Activate Windows

Question

I've recently updated to Windows 11, and I've now got a message telling me that I need to activate Windows, but I'm not sure how to do this. I've tried to find out through support, which says that I need the activation code, but I don't know how to find this. Please can someone help?

Answer 1

1

Where did you get your Windows licence was that pre-installed on the PC or did you purchase a full retail Windows licence from Microsoft or from a 3rd party retailer?

Or is your Windows licence based on a previous Windows 7 or 8 licence?

2

Click your Start Button, type cmd then right click Command Prompt and choose 'Run as Administrator'

Run or paste this command and hit Enter:

slmgr.vbs /dlv

Please post a screenshot of the resulting dialog

Answer 2

To activate Windows 11, you typically need a valid product key. If you upgraded from a previous version of Windows, your activation key may be embedded in the BIOS of your device. Here are steps you can follow to activate Windows:

1. Check for a Digital License: If your device came with Windows 11 pre-installed or you upgraded from a genuine copy of Windows 10, you might have a digital license linked to your Microsoft account. Ensure you're signed in with the same account used for the previous activation.
2. Using Command Prompt: You can check your current license status by opening Command Prompt as an administrator and running the command slmgr /dli. This will show you the licensing information.
3. Finding the Product Key: If you need to enter a product key, you can retrieve it using the command wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey in the Command Prompt. This should display the original product key if it is available.
4. Activate Windows: If you have the product key, go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation, and enter your product key there.

If you encounter issues during activation, you may need to contact Microsoft support for further assistance.