Windows 10 Insider Program only available on genuinely activated systems

This week Microsoft started cranking out new builds of Windows 10 for testing by its over 6 million Windows Insiders.

Windows 10 Build 10525 was pushed out yesterday by Microsoft to those members who have opted into the Fast Ring for updates. Rod provided all the details including an explanation about the previously reported incidents of older feedback being removed.

Microsoft’s new Vice President of the Windows Devices Group Engineering System team, Gabe Aul, laid out the Insider programs status and the release of this new build over at the Blogging Windows site.

There was a very interesting tidbit of information in this blog post that I learned about while participating in a Twitter conversation with Mary Jo Foley and Ed Bott earlier today.

Here is the exact quote:

“Windows 10 Insider Preview is intended to be installed on genuine Windows 10 devices – before upgrading to Windows 10 Insider Preview Builds or reinstalling Windows 10 please ensure your device is activated.”

In layman’s terms that means an upgraded Windows 7 or 8.1 system that is properly activated after upgrading to Windows 10 is the platform for Insiders to use as a basis for testing future builds and updates for Windows 10.

Over the last few months leading up to the release and general availability of Windows 10 the licensing questions about those upgrades were a hot topic of discussion here at the Supersite for Windows.

Based on information provided by Microsoft during that timeframe it was believed that Windows Insiders would be able to test Windows 10 after its release by simply downloading the latest ISO of Windows 10 once it hits the slow ring and spin up a VM or dual boot copy of the OS on their systems.  The post from Aul back in mid June explained those builds would be time bombed and expire after a certain period of time with updated builds being released well before that expiration became an issue for Insiders.

Yesterday’s Windows 10 Build 10525 announcement now seems to change the entry requirement for being a Windows Insider for testing Windows 10 and now requires testers to test the OS updates on a genuinely upgraded/activated system.

One benefit to this process is the new method Microsoft is using to validate upgrades and installs of Windows 10 as detailed by Ed Bott over on ZD Net last week in his Microsoft quietly rewrites its activation rules for Windows 10 article.

As Ed shows, Windows 10 no longer uses a product key but device based activation. By using a system that has already upgraded to Windows 10 and been activated you now have the flexibility to exit the Insider program at your convenience and not have to worry about expiring Windows builds. You will also have the capability to easily clean install afterwards if necessary and still have an activated device/system.

Our coverage of Windows 10 includes a how to for opting in and out of the Windows Insider program on Windows 10. If you want to grab build 10525 then you will need to follow these steps and make sure you have selected the Fast Ring option for new Insider builds.

Of course – that must now be done from a previously upgraded and activated system.

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