later. You must actively maintain your connection and you must be within range of an access point that provides the Service in order to stay connected. If (i) your usage remains on standby; (ii) your usage is inactive; (iii) or your Service plan has expired, your connection may be terminated. Microsoft reserves the right to terminate your connection following any extended period of inactivity."