Windows 11 Pro digital key activation

Question

I recently bought a new laptop and sold my old computer. I had purchased Windows 11 Pro upgrade a while back on the old computer. I reformatted the old computer before I sold it and I was trying to transfer Windows 11 Pro to my laptop but instead of transferring, the MS store wanted me to purchase it again for 99 dollars. I contacted support and the agent had me put in some cmd's one of which was a product key. My computer restarted a few times and when I went to activation it said I didn't have a digital key associated with my account. The agent transferred me to level 2 but the call was dropped. I requested another call back and the agent again transferred me to level 2. I spoke with a woman whom took my information and put me on indefinite hold. I waited 30 minutes on hold and hung up. Now I can't request another call back and I'm stuck with an inactive windows machine and MS store wants to change me 199 dollars to upgrade. Bullocks.... How do I just get Windows 11 Home back?

Answer 1

Hi J K,

Just a quick suggestion to help you move forward:

First, let’s confirm which edition of Windows your laptop is currently running. You can do this by pressing Windows + R, typing winver, and hitting Enter. If it shows Windows 11 Pro, then you’re likely on the wrong edition for your license, which is probably for Windows 11 Home.

Unfortunately, Windows doesn’t allow a direct downgrade from Pro to Home. To switch back, you'll need to do a clean installation of Windows 11 Home. Here’s how you can do that safely:

Back up your important files, this process will erase everything.

Create installation media:

Go to the official Windows 11 download page.

Choose "Create Windows 11 Installation Media."

Use it to create a bootable USB.

Install Windows 11 Home:

Boot your computer from the USB drive.

During setup, when asked to select the edition, choose Windows 11 Home.

When prompted for a product key, click “I don’t have one.”

If your device originally came with Windows 11 Home, it will activate automatically after the install.

Once setup is complete, go to Settings > Activation to confirm that Windows is activated.

Hope this helps get your system back on track!