Summary
This licensing guide explains your downgrade rights under Microsoft's Commercial Licensing programs and compares them with the license rights of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and retail full-package product (FPP) licenses.
Overview of downgrade rights
Microsoft defines your rights to use earlier versions of licensed software through Commercial Licensing agreements. These rights are commonly known as “downgrade rights.”
When you purchase a license for a Microsoft product, you can choose to install and use an earlier version of the same product instead of the latest one. Microsoft grants this flexibility through downgrade rights.
Microsoft also distinguishes between version and edition when defining product licenses:
- A version refers to different generations of a product family (e.g., SQL Server 2019 vs. SQL Server 2022).
- An edition refers to different feature sets released at the same time (e.g., SQL Server 2022 Standard vs. SQL Server 2022 Enterprise).
With downgrade rights, you can install and use any earlier version or a permitted edition in place of the licensed product. However, Microsoft does not provide installation media or product keys for older versions.
In most cases, the Microsoft 365 Admin Center (MAC) allows you to download the current version (N) and the immediate prior version (N-1) of available products. Your downgrade rights still let you install any earlier version if you have access to the required media and keys.
While you can install older versions, we recommend avoiding those more than one or two generations old, particularly if they have reached the end of ESU (Extended Security Updates).
For more details on how to access prior product versions, visit the Microsoft Commercial Licensing Fulfillment page.
Downgrade rights by purchase channel
|
License agreement type |
Application software |
System software |
Server software |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Licenses acquired through Commercial Licensing programs or enrolled in Software Assurance |
All Application software licenses you obtain through Commercial Licensing programs include downgrade rights. Likewise, any Application software licenses you acquire through OEM and enroll in Software Assurance within 90 days of purchase include downgrade rights. Refer to the Microsoft Product Terms for current details about which OEM application software licenses qualify for enrollment in Software Assurance. |
All System software licenses acquired through Commercial Licensing programs include downgrade rights. |
All Server software licenses acquired through Commercial Licensing programs include downgrade rights. Likewise, any Server software licenses you acquire through OEM or retail Full-Packaged Product (FPP) and enroll in Software Assurance within 90 days of purchase include downgrade rights. Refer to the Microsoft Product Terms for current details about which OEM and FPP Server software licenses qualify for enrollment in Software Assurance. |
|
Licenses acquired through OEM (not enrolled in Software Assurance) |
The OEM License Terms for Application software do not allow downgrade rights. Refer to the OEM Microsoft Use Terms for details. |
The OEM License Terms define the rights to use OEM versions of system software. Refer to the OEM Microsoft Use Terms for details. |
The OEM License Terms define the rights to use OEM versions of server software. Most OEM versions released with or after Windows Server 2003 R2 allow downgrade rights to earlier versions. However, new products that do not have earlier versions do not allow downgrades. |
|
Licenses acquired through retail Full Packaged Product (FPP) |
Most FPP application licenses do not include downgrade rights. Refer to the FPP Microsoft Use Terms for details. |
FPP system licenses do not include downgrade rights. Refer to the FPP Microsoft Use Terms for details. |
Some server products offer downgrade rights. Refer to the FPP Microsoft Use Terms for details. |
