Microsoft extends free Windows 10 S upgrade offer through March 2018

Windows 10 Cloud Wallpaper
Windows 10 Cloud Wallpaper (Image credit: Microsoft)

Alongside the launch of Windows 10 S and the Surface Laptop earlier in 2017, Microsoft also announced that Windows 10 S users would get to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for free for a limited time, should they choose. While that offer was originally set to end this December, Microsoft has now announced that it will extend the free upgrade through March 31, 2018.

Windows 10 S is being positioned for the education market as a more secure version of Windows 10 because it only allows apps from the Windows Store to be installed. It also happens to come as the default operating system on the Surface Laptop. If find you need to install an app that is only available outside of the Windows Store, the ability to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro at any time is handy to have, particularly through the free promotion. Once the promotion ends in March, however, Microsoft is expected to charge upwards of $49 to upgrade.

This announcement comes alongside news that the Core i7 version of the Surface Laptop is now available in the full range of colors in 20 new countries. We already spotted that preorders had opened up last week in the U.S. and UK, but Microsoft says they're now available in the following 20 regions:

  • US
  • Canada
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Ireland
  • Luxembourg
  • Netherland
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • UK
  • Taiwan
  • HK
  • China
  • Norway
  • Australia
  • NZ

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Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl