One of the most common things I find when a new client hands me their laptops is that half of them are running Windows Home. It came pre-installed, nobody thought twice, and on the surface it looks identical to the Pro version. Underneath, it is a very different story.
In short: Windows Home is the consumer edition. It cannot be properly encrypted or managed the way a business needs, it cannot join your Microsoft 365 the right way, and it will not let you enforce security policy. For any business laptop you want Windows 11 Pro. The upgrade is quick, keeps all your files, and usually costs around £120 per machine. Here is what Home holds back, why it exists, and how to move to Pro properly.
Key takeaways
- Windows Home is the consumer edition; Pro is the one built for business.
- Home cannot run manageable BitLocker encryption, join Microsoft Entra ID or a domain, or be managed through Intune.
- That means a lost Home laptop is often an unencrypted data breach, and you cannot enforce security centrally.
- Upgrading Home to Pro is an in-place upgrade: your files, apps and settings stay, and it takes a few minutes.
- For a fleet, get the licensing right first; for one machine, the Microsoft Store upgrade (around £120) is the simplest route.
Why does Windows Home exist in the first place?
Microsoft sells Windows in editions on purpose. Home is the cheapest, and it is what comes pre-loaded on most consumer laptops you buy on the high street or online. It keeps the price down for households by leaving out the features businesses need, like central management and full encryption. Pro is the edition aimed at businesses and power users, and Enterprise sits above that for larger organisations on volume licensing. There is nothing wrong with Home on a family laptop. The problem is when a Home machine quietly ends up doing business work.
What does Windows Home actually restrict?
Home looks the same as Pro day to day, but several things you need as a business are missing or locked down:
- No manageable BitLocker. Home offers a limited device encryption on some hardware, but not the full, managed BitLocker that lets you encrypt drives, control the policy and recover keys centrally. In practice, plenty of Home laptops are not properly encrypted at all.
- No domain or Entra ID join. A Home device cannot join your Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) or an on-premises domain. It stays a standalone machine with a personal account, outside your control.
- No proper management. Because it cannot join Entra ID, you cannot enrol it in Intune, push security settings, or apply Group Policy. You are trusting each user to set their own machine up correctly.
- No control over updates. Home installs feature updates whenever Microsoft decides, with no business deferral controls, so a big update can land in the middle of a deadline.
- No Remote Desktop host, no Hyper-V. You cannot remote into a Home machine, and you cannot run the built-in virtualisation tools.
What does Windows Pro add for a business?
Pro turns the same laptop into a device you can actually secure and manage. The headline gains:
BitLocker full-disk encryption. This is the big one. If a Pro laptop is lost or stolen, the drive is encrypted, so the data is unreadable. On Home, that same loss can be a reportable data breach. Full-disk encryption is also part of what a Cyber Essentials assessment and most cyber insurers expect to see.
Entra ID and domain join. Pro can join your Microsoft 365 and Entra ID, so work accounts, single sign-on and conditional access all work the way they are meant to.
Intune and policy management. Once a device is joined, we can enrol it in Intune, push security baselines, require encryption and a PIN, and wipe it remotely if it goes missing. That is the difference between hoping a laptop is secure and knowing it is.
Windows Update for Business. Pro lets us schedule and defer updates so they install at sensible times, not in the middle of your working day.
Remote Desktop and Hyper-V. Handy for support, and for anyone who needs to run virtual machines.
The licensing catch most business owners miss
Here is where it gets slightly fiddly, and where people waste money. Microsoft 365 Business Premium, the plan we put most clients on for its security tools, gives you the rights to run the business version of Windows and all the management on top. But it expects the device to already be licensed for Windows Pro. In other words, Business Premium is the security and management layer; it does not magically turn a Home laptop into Pro. The underlying machine still needs a Windows 11 Pro licence.
So the order matters: get the device onto Pro, then layer Business Premium’s encryption, Intune and conditional access over the top. For a single laptop, the Microsoft Store upgrade is the simplest route. For a fleet, there are cheaper and tidier licensing routes through a partner, so it is worth a quick conversation before you buy ten upgrades at retail price.
How do you upgrade Windows Home to Pro?
The upgrade is an in-place edition change. Your files, apps and settings all stay exactly where they are. Roughly:
- Back up first. It rarely goes wrong, but always back up before any operating system change.
- Go to Settings, then System, then Activation.
- Under “Upgrade your edition of Windows”, either enter a Windows 11 Pro product key or open the Microsoft Store to buy the Pro upgrade (around £120).
- The upgrade runs and restarts the machine. A few minutes later you are on Pro.
- Then do the part that actually matters: turn on BitLocker, join Entra ID, and enrol the device in management so the security is real, not just available.
That last step is the one most people skip. Pro on its own does not secure anything; it just unlocks the ability to. The value comes from turning the features on and managing them.
Do it once, properly
We handle this end to end for businesses across Lichfield, Staffordshire and the West Midlands: checking which machines are on Home, sorting the right licences, upgrading them to Pro, and then actually configuring the encryption and management so your data is protected. If you are not sure what your laptops are running, that is a five-minute check we can do for you. Book a quick chat, or see what our managed IT support covers. Microsoft’s own guide to upgrading Home to Pro walks through the steps too.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell which version a laptop is running?
Open Settings, then System, then About, or press the Windows key, type winver and hit enter. It will say Windows 11 Home or Windows 11 Pro.
Will upgrading to Pro delete my files?
No. It is an in-place edition upgrade, so your files, apps and settings all stay. We still take a backup first as a precaution.
Is the upgrade a one-off cost or a subscription?
The Windows Pro licence is a one-off, around £120 per device through the Microsoft Store and often cheaper through a partner. It is separate from your Microsoft 365 subscription.
We have Microsoft 365 Business Premium, doesn’t that cover Windows?
Business Premium gives you the security and management tools and the rights to run business Windows, but the device still needs an underlying Windows Pro licence. We line both up so they work together.
Is it worth upgrading older laptops or just replacing them?
It depends on the age and spec. If the machine is recent and capable, upgrading to Pro is cheap and sensible. If it is on its last legs, we will tell you honestly that a replacement is the better spend.
– Andy Price, Founder & MD, Initial IT · 01543 524594 · hello@initialit.co.uk