You don't get a full serial. If anything happens to your installation, or your mainboard dies, you are left with your Windows 7/8/8.1 Serial.... you can reinstall that, of course. You cannot reinstall Windows 10 directly even now that you can just get another serial for free (at least if your mainboard dies... the serial is linked to your Mainboard... you need a new one, so you need Windows 7/8/8.1 installed to apply for one).
When the "free upgrade" period is over, you will have to buy a windows 10 license to reinstall Windows 10.
Do you have a source for that, because that is contrary to everything else I've read.
It's complete nonsense. The upgrade entitlement lasts beyond the free upgrade period, and in terms of being tied to your PC's hardware is absolutely no diferent to versions of Windows since XP. If you wish to reinstall Windows 10 without a hardware change you can do so, even after the free upgrade period is over, and since version 1511 even an eligible Windows 7/8/8.1 key is valid for use with it. If you change hardware it's the very same procedure as before: contact Microsoft to reactivate (with 1511 it appears even simpler: http://www.windowscentral.com/how-re-activate-windows-10-after-hardware-change).
I've no idea why people feel the need to spread these kind of lies about it; it's only an operating system.
Well, I am not really sure about reinstalling Windows, to be honest. I am sure about the hardware outage though.
And yes, I did contact windows. They told me no reactivation, get a new key. Which translated to me to "if you can no longer get a new key for free, bad luck"... MS rep on the other end even mentioned that I probably should go buy a Win 10 Key if I wanted to prevent having to reinstall Windows 7 and having to get a new key.
So either
a) the Windows support is even more incompetent than any other support I had dealed with to date (had to call about 3 Indian guys until I finally got a rep in europe whose english I could understand).
b) They changed the rules in the meantime (seems like it, gotta test that)
c) Or they are not really giving you as much free stuff as advertised, as they never said to my knowledge you would get a full serial with your upgrade (which is kinda cheeky, but given MS still mostly lives of software sales, hardly surprising if true).
Now, checking that link of yours, seems like MS changed the process (notice how the date is 25th of june... my mainboard failed some months ago). Maybe MS DID change their mind about the upgrade and keeping windows 10 beyond the free upgrade period.
I still have a Windows sitting at home telling me "not registered" all the time. I'll give this new process a try.
Maybe the next time you call somebody a liar, step back from the keyboard, chill, and then write the facts alone without calling people names. I might have been wrong about MS and their plans for upgrading beyond the free upgrade period (still not convinced until I am able to reactivate my windows WITHOUT getting a new key), that does not make me a liar.
Just as much as much as the nice MS Support lady was most probably not lying. She most probably was just misinformed (or completly right at the time, IDK).
Look, I am not bashing MS at all. Just had a bad expierience and wanted to make people aware of it, thats all.
