{"id":550732,"date":"2026-04-25T22:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T22:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/550732\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T22:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T22:51:10","slug":"out-of-stock-google-offers-free-pc-upgrade-for-windows-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/550732\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Out Of Stock\u2019\u2014Google Offers Free PC Upgrade For Windows Users"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"US-CONSUMER<\/p>\n

Bad news for Windows users.<\/p>\n

AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cHundreds of millions\u201d of Windows users have been left with a \u201cdifficult decision,\u201d Google warns. “Spend hundreds on a new device, or continue using an insecure, outdated one.” Now the company offers a free and easy PC upgrade instead. <\/p>\n

Following Microsoft\u2019s decision to end-of-life Windows 10, Google says users can have<\/a> a \u201cfast, secure and free operating system” to “upgrade<\/a>” the PC you already own but can\u2019t now safely use. ChromeOS Flex gives aged Windows PCs \u201ca new life.”<\/p>\n

ForbesHow To Keep Your Texts After Samsung Shuts Down MessagingBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n

This month, Google<\/a> announced its partnership with Back Market<\/a> to \u201ctransform your aging, unsupported laptop into a fast, secure, and sustainable machine for free.\u201d This comes by way of a new ChromeOS Flex USB Kit, which costs around $3 for the USB hardware, albeit Back Market confirms the upgrade really is free: \u201cYes, completely. No subscription, no trial, no hidden costs. Free forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is aimed at the 500 million Windows 10 users<\/a> unable to upgrade to Windows 11, given the age and technical limitations of the PCs. To run Windows 11, a hardware security module is required to link the device to the OS. If you don\u2019t have the TPM 2.0<\/a>, you can\u2019t run the OS. Niche workarounds aside, it\u2019s that simple.<\/p>\n

Click for a tutorial on installing on your own.<\/p>\n

Back Market<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have an eligible device,\u201d Back Market says, \u201cChromeOS Flex can be a complete game-changer and keep your old devices running, with Back Market now selling USBs that come with this operating system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the bad news is that “this item is out of stock.\u201d Back Market does say<\/a> that while \u201cour ready-to-use Back Market + ChromeOS Flex USB Keys are out of stock, you can still install ChromeOS Flex on your own.\u201d But that\u2019s harder and won\u2019t appeal in the same way to many mainstream Windows PC users.<\/p>\n

Forbes\u2018Shutdown, Restart\u2019\u2014Microsoft Changes Windows To Ease PC Users\u2019 FrustrationsBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n

Google says the OS upgrade gives users “a modern, cloud-based operating system that\u2019s secure and easy to manage.\u201d Where Windows 10 is now off support, bar the ESU available until October, the same hardware on Chrome OS Flex continues to be protected against malware and other threats. The entire setup is cloud-based. <\/p>\n

The $3 cost of the USB is for a \u201creusable\u201d SSD that you can recycle for other purposes once you have upgraded. You\u2019ll need to await it being restocked though. You can enter your email address into Back Market\u2019s website and \u201cbe the first to know when the Back Market x ChromeOS Flex USB Kit is back in stock.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bad news for Windows users. AFP via Getty Images \u201cHundreds of millions\u201d of Windows users have been left…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":550733,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[189442,189443,59,844,189441,86,56,54,55,29649,34474],"class_list":{"0":"post-550732","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-chromeos-flex","9":"tag-chromeos-flex-usb-kit","10":"tag-gb","11":"tag-google","12":"tag-out-of-stock","13":"tag-technology","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom","17":"tag-windows-10","18":"tag-windows-10-esu"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/550733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}