Windows 10 Free Rumors: Tech Giant Blog Reveals Disappointing News for Beta Testers

Microsoft is not going to offer Windows 10 for free to users of its Insiders beta version. The company updated its blog post noting that only people upgrading from Windows 7 or 8 would get a free upgrade.

Previously it said that signed up members of the Insider Program running a preview version would "receive the Windows 10 final release build and remain activated." Now it says only that they will "receive the Windows 10 final release build," Ars Technica noted.

On the blog, Microsoft further mentioned: "It's important to note that only people running Genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 can upgrade to Windows 10 as part of the free upgrade offer."

The confusion was caused by something else, it seems: the Windows 10 Insider program, the mechanism by which new beta versions of Windows 10 are issued, is going to continue after the release of Windows 10 RTM - and if you're still registered as a Windows Insider, you won't need to buy a copy of 10. Instead, you'll continue to receive new, pre-release builds of 10 from Microsoft - builds that will remain activated until the release of the next beta version, Gizmodo notes.

So either you continue using the buggy and beta version of Windows 10 by remaining an Insider, or you can pay for a new license key.