Windows 11 Digital License Activation Issue - Oct 2023

Hi,

A new motherboard will cause a Digital License to be invalid.. One license per machine, and a new motherboard is considered a new machine.. The license is linked to the Hardware ID of the motherboard..

If a Retail License, it can be transferred to a new machine once it is deactivated on the original.. Unfortunately I don't have a clue as to how that is done once the machine has been disassembled..

Hi,

My name is Igor, it's a pleasure for me to help others and I'll do all my best to help you.

First of all, digital license cannot be purchased. It is an activation method but not a license really.

Did you buy your license thru Microsoft Store? If yes, please note, licenses bought thru Microsoft Store are tied to hardware and cannot be transferred. This is Microsoft policy and Microsoft decision due to technology used for such licenses activation.

This limitation was stated during purchase procedure but not clear enough unfortunately.

You may try to contact Microsoft support for the activation, but chances are low unfortunately.

Sorry if I disappointed you.

Hi,

My name is Igor, it's a pleasure for me to help others and I'll do all my best to help you.

First of all, digital license cannot be purchased. It is an activation method but not a license really.

Did you buy your license thru Microsoft Store? If yes, please note, licenses bought thru Microsoft Store are tied to hardware and cannot be transferred. This is Microsoft policy and Microsoft decision due to technology used for such licenses activation.

This limitation was stated during purchase procedure but not clear enough unfortunately.

You may try to contact Microsoft support for the activation, but chances are low unfortunately.

Sorry if I disappointed you.

Everything you said contradicts the conversation(s) I had with three different support reps from Microsoft. The license is transferrable (retail version) and the reps stated that they can see I have the license tied to my account and are seeing an issue not allowing activation for some reason.

I'm asking if anyone else is having a similar issue or knows about this problem that is supposedly "ongoing".

Hi,

A new motherboard will cause a Digital License to be invalid.. One license per machine, and a new motherboard is considered a new machine.. The license is linked to the Hardware ID of the motherboard..

If a Retail License, it can be transferred to a new machine once it is deactivated on the original.. Unfortunately I don't have a clue as to how that is done once the machine has been disassembled..

From what I've read, a retail digital license is tied to your microsoft account for a particular device (being digital, there's no key to enter, nor is there a key to deactivate). That's what I have.

The built-in method to activate after changing hardware is to use the troubleshooter and choose the option "I changed hardware on this device recently". That opens a page with the device(s) are linked to your microsoft account so you can choose the old device to be replaced with the new one, and subsequently activate the license.

The issue is, my old licensed PC does not appear in that list to switch the license from. I see a completely different PC in that list, (a laptop that is separately licensed via OEM) that has nothing to do with this system or my previous desktop. Presumably, I should see both my old PC there and I don't.

Support was very adamant that: 1) they see I have a retail licensed version and 2) they state there is a "global issue" causing activation problems for many people. If that's true, I am trying to find out more information since they couldn't give me a resolution on the phone at that time.

Hi,

I had not heard of this global issue, but there have been times when Microsoft's servers have been messed up in the past..

You should have in fact had an actual license key for the original Windows 10.. It most likely became a Digital License with the upgrade to Windows 11.. The license key should still be available in your receipt or purchase documentation either on Microsoft's website or possibly an email you received..

I have several machines with a digital license that are not linked to a Microsoft Account.. They are linked to a Microsoft Activation Server.. Having a Microsoft Account to purchase the license does not automatically link your machine to a Microsoft Account.. At least I don't think.. Personally, I go out of my way to keep my machines from being linked to a Microsoft Account..

Did you actually log in to your machine through a Microsoft Account or as a Local Account..

In reality I'm afraid I can't be of much more help.. I know of ways to extract a license but you likely do not have one entered.. It may be that if Microsoft is actually having activation issues, all you can do is wait..

One other option.. Buy another license.. There is an online shopping service similar to Ebay that has Windows Licenses Cheap.. They are likely OEM or Volume Licenses.. I have purchased several and have not had a problem other than you may need to go through the phone activation process.. The site is Ecrater..

I only mention this for emergency use in the event something critical is not working..

> Everything you said contradicts the conversation(s) I had with three different support reps from Microsoft.
Yes, this could be. Please not, this is TECHNICAL support not LEGAL. And technical support is provided by third-party company not Microsoft itself. So, their answers may be inaccurate unfortunately.

Please tell, how exactly did you buy a license, did you get a product key or not?

Retail version bought thru Microsoft Store is not transferrable unfortunately, this is stated during purchase but not evidently enough.

Microsoft account does not keep information about Windows license but only for Office licenses.

Can you provide a source for your claim that the retail version is not transferrable? (Digital or not). There are plenty of articles online from third parties and language from microsoft that says and implies it's transferrable. If I go to the Microsoft Store right now and review the terms of sale and license conditions, there's nothing in any of that language that relates to not being able to transfer a retail version of Windows to another PC.

This wasn't an upgrade to OEM or anything else. It was Windows 10 Pro, installed from media creator. Then I created a Microsoft account, purchased the Windows 10 Pro license directly from Microsoft in 2019. This year I did an in-place upgrade to Windows 11. Now I've changed hardware and the retail license should be able to be transferred because while it may be activated for a particular device, it's not tied to it permenantly like OEM is.

I've been a systems admin in a Microsoft enterprise environment for almost 20 years so this isn't my first rodeo dealing with Windows licenses. It used to be you would just activate / deactivate product keys, or use KMS or MAK but that's all changed now with everything going digital / subscription / online. Currently we lifecycle our systems and they are OEM so we don't even deal with license activation anymore because it's automatic.

I appreaciate the effort to reply but if you're going to make a bold claim that contradicts readily available information online from third parties and microsoft, please back it up with proof.

Hi,

I had not heard of this global issue, but there have been times when Microsoft's servers have been messed up in the past..

You should have in fact had an actual license key for the original Windows 10.. It most likely became a Digital License with the upgrade to Windows 11.. The license key should still be available in your receipt or purchase documentation either on Microsoft's website or possibly an email you received..

I have several machines with a digital license that are not linked to a Microsoft Account.. They are linked to a Microsoft Activation Server.. Having a Microsoft Account to purchase the license does not automatically link your machine to a Microsoft Account.. At least I don't think.. Personally, I go out of my way to keep my machines from being linked to a Microsoft Account..

Did you actually log in to your machine through a Microsoft Account or as a Local Account..

In reality I'm afraid I can't be of much more help.. I know of ways to extract a license but you likely do not have one entered.. It may be that if Microsoft is actually having activation issues, all you can do is wait..

One other option.. Buy another license.. There is an online shopping service similar to Ebay that has Windows Licenses Cheap.. They are likely OEM or Volume Licenses.. I have purchased several and have not had a problem other than you may need to go through the phone activation process.. The site is Ecrater..

I only mention this for emergency use in the event something critical is not working..

I originally installed Windows 10 Pro from media creator, then created a new Microsoft account and purchased Windows 10 Pro with that account (never received any keys or license documentation). Then I did the in-place upgrade to 11 earlier this year and now I've rebuilt the machine assuming I can activate my copy of Windows from my account.

Never received any license key at any point from Microsoft. The only thing I received was an email with payment confirmation (no license info, no attachment etc) and the order listed in my account contains no information for a key or license.

There aren't even any options on the order itself to see or download a key or digital license like mentioned here under "no product key or install options":

This whole thing is just ridiculous. I paid full MSRP for software via a Microsoft account for the sole purpose of not having to go through these headaches.