Migration from Windows Family to Windows Pro for a small Business

I am in a small business, and I have multiple Windows devices, the problem is that all of them are in a Windows Family edition, and I want to migrate them to Windows Business. I have the licenses, but I want to do it with an MDM solution or something to deploy it once for all the devices simultaneously.

Please if you have like suggestion or a full method to do it, help me to deploy a Business edition of Windows to multiple devices Windows with a family edition.

PS: I know that there is Microsoft Autopilot and stuff but the problem is that the devices are all of them using Windows Family editions and that blocks the process.

glebgreenspan 1,290 Reputation points

2024-04-08T13:44:27.0533333+00:00
Hello Smail

To migrate multiple Windows devices from Windows 10 Home (Family edition) to Windows 10 Pro (Business edition) using an MDM (Mobile Device Management) solution, you can leverage Windows Autopilot along with a compatible MDM platform like Microsoft Intune. However, as you mentioned that the devices are currently using Windows 10 Home edition, there are some considerations and steps involved in this migration process. Here's a suggested method:

Pre-requisites:

Windows 10 Pro Licenses: Ensure that you have valid Windows 10 Pro licenses for each device you want to upgrade.

MDM Subscription: Subscribe to Microsoft Intune or another compatible MDM solution that supports Windows Autopilot and device provisioning.

Steps to Migrate to Windows 10 Pro using Autopilot and Intune:

Prepare Windows Autopilot Profile:

Log in to the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center (https://endpoint.microsoft.com) using your administrator account.

Navigate to "Devices" > "Windows" > "Windows enrollment" > "Windows Autopilot deployment profiles."

Create a new Autopilot deployment profile for Self-Deploying mode. This profile will be used to automatically provision devices with Windows 10 Pro.

Import Devices to Autopilot:

Obtain the hardware IDs (typically using the Windows Autopilot deployment service) for each Windows 10 Home device you want to migrate.

Upload the hardware IDs to the Autopilot service in the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center. This associates the devices with your Autopilot deployment profile.

Create and Assign Intune Configuration Profile:

In the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center, navigate to "Devices" > "Configuration profiles" > "+ Create profile."

Choose "Windows 10 and later" as the platform and "Edition Upgrade" as the profile type.

Configure the profile settings to specify the target edition (Windows 10 Pro) and license key.

Assign the configuration profile to the devices targeted for migration.

Perform Device Enrollment:

On each Windows 10 Home device: a. Reset the device to factory settings (if necessary). b. Connect the device to the internet. c. Follow the out-of-box experience (OOBE) prompts until you reach the screen that asks for credentials. d. Sign in with the credentials of a user assigned to the Autopilot deployment profile. e. The device will automatically enroll in Intune and apply the assigned configuration profile to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.

Additional Considerations:

Ensure that the devices meet the hardware requirements for Windows 10 Pro.

Back up important data on the devices before initiating the migration process.

Test the migration process on a pilot group of devices before scaling up to all devices.

Communicate the migration plan and any impacts to users in advance. To migrate multiple Windows devices from Windows 10 Home (Family edition) to Windows 10 Pro (Business edition) using an MDM (Mobile Device Management) solution, you can leverage Windows Autopilot along with a compatible MDM platform like Microsoft Intune. However, as you mentioned that the devices are currently using Windows 10 Home edition, there are some considerations and steps involved in this migration process. Here's a suggested method: Pre-requisites:

Windows 10 Pro Licenses: Ensure that you have valid Windows 10 Pro licenses for each device you want to upgrade.

MDM Subscription: Subscribe to Microsoft Intune or another compatible MDM solution that supports Windows Autopilot and device provisioning.

Steps to Migrate to Windows 10 Pro using Autopilot and Intune:

Prepare Windows Autopilot Profile: Log in to the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center (https://endpoint.microsoft.com) using your administrator account.
Navigate to "Devices" > "Windows" > "Windows enrollment" > "Windows Autopilot deployment profiles." Create a new Autopilot deployment profile for Self-Deploying mode. This profile will be used to automatically provision devices with Windows 10 Pro.

Import Devices to Autopilot: Obtain the hardware IDs (typically using the Windows Autopilot deployment service) for each Windows 10 Home device you want to migrate.
Upload the hardware IDs to the Autopilot service in the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center. This associates the devices with your Autopilot deployment profile.

Create and Assign Intune Configuration Profile: In the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center, navigate to "Devices" > "Configuration profiles" > "+ Create profile."
Choose "Windows 10 and later" as the platform and "Edition Upgrade" as the profile type. Configure the profile settings to specify the target edition (Windows 10 Pro) and license key. Assign the configuration profile to the devices targeted for migration.

Perform Device Enrollment: On each Windows 10 Home device: a. Reset the device to factory settings (if necessary). b. Connect the device to the internet. c. Follow the out-of-box experience (OOBE) prompts until you reach the screen that asks for credentials. d. Sign in with the credentials of a user assigned to the Autopilot deployment profile. e. The device will automatically enroll in Intune and apply the assigned configuration profile to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.

Additional Considerations: Ensure that the devices meet the hardware requirements for Windows 10 Pro. Back up important data on the devices before initiating the migration process. Test the migration process on a pilot group of devices before scaling up to all devices. Communicate the migration plan and any impacts to users in advance.

Accepted answer

ZhoumingDuan-MSFT 8,060 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-04-09T05:42:05.7066667+00:00

@Smail IFRI European Partner, Thanks for posting in Q&A.

For your issue, according to the official document, upgrading from windows home to windows pro can only be done manually by entering the product key, if you want to use MDM or other methods, you can first upgrade windows home to a version that supports the Windows autopilot method, and then refer to the method mentioned by @glebgreenspan to upgrade to Windows pro.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/upgrade/windows-edition-upgrades

Or you can upgrade Windows Home to Pro using a Microsoft 365 Windows upgrade license.

https://techlabs.blog/categories/guides/convert-windows-11-home-pro-using-microsoft-365-windows-upgrade-license

Non-official, just for reference.

Hope above information can be helpful.

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ZhoumingDuan-MSFT 8,060 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-04-11T07:41:40.33+00:00

@Smail IFRI European Partner, Hope things going well.

If there is any update, feel free to let us know.

Smail IFRI European Partner 20 Reputation points

2024-04-11T10:51:36.5366667+00:00

Hi,
Update: there was no solution to deploy a migration within Intune cause the Windows editions on the devices block literally the process I needed to use a Windows Pro key in each device and integrate them to **Entra ID and Intune.
**
So I just need to say to people that if you buy devices for a PME or some Business make sure to have a Business/Pro edition of Windows to deploy you're solutions better.

Smail IFRI European Partner 20 Reputation points

2024-04-19T07:22:58.1833333+00:00

Yeah, unfortunately, it was the only way to do it. Thanks guys.
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Migration from Windows Family to Windows Pro for a small Business

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