How to download a Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft without the media creation tool - The first knowledge sharing application in Vietnam

Microsoft makes Windows 10

ISO images

available to everyone through

its download website

, but if you’re already using a Windows machine, it forces you to download the Media Creation Tool first. Here’s how to download Windows ISOs without the creation tool.

Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool is only for Windows. If you access the website from another operating system—like macOS or Linux—you’re sent to a page where you can directly download an ISO file instead. To get those direct ISO file downloads on Windows, you’ll need to make your web browser pretend you’re using another operating system. This requires spoofing your browser’s user agent.

The browser’s user agent is a short string of text that tells a website which OS and browser you’re using. If something on the website isn’t compatible with your setup, the site can serve you a different page. If you spoof the user agent, you can access a site that claims it’s incompatible with your system. To get to the direct ISO file downloads, your browser will claim it’s on a non-Windows operating system.

This trick works in most browsers, but we’ll be using Google Chrome for this guide. If you’re using Firefox, Edge, or Safari, you can follow along with our guide to spoof your user agent without installing an extension.

Mục lục bài viết

How to Download a Windows 10 ISO Image File

To get started, open Chrome and head to the Microsoft Windows download website.

Click the three dots at the top of your Chrome browser, and then select More Tools > Developer Tools. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl+Shift+I on the keyboard.

Click the three dots, point to More Tools, and then click Developer Tools.

Click the menu icon, and then select More Tools > Network Conditions to enable it.

Click the menu icon, select "More Tools," and then click "Network Conditions."

Under the “User Agent” section, uncheck “Select Automatically.”

Uncheck the "Select Automatically" option.

Chrome offers a long list of pre-configured user agents to choose from. Click the drop-down menu and select one.

The selection list of all the preconfigured user agents in Chrome.

For this to work, you have to trick Microsoft into thinking you’re using a non-Windows operating system. Anything that isn’t Windows-based will suffice, so we’ll select BlackBerry BB10.

Select Blackberry BB10 from the list of user agents.

Keep the Developer Tools pane open and refresh the download page. This time, when it loads, you’ll see a drop-down menu where you can select the edition of the Windows 10 ISO you want to download.

Select an edition of Windows 10 to download.