licensing
Does Windows 10 Home non-OEM license work forever?
<p>I'm considering buying a Windows 10 Home 64-bit (not OEM) license. Since Microsoft claims there will be no Windows 11 and at the same time this license is not tied to a specific machine, does that mean I'll be able to not pay for Windows ever again and still use it for the next 10, 20, 40 years?</p>

<p>I read a couple of articles about how MS will still earn on Win10 as computer producers will need to pay to MS to sell them with Windows 10 on board. But if I already have a BOX license that is not tied to a specific machine, wouldn't I be able to buy laptops/PCs without an operating system and always install the Windows 10 I bought?</p>

<p>This doesn't seem like a sustainable strategy for a company so I wonder where's the catch?</p>

<p>Link to the Microsoft Store page: <a href="https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Windows-10-Home/productID.319937100" rel="nofollow">https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Windows-10-Home/productID.319937100</a></p>

<p>I have no opinion of sustainability, but one can look at the terms and see what you're getting. The license is <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Useterms/Retail/Windows/10/UseTerms_Retail_Windows_10_English.htm" rel="nofollow">here</a>, theoretically, but keep the piece of paper in your box, if you have a piece of paper, just in case the online version disappears / changes. Part 2(a) says:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The software is licensed, not sold. Under this agreement, we grant you
  the right to install and run one instance of the software on your
  device (the licensed device), for use by one person at a time, so long
  as you comply with all the terms of this agreement.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The expression "on your device (the licensed device)" could easily make one think that it is tied to a specific machine, but that is only true in the sense that it is for a single machine (at a time). Regarding changing machines, part 4(b) would be relevant (this assumes you didn't acquire the software in Germany, where there is special law):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>If you acquired the software as stand-alone software (and also if you
  upgraded from software you acquired as stand-alone software), you may
  transfer the software to another device that belongs to you. You may
  also transfer the software to a device owned by someone else if (i)
  you are the first licensed user of the software and (ii) the new user
  agrees to the terms of this agreement. You may use the backup copy we
  allow you to make or the media that the software came on to transfer
  the software. Every time you transfer the software to a new device,
  you must remove the software from the prior device. You may not
  transfer the software to share licenses between devices.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So you can continuously transfer from machine to machine, as long as you uninstall the OS from machines that you are done with -- you cannot multiply copies by serially upgrading hardware. If you only need 1 machine, you're set for life (your life, or the person why acquires it from you, but no further than that). Also please note that the claim that Windows 10 is the last version is not a binding license term, so legally speaking, W10 <em>could</em> go the way of XP.</p>
