Windows 11 downgrade rights

Question

Hi,

I have came across a the below Microsoft article stating that downgrade rights have an extra charge to them when buying them as OEM effective 1st July.

Link: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/surface-os-choice

Does this apply to devices purchased prior to this?

Kind regards

Subhaan

Answer 1

The reference article is applicable only for the following devices:

Surface Pro 9

Surface Laptop 5

Surface Laptop Go 2

Surface Laptop 4

Surface Pro 8

Surface Laptop Studio

Surface Go 3

So, if you have a device other than the above (earlier build) it won't be applicable. However, an end user can anytime download or, upgrade by installing the OS provided other system requirements are fulfilled.

Answer 2

Hi @Subhaan Khalifa

Based on the article you provided, the following is my understanding.

Before 1st July, if you opted for a Surface device with Windows 10, you'd be charged an extra $30 or so based on the list price of the computer itself, but that fee wasn't for a downgrade. After 1st July, the additional fee will increase from $30 to $50 for the following devices: Surface Pro 9, Surface Laptop 5, Surface Go 3 LTE, and Surface Pro 8 LTE.

And the real downgrade is when you choose to buy a new Surface device running Windows 11 (at no extra charge), you can take advantage of the built-in downgrade permission to drop to Win10.

Hope the information is helpful.

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