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As you probably know, Microsoft Windows comes in different versions based on your needs. Each version has its own unique set of features as well. For example, Windows 11 Professional allows you to connect to an Active Directory domain and also allows you to connect to it using Remote Desktop.
When you buy a computer with Windows already installed, it will come with a license key for that version of Windows. Sometimes you will get a copy of the key on a card with the computer, or it may be located on a sticker on the case itself. If you need to find your Windows key, you can do so via the command line or use a third party tool to find your key.
But if you are the type who like to install Windows yourself after doing something like building your own computer, there may be a chance that you have installed the wrong version of Windows and now you can’t activate it because your license key is incorrect for that version. If you have installed Windows 11 Home, you can easily upgrade it to Pro but if you have installed Windows 11 Pro, you can’t easily revert it back to home unless you reinstall Windows. In this article, we will be showing you how to downgrade your Windows version from Pro to Home without resetting your PC.
The process to downgrade your Windows version from Pro to Home is fairly simple but you need to keep in mind that it is not 100% guaranteed to work. You should also do a backup of your personal files as well before starting this process just in case something doesn’t go right. As you can see in the image below, this computer is running Windows 11 Professional which is shown in the About section of the Windows settings app.
To downgrade Windows from Pro to Home, you will need to run PowerShell as an administrator. Then you will need to run the command shown below. You can copy and paste it right into the PowerShell windows rather than having to type it. If you are running Windows 10 Professional, you will need to change the 11 to 10 in the command.
Set-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion” -Name EditionID -Type String -Value Core;Set-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion” -Name ProductName -Value “Windows 11 Home”;Set-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion” -Name CompositionEditionID -Value “Core”
You will not see any response after running the command if it was successful.
For the next step, you will need to have access to the Windows installation media on a DVD, flash drive or on the hard drive of your computer. You will then need to find the setup.exe file and run that to start the Windows installation process.
On the next page, you will need to accept the license agreement. You should then see a screen that says Ready to install and it should say Install Windows 11 Home as well as Keep personal files and apps. You can also click on the link that says Change what to keep if you do not want to keep your files and apps.
You can then click on the Install button to have Windows reinstalled and downgraded from Pro to Home without resetting your PC. Once the process is complete, you can go back to the Windows settings and you should then see Windows 11 Home for the edition.
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