How to upgrade to Windows 11 Education version?

Upgrading from Windows 11 Home to Windows 11 Education requires an eligible academic license and a valid product key; proof of enrolment alone is not sufficient.

There are two main supported paths in the provided information:

1. Through a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) / institution (tenant-joined device)
   • The education institution (or its CSP partner) must have active Microsoft 365 A1/A3/A5 or Windows 11 Enterprise A3/A5 subscriptions.
   • The CSP partner signs in to Partner Center and submits a support request to Microsoft to obtain Windows 11 Pro Education product keys for eligible students:
     1. In Partner Center, go to Customers, select the education customer, then Service requests → New request.
     2. Choose Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility Suite and sign in to the Office 365 portal with Partner Center credentials.
     3. Create a new support request with a title and description requesting Windows 11 Home → Windows 11 Education upgrade keys, including the customer’s subscription ID and the number of keys (not exceeding the number of A1/A3/A5 or A3/A5 licenses).
     4. Microsoft Support validates eligibility and sends instructions and keys to the partner.
   • The partner or institution then provides the key and instructions.
   • On the Windows 11 Home device:
     1. Open Start → Settings → Update & Security → Activation.
     2. Select Change product key and enter the provided Windows 11 Pro Education key.
     3. Select Next to complete the upgrade to Windows 11 Pro.
     4. When the device is joined to the institution’s Microsoft Entra ID tenant (for example, by signing in with the school account and joining the device to the organization), Windows 11 Pro will automatically change to Windows 11 Education (subscription) once the license is applied.
   This path typically requires the institution to issue a school account (often a student email) and assign the appropriate license. Without that account or an institutional CSP/tenant, this upgrade path cannot be completed.
2. Using Microsoft Intune with an Education MAK key (institution-managed devices)
   • For student-owned devices managed by the institution via Microsoft Intune, the institution can:
     1. Create a Windows edition upgrade policy in the Microsoft Intune admin center.
     2. Set Edition to upgrade to Windows 10/11 Education.
     3. Enter a valid Windows 10/11 Education MAK product key.
     4. Assign the policy to devices (for example, filtered to Windows Home SKU devices).
   • When the device checks in to Intune, the policy applies and upgrades Windows Home to Windows Education.
   • This also requires the institution to manage the device in Intune and to provide/assign the Education MAK key.

Given the constraints described (no student email or institutional account yet), the upgrade to Windows 11 Education cannot be completed until the institution:

• Provides a school account and assigns an eligible education license, and/or
• Manages the device (for example, via Intune) and pushes an Education upgrade policy, or
• Works with its CSP partner to obtain and distribute the appropriate upgrade key.

Until that access is available, the device can be prepared by:

• Ensuring Windows 11 Home is fully updated via Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update.
• Confirming the device meets all Windows 11 requirements (already on Windows 11 in this case, but hardware and firmware should be current).

Once the course starts and the institution issues the student account and licenses, the IT department or CSP partner can follow one of the supported processes above to complete the upgrade to Windows 11 Education.

References:

• Upgrade Education customers from Windows 11 Home to Windows 11 Education
• Upgrade Windows Home to Windows Education on student-owned devices