How to upgrade Windows Home to Pro without formatting or losing data

Step-by-step guide to upgrade Windows 10 or Windows 11 Home to Pro without formatting or losing data. Learn when to use the generic Windows Pro upgrade key, how to change the edition safely, how to handle errors 0x8004230f or 0x8007000d, and when to activate Windows Pro with your valid product key.

Before you begin: this process does not activate Windows. It only changes the installed edition from Windows Home to Windows Pro, which is useful when your purchased product key is for Pro but the computer currently has Home installed. Your files, apps, and settings should remain in place, but you should still save your work before starting.

1. Open the Windows activation page

This guide applies to both Windows 10 and Windows 11. Start from the activation page, because that is where Windows lets you change the installed edition by entering a different product key.

On Windows 11, open Settings > System > Activation. On Windows 10, open Settings > Update & Security > Activation. Then locate Change product key and select Change.

Windows 11 Home activation settings with Change product key highlighted
In Windows 11, open Activation and use Change product key.
Windows 10 Home activation settings with Change product key highlighted
In Windows 10, open Activation and use Change product key.

Note: this also works if Windows Home already says it is activated. Activation and edition are related, but they are not the same thing. You can still use Change product key to start the edition upgrade to Pro.

Windows 11 Home active with Change product key available
Windows Home can be active and still allow you to change the key for an edition upgrade.

2. Enter the generic Windows Pro upgrade key

Enter the following generic Windows Pro upgrade key:

VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

This key is used only to switch the edition from Home to Pro. It does not activate Windows. After the upgrade finishes, you will activate Windows Pro with your own valid Pro product key.

Windows product key window with the generic Windows Pro upgrade key entered
Enter the generic Pro upgrade key to start changing the edition.

3. Confirm the upgrade and wait for Windows to finish

Windows will check the key and show that it is ready to upgrade the edition. Confirm the change and keep the computer powered on while Windows applies the upgrade.

Windows confirmation window to upgrade the edition to Pro
Confirm the edition upgrade when Windows shows the upgrade prompt.
Windows edition upgrade progress window
Wait while Windows upgrades the edition. The computer may need to restart.

4. If error 0x8004230f or 0x8007000d appears

In some systems, Windows may show error 0x8004230f or 0x8007000d during the edition change. This usually means the upgrade did not complete cleanly, not that your Pro key is invalid.

Windows activation settings showing error 0x8007000d
If an edition-change error appears, restart and verify the installed edition before trying again.

Use this recovery order:

  1. Restart the PC.
  2. Return to the activation page and verify the installed edition.
  3. If the edition is still Home, retry the upgrade process with the generic Pro key.
  4. Restart the PC again after the retry.
  5. If the error still persists, open Command Prompt or PowerShell as administrator and run these commands:
SFC /scannow
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

After both commands finish, restart Windows and retry the Home to Pro upgrade process.

5. Activate Windows Pro with your own product key

When the edition upgrade is complete, Windows should show that the installed edition is Pro. At that point, the edition change is done and the computer is ready to activate with your own valid Windows Pro key.

If Windows Pro is not active yet, use Change product key again and enter the Windows Pro key you purchased.

Windows 11 Pro activation page showing Windows is not active
After the upgrade, activate Windows Pro with your valid Pro product key.

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