You have just bought a Windows PC for less than €600, but you already know that you are going to install Linux instead. Naturally, you may wonder whether it is possible to recover the price of the Windows licence you will not use.
Yes, but it is not automatic. If your computer comes with Windows even though you plan to install Linux, you can request a refund for the operating system. Whether this is possible depends on the manufacturer and the procedure provided for the model concerned.
In France, Acer offers an official Windows refund procedure. The request must be made within 30 days of purchase, and the computer must be sent back to the manufacturer.
For other brands, the situation is less clear. You should therefore not buy a PC assuming that Windows can necessarily be refunded.
In this article
- When can Windows be refunded?
- Acer lets you request a refund within 30 days
- Should you install Linux before requesting the refund?
- Is selling a PC with Windows illegal?
- The price of Windows is not necessarily the price of a separately sold licence
- What should you do before buying your PC?
- So, can you recover the money for a Windows licence?
When can Windows be refunded?
If the manufacturer provides a refund procedure, you can request the removal of Windows and recover the amount corresponding to the value it assigns to the operating system.
If no such procedure exists, simply choosing not to use Windows does not automatically give you the right to a refund.
Installing Linux does not change this rule. You are free to replace Windows with Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Fedora or another distribution, but doing so alone does not trigger a licence refund.
Not all manufacturers make Windows refunds easy
For ASUS, Lenovo, Dell and HP, the absence of a public procedure does not prove that no refund is possible. It simply means that a Windows refund cannot currently be presented as a procedure that applies to all their PCs.
| Manufacturer | Windows refund | Main conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Acer | Yes | Request within 30 days, return the PC, refund of the value of the Microsoft system |
| Lenovo | Yes | Lenovo’s terms provide for a possible refund of preinstalled software when the customer refuses the licence agreement |
| Dell | Yes | It may be possible to request a refund for the preinstalled operating system on certain configurations |
If a refund matters to your purchasing decision, ask the manufacturer for confirmation before ordering.
Acer lets you request a refund within 30 days
Acer offers an official procedure on its French website.
The process starts by contacting Acer support. The manufacturer then tells you what steps to follow and provides the required form. You must send the computer to the repair centre with the form, your bank details and a copy of the invoice.
Acer imposes a short deadline because the request must be made within 30 days of purchase. Once the computer and documents have been received, the manufacturer says that the refund will be issued within 10 working days.
The amount is not displayed as a fixed flat rate. Acer states that it corresponds to the value of the operating system supplied with the computer and that its contact centre will provide the amount.
An Acer Windows refund is not free
You need to consider the conditions of the procedure before starting.
Acer states that you are responsible for the shipping costs in both directions. The manufacturer also specifies that, after the Microsoft system has been refunded, Acer software support is no longer provided. The procedure is intended for consumers who bought the product for private use.
The refund is therefore not necessarily worthwhile for a few dozen euros. If you have to pay for shipping and be without your computer during the procedure, the actual benefit may be quite small.
Should you install Linux before requesting the refund?
It is better not to do so before checking the procedure.
With Acer, the manufacturer asks you to send the computer back so that it can remove the Microsoft system. There is therefore no point in deleting Windows yourself before contacting the manufacturer.
If you have just bought your PC and want to recover the price of Windows, keep the original installation until you have checked your rights and the manufacturer’s conditions.
You can then install Linux once the process is complete.
Is selling a PC with Windows illegal?
French law prohibits certain forms of tied selling, but Article L121-11 of the Consumer Code concerns tying that constitutes an unfair commercial practice.
The Court of Justice of the European Union has also ruled on the subject in a case involving a consumer and Sony.
In its 2016 Deroo-Blanquart judgment, the CJEU held that selling a computer with preinstalled software does not, by itself, constitute an unfair commercial practice. The case involved a Sony computer equipped with Windows and other preinstalled software.
This means that a manufacturer can sell a computer with Windows without that sale being illegal.
However, this does not prevent a manufacturer from providing a procedure that allows customers to decline the preinstalled system and recover its value.
The price of Windows is not necessarily the price of a separately sold licence
If you expect to recover the price of a Windows licence bought at retail, you may be disappointed.
A new computer uses a licence supplied as part of the manufacturer’s configuration. Its value is not the same as that of a Windows licence sold separately at retail.
Acer does not publish a standard amount for its procedure either. The manufacturer states that the refund corresponds to the value of the operating system installed on the product and that its contact centre will provide the amount.
You should therefore not buy a €700 PC assuming that Windows represents €145, €259 or any other amount displayed in the Microsoft Store.
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What should you do before buying your PC?
If you already know that you are going to install Linux, the best time to find out more is before buying the computer.
Identify the model you are interested in, then check whether the manufacturer offers a configuration without Windows. If not, look for a possible refund procedure.
For Acer, a procedure exists and the deadline is 30 days.
For other brands, ask support directly whether the model is eligible. A written answer will prevent you from ending up with a PC whose licence you thought you could recover, only for the manufacturer to reject the request.
Buy a computer directly without an operating system
If you can find the same computer with or without Windows, the configuration without an operating system is obviously the simplest option for installing Linux.
You buy the hardware, boot from your USB drive and install your distribution.
You do not have to return the computer to the manufacturer, meet a refund deadline or pay shipping costs.
Windows-free PCs are less common in the mainstream retail market. They are more widely available from certain specialist retailers and in some professional ranges.
A refund is therefore useful when the model you want is available only with Windows.
So, can you recover the money for a Windows licence?
Acer officially offers a procedure in France for requesting a refund for the preinstalled Microsoft system. It requires a request within 30 days and the computer to be sent back to the manufacturer.
For other manufacturers, you need to check on a case-by-case basis. The public information currently available does not make it possible to say that ASUS, Lenovo, Dell or HP offer a Windows refund procedure that applies to all their computers.
If you want to install Linux, check the manufacturer’s policy before buying and before deleting Windows.
And if you can choose between the same PC with Windows or without an operating system, the latter will save you from this entire process.
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