Win 10 Pro key for £5 - really??

[saas1980]

Windows 10 PRO product keys only for £5 on Ebay/Amazon??? Are these legit?

If legit, will these work on a new PC (downloading of OS using media creation tool and saving to USB for installation purposes)?

 

[13thmonkey]

generally speaking, no they aren't. If it looks too good to be true, it is.

 

[Colif]

if it seems too goods to be true, it probably isn't real. I wouldn't touch it as I bet its source isn't legit.

I would buy a licence from a source you can trust.

 

[LucoTF]

Of course they're not legit!

 

[madmatt30]

I'd rather run win 10 unlicensed than with a £5 key.

 

[Colif]

I'd rather run win 10 unlicensed than with a £5 key.

its about as safe and cheaper

 

[Barty1884]

The key itself will either work (be it an hour/day/week/month/year etc), or it won't.

With Amazon especially, you should always get your money back.

That being said though, I'm sure these keys (at best) are educational keys, not for resale. At worst, they're authentic keys purchased with a stolen credit card. Either way, they may be disabled/blacklisted in future.

I'd err on the side of caution & stay away........ but provided you create your own installation media and don't use a third-party source that's likely full of viruses......the non-legit key isn't going to do you any harm, outside of potentially being out a fiver.

If it's a cashflow thing, just run unactivated until you're able to purcahse genuine key.

 

[boosted1g]

You should stay away from any keys from vendors like this.

They are not legit and even if they do work today, they will usually stop working at some point down the road.
Most of these keys are stolen from corporate/government/educational blocks of keys because in large scale deployments with tens to hundreds of the exact same hardware you get one PC setup, and you just clone it to the rest. This is still legit to microsoft's eula as long as each machine has its own valid license. Thus the license you are using is often one that is on the sticker on a PC somewhere, it is just not techincally "activated" yet on microsoft's server.

 

[saas1980]

But how come these product listings have so many good reviews? All 5 stars from the ones i've viewed. Many sellers too!

On top, some of these sellers have registered a long time ago and sell various other products too with excellent overall performance feedback scores 98%-100% with long standing accounts.

It does sound too good to be true but the raw data of customer feedback is undeniable

 

[boosted1g]

But how come these product listings have so many good reviews? All 5 stars from the ones i've viewed. Many sellers too!

On top, some of these sellers have registered a long time ago and sell various other products too with excellent overall performance feedback scores 98%-100% with long standing accounts.

It does sound too good to be true but the raw data of customer feedback is undeniable

Because you get your windows key for super cheap, and you are happy and you make the review. Then up to a year latter your license gets deactivated and dont bother to update the review or dont even remember where you bought it from.
Best case the vendor gives you another stolen key and you are ":happy" again.

 

[saas1980]

I just read bartys and boosteds posts...that makes sense!

Though i got windows 10 pro added to my partpicker....i think i'll be alright without it! I've got an old Windows 7 activated Dell M1530 laptop which failed about a year ago. I got in touch with Windows Live chat and they said it may work on a new PC, by just adding the Win 7 product key to Windows 10 OS.

If it doesn't work, as we are way passed the expiration date for the free upgrade to win10, are there any alternative methods without the spend? (alternative as in legit - it's a work and gaming PC hence security/legitimacy is vital)

 

[maddogfargo]

Many of these are OEM or bundled consumer keys that went unused. Some of them will be fine, others may be iffy.

I got 2 Windows 8.1 PRO keys for $60 each, then another 2 for $38 each. A year later, all 4 are still working fine.

Windows 10 keys are so cheap because PEOPLE DON'T WANT IT. Microsoft has only 20% adoption rate in Windows 10, with 50% still on Windows 7. That's why 7 and 8.1 keys are still $60-90, even on the used market.

You should always download the installation media directly from Microsoft. NEVER use a 3rd party ISO as it can be tampered with.

 

[Corwin65]

Many of these are OEM or bundled consumer keys that went unused. Some of them will be fine, others may be iffy.

I got 2 Windows 8.1 PRO keys for $60 each, then another 2 for $38 each. A year later, all 4 are still working fine.

Windows 10 keys are so cheap because PEOPLE DON'T WANT IT. Microsoft has only 20% adoption rate in Windows 10, with 50% still on Windows 7. That's why 7 and 8.1 keys are still $60-90, even on the used market.

You should always download the installation media directly from Microsoft. NEVER use a 3rd party ISO as it can be tampered with.

These are gray market keys and Windows 10 adoption has absolutely no relation to their cost.

 

[13thmonkey]

Many of these are OEM or bundled consumer keys that went unused. Some of them will be fine, others may be iffy.

I got 2 Windows 8.1 PRO keys for $60 each, then another 2 for $38 each. A year later, all 4 are still working fine.

Windows 10 keys are so cheap because PEOPLE DON'T WANT IT. Microsoft has only 20% adoption rate in Windows 10, with 50% still on Windows 7. That's why 7 and 8.1 keys are still $60-90, even on the used market.

You should always download the installation media directly from Microsoft. NEVER use a 3rd party ISO as it can be tampered with.

Just as a reminder, we don't endorse, support or recommend the use of grey software.

FYI win10 is at 25%. https://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0

 

[maikutech]

Windows 10 PRO product keys only for £5 on Ebay/Amazon??? Are these legit?

If legit, will these work on a new PC (downloading of OS using media creation tool and saving to USB for installation purposes)?

For 54.99 more sure it will, be sure to check the sellers rep and ask before buying.
If he/she/It says the product might be msdn related don't bother it ebay/microsoft will shut them down soon.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Sealed-Microsoft-Windows-10-Pro-Professional-64bit-DVD-Product-Key-PC-/262886357035?hash=item3d353f782b:g:Y5EAAOSw44BYFXCV
If its not a legit key, copy and paste it into google search.
If it shows up in warez/torrent site, copy the link to paypal in a dispute and let them refund you.

 

[13thmonkey]

And we're shutting this down, recommending purchasing keys that are likely to be black or grey is not acceptable here, even if you intend to get a refund.