How to transfer Windows digital license between computers and Microsoft accounts

Question

How to transfer Windows digital license between computers and Microsoft accounts

Glenn B 20

I need some crosschecking on the procedural details for transferring the Windows digital license between two computers, one that is mine and one that is associated with my wife. I’ve encountered numerous descriptions of how to transfer Windows licenses and understand the constraints. However, I wanted to present this specific scenario that has some twists to ensure that I don’t do something to bobble the licenses and lose future access to them. Hopefully the following objectives of the scenario are clear. Also note that I understand the impending cessation of support for Windows 10, so my intent is to successfully execute the license shuffle as described below and then deal with any license upgrades to Windows 11 later.

My wife’s laptop, designated “Laptop 1”, has a Windows 10 Home Retail license linked to my wife’s MS account. Given Laptop 1 has a retail license, the license should be transferable according to Microsoft constraints. In the first step of the license shuffle I would like to ensure the following outcome in preparation for the subsequent transfer of ownership and license. I would like to transfer the license from Laptop 1 to my MS account and effectively preserve or retain this license for future use on another computer. In other words, this license will be disassociated from Laptop 1 AND my wife’s MS account AND held for future use (i.e., it may/will be assigned to another computer at some point). The mechanics of this action are not clear to me, or if it is even possible.

My (older) laptop, designated “Laptop 2”, has a Windows 10 Professional Retail license linked to my MS account. Again, being a retail license, it should be transferable. I would like to reassign the license from Laptop2 to Laptop 1 thus taking full equipment and license ownership of Laptop 1. As I understand the process of transferring a license, this should disassociate the license from Laptop 2 and associate it with Laptop 1. This would allow me to decommission and recycle my old laptop.

So, the net outcome of this exercise can be summarized as follows:

1. Transfer ownership and retain the license on Laptop 1 under my MS account, while effectively removing it from Laptop 1 and my wife’s MS account ownership, but not immediately associating it with any other computer.

2. Transfer the license on Laptop 2 to Laptop 1, which will effectively disassociate the license from Laptop 2 thus allowing me to recycle the laptop.

Hopefully this explanation is clear, but please feel free to ask for additional details.

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Answer 1

Jeronimo Fuerte 16,785 Independent Advisor

Hi! Transferring your Pro retail license from Laptop 2 to Laptop 1 is fully supported, simply remove or stop using the license on Laptop 2, then on Laptop 1 upgrade from Home to Pro and activate using your Pro key. Retail rules require that only one device uses the license at a time. If the license is linked to your Microsoft account as a digital license, you can also use the Activation Troubleshooter to reassign it.

You can´t transfer a Retail license to another Microsoft account, but, as licenses are hardware tied, by first letting the other person sign into the device and letting Windows activate, then removing the account. In that scenario, the license effectively stays with the device and works to the new user after activation. This isn't a true "transfer of license between Microsoft accounts" it’s simply reassigning the license with the hardware, not moving it as a standalone asset between accounts.

Glenn B 20 Reputation points

2025-08-14T17:29:08.8233333+00:00

Jeronimo,

Thanks for the response. I understand the relationship between the license and the hardware and that the license is linked or associated with an MS account for purposes of ownership. Given that a license can't really be directly transferred between MS account, the alternative you described makes sense to effectively release original ownership of the hardware, reassign ownership of the hardware, and then link the license associated with the hardware to the recipient MS account. However, I would like to get some more explicit steps to clarify the necessary actions. Sometimes the MS terminology is used interchangeably and doesn't always clearly map to specific actions required to achieve the operation.

So I want to start by getting clarification on the first step: "the other person sign into the device and letting Windows activate, then removing the account." The first question is related to the "letting Windows activate" statement. I assume that this refers to just letting Windows start up and nothing to do with Windows (license) activation; Windows is "activated" on all the computers in this exercise.

Then there is the matter of the next step "removing the account." I assume that I would have to add an account for myself to Laptop 1 first before removing the original owner account (my wife) from the computer, otherwise the computer would be left without an account to login.

This step would be followed by me performing a Windows activation on my MS account and then link the original Laptop 1 Windows Home license to my MS account. At this point (or even after removing my wife's user account from Laptop 1) would I have to delete the computer reference in my wife's MS account? In any event, after this step Laptop 1 and its Windows Home license should be linked to my MS account; correct?

From this point, changing the Windows license from Home to Pro requires an operating system upgrade from Windows Home to Windows Pro to obtain the Pro features. Just out of curiosity, would an in-place upgrade be sufficient or would it be advisable to perform a clean upgrade? I have all the original files transferred to my wife's new laptop and they are also backed up, so I have no problem with a clean upgrade other than it would require a few applications to be reinstalled.

At this stage and going forward, will the original Laptop 1 Windows Home license still be retained in my MS account? Even though it is just a Home license, it would be nice to retain it for possible future reference. Once I know the status of the original license and the outcome of the Windows upgrade, I would use the Activation Troubleshooter to apply my Laptop 2 Windows Pro license on to the newly reconfigured Laptop 1. Then I can decommission the old Laptop 2 for recycling.

Please let me know if I have interpreted you suggested actions properly so I can proceed with the transfer. Also please forgive my paranoia about being extremely specific about the required actions. As I noted earlier, interpretation of the language can be the difference between a good and bad outcome.

Thanks,

Glenn
Jeronimo Fuerte 16,785 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2025-08-14T18:53:40.2966667+00:00

You interpreted the process correctly: to “transfer” a Windows license between Microsoft accounts, you don’t actually move the license itself but rather shift ownership of the device and reestablish the activation link under a new Microsoft account. Specifically, on Laptop 1 (originally under your wife’s account), you would first add your Microsoft account as a new user with admin rights, sign in with your account, and then remove your wife’s user account. This process leaves the license still tied to the hardware but allows you to re-link the digital license to your own Microsoft account via Settings > Activation > Add an account. Once that’s done, you can optionally clean up your wife’s Microsoft account by removing the device from her online account page.

After this reassignment, you can proceed with upgrading Laptop 1 from Windows 10 Home to Pro using your Laptop 2’s retail key. An in-place upgrade (via “Change product key” in Activation settings) is sufficient unless you prefer a clean install for performance or housekeeping reasons. Once upgraded, the Home license is no longer active on that hardware. If it was a retail key, you can reuse it elsewhere; if it was a digital license without a key, it cannot be held in your account without being reactivated on a new device. At this stage, you can safely decommission Laptop 2, and your Pro license will now be linked to your Microsoft account and in use on Laptop 1.
Glenn B 20 Reputation points

2025-08-14T19:12:16.6233333+00:00

Jeronimo,

Thanks for taking the time to confirm the details of the licensing process for my scenario. I think this completes my inquiry and I will mark your explanation as the "accepted answer."

Many Thanks,

Glenn

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