How to Download a Windows 10 ISO Without the Media Creation Tool

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.

RELATED: What Is An ISO File (And How Do I Use Them)?

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.

RELATED: How to Change Your Browser’s User Agent Without Installing Any Extensions

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.