Windows 11 Home N is a stripped-down edition distributed mainly in Europe — it omits Windows Media Player and related multimedia components by design. If you ended up on Home N by mistake, or simply need the fuller feature set that Windows 11 Pro provides (BitLocker encryption, Hyper-V, Remote Desktop, Group Policy management, and more), switching editions does not have to mean wiping your drive.
This guide walks you through upgrading from Windows 11 Home N to Windows 11 Pro in place — your files, applications, and settings stay exactly where they are, with no reinstall and no risk of data loss. The entire process is driven by a single PowerShell command.
Before running the upgrade, you can use the DISM command in PowerShell to confirm your current edition.
# OutputPS C:\> DISM /Online /Get-CurrentEditionDeployment Image Servicing and Management toolVersion: 10.0.26100.1150Image Version: 10.0.26100.1742Current edition is:Current Edition : CoreNThe operation completed successfully.You can check to which Windows versions you can upgrade to using the below PowerShell command.
As shown in the output below, you can upgrade to the Windows N target editions. However, direct upgrades to the regular Windows editions (non-N) are not officially supported by Microsoft.
# OutputPS C:\> DISM /Online /Get-TargetEditionsDeployment Image Servicing and Management toolVersion: 10.0.26100.1150Image Version: 10.0.26100.1742Editions that can be upgraded to:Target Edition : ProfessionalNTarget Edition : EducationNTarget Edition : ProfessionalEducationNTarget Edition : ProfessionalWorkstationNTarget Edition : EnterpriseNTarget Edition : CloudEditionNThe operation completed successfully.Upgrade From Windows 11 Home N to Windows 11 Pro
To upgrade from Windows 11 Home N to Windows 11 Pro, we will use a PowerShell script. The advantages of this method are:
- All data and applications on the system will remain intact. No need to worry about any data loss.
- The methods work seamlessly with all versions of Windows, including Windows Server.
- For Windows Server: The script can convert from Server Evaluation to Standard or Datacenter editions. It can also be used for switching between editions, such as upgrading from ServerStandard to ServerDatacenter or vice versa.
- For Windows clients: The script can convert, upgrade, downgrade, or switch between editions, such as upgrading from Home to Pro or downgrading from Enterprise to Pro.
- The script works on both Windows 64-bit and Windows 32-bit systems.
- The script automatically activates the Windows license after conversion.
1. Search for powershell then run it as administrator.
2. Type the following command in the PowerShell window then hit Enter ↵ button.
3. A new window will appear, allowing you to choose the target edition you wish to upgrade to.
4. Select a target edition and then click the Submit button to start the conversation. For instance, I will upgrade from Windows 11 Home N to Windows 11 Pro.
5. It could take a while to complete. Please be patient.
6. After completing the process, close PowerShell and open Windows Settings to verify the activation status. As shown in the screenshot, Windows Pro N has been successfully converted to Windows 11 Pro.
To use a different product key on this device, select Change product key.
Check the Windows version and edition
Restart the computer, and after it boots up again, open PowerShell to run the command that checks the Windows edition and version.
# OutputPS C:\> Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object OSName, WindowsEditionIdOsName WindowsEditionId------ ----------------Microsoft Windows 11 Pro ProfessionalConclusion
Hello Friends! My name is Leo, and I’m excited to share everything I know about activating Microsoft software products. In the past, I managed several YouTube channels on this topic, but they were taken down by Microsoft. That’s why I decided to start this blog to keep the conversation alive without interruptions. I’m committed to sharing my knowledge and insights for as long as possible!
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to leave a comment or visit my Discord server. I’d be happy to provide more details. Thank you so much for your feedback and support!
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