

And they’re taking advantage of that once again. “scamware” - Because Microsoft knows very well that when most people hear the term Windows, the users believe they will get all the freedom that they have on a traditional Windows device. This is no different than the manufacturer of my car telling me what songs I’m allowed to listen to or where I am allowed to drive said car.

“scumware” - because they believe they still have the right to dictate to you what software you are “permitted” to install and run on a device when it is yours. Shakedown - because Microsoft was originally going to charge consumers extra to escape S mode, and they still charge people to publish applications through the Windows Store, which is the only way for consumers to install new software onto equipment running this version of Windows. Anything they disapprove of or which does not comply with whatever guidelines they devise cannot be installed, period. “Shackleware” - because it shackles the consumer to Microsoft products and services. The process completes silently in the background, a restart is not required and the version that is listed in winver should return Windows 10 Home as the edition afterward.Ĭome on now, we can be more creative (and family friendly) than that! Select install to start the conversion from S mode to Home or Pro depending on the supported edition. Select the "get" button at the top to start the process this takes just a moment and changes the "get" button into an "install" button. The only feature difference between S mode and Full mode that is highlighted on the page is the ability to install "any app" in full mode.

The Store application displays the "Switch out of S mode" page that offers information and an actionable button to start the conversion. The second and final step of the conversion happens in the Microsoft Store application. Select "go to the Microsoft Store" under the "Switch to" link on the page. Microsoft asked for €99 for the upgrade. Likewise, if you have Windows 10 Pro in S mode, you may upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for free. If you have Windows 10 Home in S mode, you may upgrade to Windows 10 Home for free. The offered version depends on the current edition of Windows. It should highlight the version of Windows at the top (again Windows 10 Home in S mode in the case of the device that I used), and the Activation status (usually activated with a digital license).īelow that you see options to switch to full versions of Windows. Select Windows Update > Activation to display the operating system's activation status. If you prefer to use the menu, select Start > Settings instead. Open the Settings application with the shortcut Windows-I. Step 1: Open Activation in the Settings application A restart is not required and the whole operation takes less than ten minutes to complete. The process is straightforward once you know what to do.
