Windows 10 Pro

Read this before you buy

Microsoft has ended support for Windows 10. No new security patches are coming, so any flaw discovered from here on stays open permanently. We keep selling this licence because a lot of machines still cannot run Windows 11, and a legal old system beats an unactivated one. But if your PC passes the Windows 11 check, buy Windows 11 Pro instead. It costs twelve dollars more and Microsoft is still patching it, which is worth considerably more than twelve dollars.

Who this key is for

Three situations come up again and again with our customers.

• A laptop from 2016 or earlier that fails the TPM 2.0 requirement and cannot be upgraded.
• A workstation running accounting or design software that only behaves properly on Windows 10.
• A PC already on Windows 10 without activation, watermark in the corner, personalisation greyed out.

That third case needs no reinstall at all. Enter the key under Settings, then Update and Security, then Activation, and the system legalises itself in under a minute with your files and programs untouched.

What Pro adds on older hardware

BitLocker matters more on an old laptop than a new one, because old laptops are the ones that get resold, lent out and stolen. Remote Desktop hosting lets you leave the machine at the office and reach it from home. Neither feature exists in Windows 10 Home, which costs five dollars less.

Protecting a system that no longer gets patched

A paid antivirus is not a substitute for security updates. On a machine that can no longer be patched, though, it stops being a supplement and becomes the main defence. We set out the limits of that approach honestly in our article on Windows 10 after end of support. The antivirus licences are on the same site.

Paying without a credit card

This is the part that blocks most of our customers. International platforms want a Visa or Mastercard, and plenty of people across Africa do not have one. Here the payment goes through the mobile wallet you already use, straight from your phone.

We accept MTN MoMo, Orange Money, Airtel Money, Moov Money, Wave, M-Pesa, Telecel Cash, AT Money, Free Money, Vodacom, Tigo and Halotel, depending on where you are. Fourteen countries are covered: Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Congo, DR Congo and Sierra Leone. PayPal and card payments work everywhere else.

Pick your country at checkout and you only see the wallets that actually work there. The price appears in your local currency. Our guide to paying for software with mobile money walks through the whole process.

Common questions

Is it worth buying an operating system Microsoft no longer patches?

Only when the hardware leaves you no choice. Legalising an existing Windows 10 install beats leaving it unactivated. Upgrading to Windows 11 beats both, when the PC allows it.

Can I activate without wiping my computer?

Yes. If Windows 10 Pro is already installed, entering the key in the activation settings is all it takes.

Will Windows 10 stop working?

No. It keeps running normally. What stopped is the flow of security fixes.

Can I move this key to another PC?

No. A retail licence stays with the machine it was activated on.

How do I pay without a bank card?

Pick your country and mobile wallet at checkout, then approve the payment on your phone.