problems with retail windows activation after hardware change, can't call or receive a call

Question

hello, i have retail windows 11 home key, after changing my hardware i can't activate windows, after selecting “activate by phone” i get a phone number of another country, bot can't get the commands i select, i tried it from different mobile operators. Also I can't get a call back from Microsoft because my country's phone code is not in the list (+996)

I also can't unlink old accounts, they don't show up in the “My Devices” tab in the web version of microsoft account, they only show up when I go there from my desktop. When I click “Remove Device” I get an error with the text traceID.

Answer 1

Hi Pavel,

Thank you for bringing this up. I’m Adrian, an independent advisor, and I understand how frustrating it is to run into activation issues after a hardware change. Don't worry, I will do my best to help you reactivate your Windows computer.

First, a few quick questions to better understand the situation.

1. Is your retail Windows 11 Home key linked to your Microsoft account and was it activated with "Digital License linked to your account" before the hardware change?
2. Were you signed in with the same Microsoft account on your PC before and after the hardware upgrade?
3. Are you still using Windows 11 Home, the same edition that matches your retail key?
4. Did you use the Activation Troubleshooter after signing in?
5. Is your Windows showing as not activated, or are you getting a specific error code?

In the meantime, here's what you can try.

1. If your key was linked to your Microsoft account, you can usually re-activate it:
   Go to Settings > System > Activation
   Click Troubleshoot
   Select I changed hardware on this device recently
   Sign in to your Microsoft account
   Select the old device from the list (if visible)
   Click This is the device I’m using now and follow the prompts

If the old device is not showing, please let me know.

2. If phone activation fails and your country is not listed, try this.
   Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run this command

slui 4
If it shows the wrong country, press Backspace and select a nearby region that supports your language.

If the automated call doesn't work, choose the Chat option on this page
https://support.microsoft.com/contactus

Alternatively, you can try this command to re-enter your product key

slmgr /ipk YOUR-WINDOWS-KEY
Then activate
slmgr /ato

3. The “TraceID” error when removing devices usually means a backend sync issue on Microsoft’s side. Here’s what you can try

Go to https://account.microsoft.com/devices
Use InPrivate/Incognito Mode in your browser
Sign in and try removing devices again

For complete reference, you can also check and explore this article,
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/rea...

Let me know the answers to the earlier questions. We’ll get this resolved.

Best regards,
Adrian