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Hello,
I have a question about upgrading computers for our company.
Currently, our company is using the Windows software that comes with the laptop, which is Windows 11 Home Single Language.
I want to upgrade these machines to Windows 11 Pro so that we can use the domain controller.
However, when I researched and surveyed prices from domestic suppliers, I saw that they all quoted using the Windows 11 GGWA package or the Retail or ESD software packages.
I’ve seen some posts about upgrading Windows 11 Home through the CSP package, but I don’t quite understand it. The requirements seem pretty simple, for example, having M365 Business. I’m not sure if there’s any difference in upgrading from Win Home versus Win HSL.
We are using Microsoft 365 Business Basic and Standard.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/4165369/windows-11-pro-csp-offers
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Hello anh Trien,
Windows 11 Home Single Language (HSL) and Windows 11 Home are treated the same for licensing purposes when upgrading to Pro. The fact that your devices are running HSL does not prevent them from being upgraded to Windows 11 Pro.
The important point is that Microsoft 365 Business Basic and Business Standard do not include Windows Pro upgrade rights. Simply assigning those licenses will not upgrade a device from Home/HSL to Pro. Even Microsoft 365 Business Premium does not provide a free Home-to-Pro upgrade; the device must first obtain a valid Windows Pro upgrade license.
For your scenario, the supported options are:
Once the machines are running Windows 11 Pro, you can join them to an Active Directory domain or Microsoft Entra ID and use the Pro features such as Domain Join, Group Policy, BitLocker, and Remote Desktop.
Since your company currently uses Microsoft 365 Business Basic and Business Standard, the simplest and most compliant approach is usually to purchase a legitimate Windows 11 Pro upgrade license for each device through your Microsoft reseller or CSP partner, then upgrade the existing Home Single Language installations in-place without reinstalling Windows.
Hoang/Harry.
Hello Harry,
Sorry, I understand that to use features like AD join, I need to have Windows 11 Pro and that's what I want to aim for.
For example, if have about 100 devices running Windows 11 HSL, so when upgrading to Windows 11 Pro, which option would be better?
With that number of devices, buying Retail or ESD keys would be quite expensive, and management would also be very difficult. GGWA is more convenient, but the price isn’t low either.
So I just have a question about the CSP offer "Windows 11 Home to Pro Upgrade for Microsoft 365 Business".
So what exactly will the requirements for the license include here?
From your scenario (100 devices already running Windows 11 Home Single Language), the key requirement for the"Windows 11 Home to Pro Upgrade for Microsoft 365 Business" CSP offer is that the organization must have a qualifying Microsoft 365 Business subscription assigned to the user, and the device must already have a genuine Windows Home license. The offer is specifically intended to upgrade Windows Home devices to Windows Pro for Microsoft 365 Business customers.
Since you already have Microsoft 365 Business Basic and Business Standard, you meet the Microsoft 365 Business subscription requirement. The remaining requirement is purchasing the CSP Home-to-Pro Upgrade license itself for each device. The CSP license is generally cheaper and easier to manage at scale than purchasing individual retail licenses.
For approximately 100 devices, I would generally recommend discussing the Windows 11 Home to Pro Upgrade for Microsoft 365 Business CSP offer with your CSP reseller rather than buying 100 Retail/ESD licenses. It is specifically designed for organizations in your situation that have Microsoft 365 Business subscriptions and need to move Home devices to Pro.
One important clarification: neither Business Basic nor Business Standard automatically upgrades Windows Home to Pro. You still need to purchase the Pro upgrade license. The Microsoft 365 subscription alone does not grant free Home-to-Pro upgrade rights.
So in summary, for 100 Windows 11 HSL devices, the CSP Home-to-Pro Upgrade offer is likely the most practical licensing path.
Thanks, I understood.
More question about whether devices meet the hardware requirements for Windows 11.
For example, I have some machines running Windows 10 that don't have any upgrades to Windows 11 in Windows Update. If I forcefully reinstall these machines with Windows 11 Pro, can I use this upgrade? In this case, the machine would be in a Not Activated state.
Another scenario is when I install Windows 11, the device will automatically recognize the Home SL version and will be in an Activated state.
For these two cases, in which scenario would I not be able to use the upgrade package?
In the first scenario, if the device does not meet Windows 11 hardware requirements and you force-install Windows 11 Pro, it may run, but that configuration is considered unsupported by Microsoft. More importantly, the Home-to-Pro CSP upgrade license does not waive Windows 11 hardware requirements, so licensing eligibility and supportability can become problematic.
In the second scenario, if Windows 11 installs normally, automatically detects the embedded Windows Home Single Language OEM license, and shows as activated, then this is the ideal candidate for the Windows 11 Home to Pro Upgrade for Microsoft 365 Business license.
For a fleet of 100 devices, I would strongly recommend first verifying whether the Windows 10 machines are being blocked from Windows 11 due to hardware requirements (TPM, CPU, Secure Boot, etc.) before deciding on the licensing path. The hardware eligibility question should be resolved before purchasing upgrade licenses
How many countries can use the "Windows 11 Home to Pro Upgrade for Microsoft 365 Business" package?
Partners in Vietnam are telling me that the program is not applicable.
They are basing it on the information from this section
