Activate Windows 11 with your product key

Activation pairs your product key with the hardware of your PC. Until Windows 11 is activated, the Activation page in Settings shows that Windows is not activated. This guide assumes Windows 11 is already installed. If not, start with Install Windows 11.

Your key and your edition

The 25-character product key is in your order confirmation email and in your Lizensa account under My Library. This guide writes it as XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX.

A key activates only the edition it was issued for:

• Windows 11 Home, Pro and Pro N, including Home N and the multi-user variants, activate exactly that edition.
• Windows 11 Pro with a volume key (MAK) activates Windows 11 Pro. A MAK allows a fixed number of activations, and each one counts towards that limit.
• Windows 11 Enterprise activates Enterprise. You enter it on an installed Windows 11 Pro, and Windows changes the edition.
• Enterprise LTSC 2024 and IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 each activate only their own LTSC edition. They do not work on Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise.

Which Windows is installed?

Select Start > Settings > System > Activation. The top of the page shows the installed edition. Next to Activation state you see whether Windows is activated.

Compare that edition with your order before you enter the key. We do not supply a Windows 11 installer today; for LTSC, one is on its way. Your order email and My Library link to Microsoft's Download Windows 11 page, with the Installation Assistant, the Media Creation Tool and an ISO file.

LTSC: that page has no Enterprise LTSC or IoT Enterprise LTSC media, and Microsoft does not support an in-place upgrade from the general availability channel to LTSC. Do not use the Media Creation Tool for LTSC. Your LTSC installer link follows in your order email and in My Library. Until it is there, contact our support with your order number before you install.

Matching the edition to your key

Some combinations work without reinstalling. Microsoft supports these edition changes with a product key:

• Home to Pro: enter your Pro key as shown below. A restart is required. Microsoft asks for an activated Windows 11 Home before this step.
• Pro to Enterprise: enter your Enterprise key. No restart is needed.
• N editions: Home N and Pro N change to the matching N edition in the same way.

Microsoft does not list a direct change from Home to Enterprise by product key. With only an Enterprise key, install Windows 11 Pro first, as the installation guide shows. An LTSC key needs an installation of its own LTSC edition.

Activating Windows 11

In Settings: Home, Pro, Enterprise

1. Select Start > Settings > System > Activation.
2. Next to Change product key, select Change.
3. If User Account Control appears, enter an administrator's user name and password if asked, then select Yes.
4. In the Change Product Key window, enter your key and select Next.
5. Follow the prompts. Windows activates online. For a change of edition, it may first restart.

The quick way to this page: press Windows logo key + R, enter the following and select OK.

ms-settings:activation

Link a Microsoft account. When you activate Home or Pro with a retail key, your PC gets a digital licence. Link that licence to your Microsoft account: on the Activation page, select Add an account and sign in. Microsoft then lets you reactivate with the Activation troubleshooter after a major hardware change. You need an administrator account that is also a Microsoft account. If you reinstall the same edition on the same PC, Windows activates on its own once the PC is online.

At the command line: volume keys (MAK) and LTSC editions

Settings works for volume keys too. The command line gives you more detail when something fails.

1. Select Start, search for Command Prompt, right-click the result and select Run as administrator.
2. Install your key:

slmgr /ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Microsoft recommends restarting the PC after installing a key. If the next command fails right away, restart and run it again.

3. Activate online:

slmgr /ato

Each command opens a small window with its result. After the first you see that the product key was installed successfully. After the second you see "Product activated successfully". If an error code appears instead, look it up below.

By telephone

Use telephone activation when the PC has no internet connection or online activation fails.

Home, Pro and Enterprise:

1. Select Start, type the following and open it from the results:

SLUI 04

2. Select your country or region. The window shows a phone number and an installation ID.
3. Call the number and read out the installation ID when asked.
4. Enter the confirmation ID you receive and complete the activation.

Volume keys (MAK, including LTSC editions), at the command line:

1. Install your key with the first command from the section above. This works offline.
2. Display the installation ID:

slmgr /dti

3. Call Microsoft's activation centre for your country. The numbers are on Microsoft's page Volume Licensing activation centers.
4. Give the installation ID. You receive a confirmation ID.
5. Enter it without spaces or hyphens, in place of the placeholder:

slmgr /atp CONFIRMATIONID

Check that Windows is activated

Open Settings > System > Activation. With a product key you see one of these:

• "Windows is activated"
• "Windows is activated with a digital license"
• "Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account"

For more detail, open Command Prompt and run:

slmgr /dli

The window names the edition, shows the last five characters of the installed key and the licence status. "Licensed" means Windows is activated. Compare the five characters with your key. The following command confirms the result; for retail and MAK keys, Windows reports that the machine is permanently activated:

slmgr /xpr

If something goes wrong

0xC004F050: the key cannot be used. Compare each character with your order email; product keys never contain the letters O, I, L or U. Then check that the installed edition matches the key. See error 0xC004F050.

0xC004E016 or 0xC004F210: key for a different edition. The key does not fit the installed edition, for example an Enterprise key on Home. Check the edition and follow the section on matching the edition above. See error 0xC004E016.

0x8007232B or 0xC004F074: check the edition and the key. Microsoft lists two possible causes: an Enterprise key entered on Home or Pro, or a work device that cannot reach its company activation server (KMS). Your key does not need such a server. Check the edition, then enter your own key again, in Settings or with the two commands above. See error 0x8007232B and error 0xC004F074.

0xC004C003: the key is reported as not valid. Microsoft's activation server does not accept the key. Do not try other keys. Contact our support with your order number. See error 0xC004C003.

0xC004C008: key already used. The key was already used on another device, or on more devices than the licence terms allow. 0xC004C020 is the volume-key version: the volume licence was used on more devices than allowed. Contact our support with your order number. See error 0xC004C008 and error 0xC004C020.

0x803F7001 after a reinstall. Windows found no licence for this PC. Enter your key under Change product key. See error 0x803F7001.

0xC004F213 or 0xC004F211 after a new motherboard. Windows no longer recognises the PC. If Windows is not activated and your digital licence is linked to your Microsoft account, sign in as an administrator, open Settings > System > Activation > Troubleshoot and select I changed hardware on this device recently. Sign in with the linked Microsoft account. Otherwise enter your key again or use telephone activation. See error 0xC004F213 and error 0xC004F211.

0x80070005: access denied. If this appears after a command, check that you opened Command Prompt with Run as administrator, and repeat the command. See error 0x80070005.

Still stuck? Contact our support with your order number, the last five characters of your key and the exact error message.