Upgrade licenses and Product Key Cards for Outlook/Office 2010
I already own a version of Office with Outlook and want to upgrade to Office 2010. I cannot find any information about upgrade licenses.
Do I have to buy the full version again?
Yes, you’ll indeed have to buy the full version again but this is because there are no separate upgrade versions of Office 2010 anymore.
Instead, Microsoft offers you a discount, which is similar to previous upgrade licenses, when you purchase an Office 2010 Product Key Card and then download the software yourself or activate a trial version pre-installed on your computer.
Product Key Cards license
While the Product Key Card license is offered at a discount, the Product Key Card license differs a bit from a Retail license (which you get when you buy a boxed version in the shop). The most notable differences are;
| Product Key Card License | Retail License |
|---|---|
| 1 PC only. | 1 PC and 1 mobile device of the main user of that PC. For Home & Student; 3 PCs in the same household. |
| Not transferrable to another computer. | Transferrable to another computer. |
| Software only available as a download or pre-installed on a new computer. | Software installation disk available in the box. |
Note: Depending on your needs, a Retail License can actually end up being cheaper than a Product Key Card License.
The upgrade license may be gone but an upgrade installation is still possible.
