Hello. I bought a Mini PC from a Chinese distributor (everything looked correct in the advertisement) As soon as I arrived I started to analyze all the specifications and characteristics to see if it matches what was promised on the website. When I started to analyze the license issue, I first entered the command "wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey" in Powershell to see if the license was original or pirated, which was fine as can be seen in the screenshot.
The surprise came when I wanted to see the type of license I had installed. I had previously investigated some commands to see that data and from the CMD console I entered the command "SLMGR -DLI" I was extremely upset when the message appeared that the license was Volume_MAK. It can be seen in the photo.
I started looking for information about that type of license and it seemed that there was a legal gap where the Chinese could sell that type of equipment (as strange as it may seem) in parallel. I had found another method to view the computer's licenses, which was done from the registry editor. ProductBakupKey file was showing a different key than the PowerShell command. This has led me to even greater confusion. With all the annoyance this had caused me, I decided to purchase an OEM license from a third-party provider (original license of course) and do a clean installation. I had a bootable Windows 11 Pro USB (the same as what the Mini PC came with) and proceeded to reinstall the system. It seemed very strange to me that even after formatting the disk during the installation at no time did it ask me for a new license (that caused me many suspicions that perhaps the license was saved in the bios and the system activated it automatically in the background) After the installation I verified that the license was the same.
Another idea occurred to me and that was to change the license from the activation menu since there was an option to change it. The key was accepted correctly. Then I had a momentary joy since I thought that the password had been completely changed and nothing else was needed. But when I put the code into PowerShell to see if the license was original, I got the same previous Volume_MAK key again, as can be seen in the screenshot.
The most curious thing was that when I entered the "SLMGR -DLI" command to see the type of license, it did show me a message with the new license and validated it as OEM, as can be seen in the screenshot.
Even more confused, I thought that reinstalling the system again this time would save that new license since it was activated and I also linked it to my Microsoft account. I did another reinstallation like the previous time but unfortunately the same thing happened as before. At no time during the installation was I asked to enter the license key. I even downloaded a program from the Microsoft store called ShowKeyPlus and that program shows me the two keys, it says that I have a Volume_MAK edition. The same key is assigned as OEM and the one I bought and activated shows as the installed key as you can see in The capture.
After searching and searching for similar cases (which are rare) I found some posts from users who delete the license first from the cmd console and proceed to do a clean installation. In the end, this whole issue has led me to publish this post because now I have more questions than answers and I would appreciate the help of someone professional on the issue of Wibdows 11 licenses. To begin, I would like to know if it is possible to eliminate that Volume_MAK license completely and change it to the OEM license that you purchased, either by deactivating it first from the console and doing a clean installation or some other additional process before reinstalling the system. Of course, all this unless that key is recorded in the BIOS, which I don't think it is. Secondly, I read some posts that these types of licenses are activated from a remote server and I would like to know if there is any possible security breach or risk that through these servers they can access my personal data or deactivate the key completely although in the console I get the message that it is permanent. Thirdly, I would like to know what happens to the OEM licenses once they are activated on the computers? They are linked to the hardware and with that license I can reinstall as many times as I want? Fourthly I now have 3 different keys on the same computer. One that appears in powershell (Volume_MAK) Another one that appears in the CMD command when I verify the type of license (The OEM that I bought) and the last one that appears in the registry editor (I have read something about the issue of It generates automatically but it is not clear to me) I would like someone to clarify for me what function each one has. And finally, with everything I have mentioned above, what can I do to have the system fully functional and without worrying about the issue of licenses? I add that writing this post has taken me a long time and I apologize for the extensive clarifications that may seem obvious to some, but I wanted to leave all my doubts as detailed as possible and understandable. Thanks in advance for any clarification and help on the matter.
