This article explains how to upgrade your Windows licence to a university Windows 10 Enterprise license.

These instructions are for staff and students that want to upgrade their own computer (not university-owned laptops or desktops). If you are upgrading your computer, please read carefully the section "Warning before upgrading your license".

Warning before upgrading your license

You can upgrade your Windows Home edition to the university Windows Enterprise version.

Before upgrading your license to Windows Enterprise, keep in mind 2 important aspects:

1. Your Windows 10 licence will expire approximately 180 days after you leave. After that:

• Your Windows 10 installation will have limited functionality
• You will be asked to buy a valid Windows licence for the version of Windows you now have installed.

2. Once upgraded, you cannot revert or downgrade your Enterprise license to Windows Home. 

If you want to restore your old Home version, you must reset your computer to the manufacturing settings. This will involve:

• Formatting the hard drive
• Lose any installed applications or data that is not backed up. 

You will need to ensure that you have the original Windows media to do this.

Staff using their own computers (not university-owned laptops or desktops) must follow the same procedure after leaving.

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How to install a Windows 10 Enterprise licence 

If you have received a message to say your Windows licence has expired, please complete the following steps: 

Step 1 - Connect to the university's VPN

Connect to the university’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) using GlobalProtect.

If you need guidance on setting up and connecting to VPN, please read the article "How to set up the Virtual Private Network (VPN) via GlobalProtect".

Step 2 - Download the ISO and the .bat files

If the Step 1 is not successful and connecting to VPN does not update your licence, please:

1. Open the "Microsoft Windows 10 for Staff and Students" from the University of Southampton Software Download service
2. From the menu bars on the right, check that the OS system selected is Any
3. Download the ISO file
4. Download the Activation file WindowsOSkms.bat file

Step 3 - Install the license

1.  Create a bootable USB stick using this ISO file. If you need help to do this, please:
   1. Open the Microsoft page "Download Windows 10"
   2. Scroll down to the section "Create Windows 10 installation media" and download the tool through the button Download tool now
   3. Open the accordion titled "Using the tool to create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) to install Windows 10 on a different PC (click to show more or less information)" and follow the instructions.
2. When you have created the bootable USB stick, you can
   1. Put it in the machine you wish to install / upgrade, and then
   2. Reboot the machine.
      You must use the UEFI/BIOS settings on the machine so that it will boot from the USB drive.
3. Follow the on screen instructions to install Windows.

Windows 10 comes with Windows Defender pre-installed and you should not require additional anti-virus protection.

Step 4 - Licence the software

1. Be sure you are connected to VPN
2. Right-click the file WindowsOSkms.bat file you downloaded at the Step 2
3. Select the option Run As Administrator
4. A command window will open and you should see phrase: "REMAINING GRACE: 180 days". This indicates the licensing process has been successful.

Each time you connect to the University of Southampton domain (though VPN, eduroam, or physical ethernet connection on any of our campuses / sites), the license will be renewed for another 180 days in the background.

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Getting IT help

If you need further help, you can:

• Contact ServiceLine to receive support through phone call or chat
• Raise a ticket to iSolutions
• Receive in-person support at our Tech Hubs

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Related content

How to download software

Administrator account and rights on university-owned computers

How to renew a Windows 10 licence