Microsoft is officially ending Windows 10 support on October 14, and if you plan on staying on the OS, there's one crucial way to extend its life.

Ready to leave Windows 10 behind? We break down the easiest ways to download, install, and upgrade to Windows 11 for free.

Free upgrades from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10 came in when the latter OS launched mid-2015, and were only supposed to be available for the first year.

And now it seems we can add creating genuine Windows 10 and Windows 11 keys to the list. All it takes is some clever prompting and you’ll get free access to Microsoft’s operating system.