Does "Upgrading" to Windows 8.1 revoke your Personal Use License?

[Winterseed]

http://www.windows.com/personaluselicense

Some people seem to think you can update Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 without losing your Personal Use Licence. That doesn't seem to be correct.

The following is an extract from the Personal Use Licence terms (linked above):

"What does this agreement apply to? This agreement applies to the software, the media on which you received the software, and also any Microsoft updates, supplements, and services for the software, unless other terms come with them."

Well, "other terms" DO come with Windows 8.1 which, according to the quoted paragraph, seems to mean the Personal Use Licence agreement NO LONGER APPLIES. I'm not a lawyer but that seems pretty clear-cut.

That seems like bad news for anyone who chose Windows 8 for the ability to make hardware changes to their PC (myself included). One thing which isn't at all clear is if you can downgrade back to Windows 8 to restore your Personal Use Licence.

So, does anyone know if consumers have an inexorable right to restore a purchase to its original state, along with the original licence? Has anyone actually tried to exercise the perks of the Personal Use Licence after updating Windows 8 to 8.1?

(First post! Woo! Thanks for having me! I hope I didn't mess something up already!)

 

[USAFRet]

No, it would not appear to invalidate your Personal Use License.

I see nothing in the licensing for 8 or 8.1 that would indicate so.

 

[danny2000]

It basically becomes a Full copy once you've upgraded it to Windows 8.1. You can then move it to another computer like the retail Windows 8.1 version. You can't then, however, use the Windows 8 license on another computer; The Windows 8 license is tied to the Windows 8.1 license.

 

[danny2000]

What I was meaning, is you can't have Windows 8 on one computer and then also have Windows 8.1 on another, because that would then require two licenses.

 

[Winterseed]

USAFRet, unless my comprehension is worse than I thought, the paragraph I quoted from the Personal Use Licence explicitly states that it (the license) will no longer apply to any update which comes with its own terms. The 8.1 agreement then goes on to explicitly deny users the right to make hardware changes.

Again, I'm new to this stuff, but I see no other way to interpret the agreements.

danny2000, I don't remember seeing anything to suggest 8.1 can be moved to a different computer. If you could provide a source for that info, that would be cool.

To me it really seems like Microsoft are trying to get people to sign away their Personal Use Licences without realizing. It seems to be working.

 

[USAFRet]

OK. So from what I'm reading elsewhere, Microsoft has done away with the Personal Use/System Builder/OEM/Retail confusion. There is now Windows 8.1, and Windows 8.1 Pro. Thats it. No worry about what license is it, what version....gone.

However!

This changes very very little, except the number of SKUs that MS and the retailers have to manage.


So instead of speculation, lets got to the source:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/IntellectualProperty/UseTerms/Default.aspx, and look up the Windows 8.1 License Agreement.
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MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT
WINDOWS 8.1


Can I transfer the software to another computer or user? You may transfer the software to another computer that belongs to you. You may also transfer the software (together with the license) to a computer owned by someone else if a) you are the first licensed user of the software and b) the new user agrees to the terms of this agreement.

-------------------------------------------------------

So you are partially correct, in that there is no longer a "Personal Use" or "OEM" license with 8.1.
But that changes nothing for you and I, the end users. You can still change hardware, install it on another computer, sell it, give it away.....as long as it it installed on only one PC at a time.

 

[Winterseed]

Ah, looks like I wasn't up-to-date on the new terms for 8.1. That's great! Looks like I was worrying for nothing. Good job getting to the bottom of that one. I'll rest easy now