Upgrade windows 11 Home to Windows 11 Pro.

[Sadnewbie]

Needed to upgrade the HP installed  Windows 11 Home to Windows 11 Pro on my PC which I understand could be done without any problem or additional fee.

I have the activated product key.

When I access Settings>System>Activation: it tells me that the product is activated with a digital license on my Microsoft account.

Going to: Upgrade your edition of Windows..... Gives me two options: "Change product Key" and "Upgrade In the Microsoft App"

If I click on "Change" it asks for a product key. I enter the key I have it returns that the number is activated but it will not take me to upgrade the edition.

If going to "Store" it asks for additional fee. Clicking on "I have a windows... key" just closes the store and brings me to the Activation window on the system in the PC.

How can I access the upgrade the edition to Pro, what am I missing?

By the way, verifying my product Key I get the same from the "Control Panel" and the "Power Shell" methods; but a different number from the "Regedit" method. This last key number I have not used yet in trying to upgrade the edition.

Any help and suggestion will be greatly appreciated,

Sadnewbie.

[NonSequitur777]

@Sadnewbie,

OK, my friend, let's try this.

Your PC is currently activated with a Windows 11 Home digital license, which blocks an edition upgrade unless Windows first switches to the generic Windows 11 Pro upgrade key.

With this in mind, please follow these steps exactly:

1. Go to Settings > System > Activation

2. Click Change product key

3. Enter this Microsoft generic Windows 11 Pro upgrade key (this does not activate, it only switches editions): VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

1. Let the system upgrade to Windows 11 Pro and reboot.

2. After reboot, return to Activation and enter your real Pro product key to activate.

This should resolve the Store loop and the "key already activated" message.

Regarding the different keys you see:

• PowerShell / Control Panel show the currently active digital license.

• Registry keys often show OEM placeholders and should not be used for activation.

If the generic key fails, your Pro key is likely either:

• Already bound to another device, or

• Not a valid Windows 11 Pro key.

Hope this was helpful.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[Sadnewbie]

NonSequitur777,

Thank you for your interest and help. However, I had tried that solution including that generic product key.

The upgrade did work. But, now after the reboot using the real product key it says that it is a Windows 11 Home key and for it to work, I need to install the Home version; and of course, it does not work. Therefore, I am left with the conundrum of going back to the Home version or having the annoying message on screen "Activate Windows. Go to settings to activate Windows". Else go to Store and purchase a valid product key.

Bah, humbug!

Thanks again for your help and assistance. I try to find another way to work this problem out.

Sadnewbie

[NonSequitur777]

@Sadnewbie,

By all means, see if you can resolve this in any way available to you.

Btw, if all else fails, you can purchase a legit Windows 11 Pro OEM key for just $4.99.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[markus54]

This isn’t a bug, you currently have an activated Windows 11 Home license, not Pro. Home licenses can’t unlock Pro features. You need to enter a Pro key to trigger the edition upgrade. If you don’t want to pay Microsoft’s full price, I’ve used a Windows 11 Pro key from Digitlogs (around $15–$20) and the upgrade happened instantly without reinstalling.

[NonSequitur777]

@markus54,

Not sure why you would rehash something that I already covered and provided the OP a solution for, including a (much cheaper) Windows 11 Pro purchase alternative.

NonSequitur777

[Sadnewbie]

NonSequitur777 and markus54,

Thanks to both of you for your interest and suggestions. I did find out and got a windows 11 Pro key product which I was able to use. However, it took several tries and change of key product but on the third try all worked fine without a hitch.

All is well that ends well. 

Thank you both.

Sadnewbie.

[NonSequitur777]

@Sadnewbie,

Outstanding news -should make you a little happy I suppose!

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777