Hi!
I have a retail Windows 10 license I want to transfer to my new pc. How can I untie it from my previous pc? I uninstalled the key by using slmgr /upk -command. It uninstalled succesfully but when I formatted and re-installed Windows on my old pc it just took the key again from the activation server. How can I permanently block this from happening? I'm going to sell my old pc in the future.
If was in this position I would sell the PC without an OS, or no HDD. Selling it this way would avoid any potential activation issues, or any possible previous data recovery. Then the next owner could install the OS of their choice.
Yes but it does not matter if I sell it without an OS because the new owner will get that license just by installing the OS (Windows 10) and when he connects to the internet. That same thing happened to me when I tested it. I have already changed the hdd on it and still it activated. Changing the hdd won't affect activation through MS activation server.
Is it tied to a MS account? If so, you can log into the account and remove the old PC that way. If there is a way to remove the key from BIOS, I am unsure how to do that unfortunately. Maybe someone else can provide more insight on that.
I don't have a ms account. It's tied to the hardware but it's not a bios key. It's a retail key.
Last edited by JuKa; 12 Mar 2019 at 15:05.
The Digital License is tied to the hardware. The "linked to your Microsoft Account" is just an extra feature and has no bearing on activation. It makes no difference what account is used when the device tries to activate. If there is an existing Digital License for that device for that edition of Windows 10 on the activation server it will activate. If the original DL was for Home only Home will auto activate. Any other edition will not activate.
You can transfer a Retail DL to another PC. If it is linked to your Microsoft Account it makes it a lot easier. In theory, one would think that transferring the DL to a new device would remove it from the previous device. I don't know that that happens, I haven't tested it out myself.
The product code that that device has is a generic key, if it Is activated with a DL. If so that key can't be used to activate another device that doesn't already have a DL. You need the original product key that was first used to activate Windows 10 if you plan on using it to activate a new device. Even then it may fail and you will have to phone activate etc to transfer it over.
It's not a digital license, it's a separately acquired retail product key. And it's Education edition but still it activates automatically using that product key when clean installing the OS.
(I don't know if it's really "tied" to the hardware but I strongly assume so since it activates automatically).
As Alpha mentioned, the Digital Licence is tied to the hardware, not the key...
You can't change that other than changing the hardware on that PC - so let it be, it won't affect the original key from working.
Edit: To put it another way - if the old PC was key activated and you removed it from there - you won't get that activation back either... so 6 of 1 and half a dozen of another...
Go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation and see what it says.
My "My Visual Studio Enterprise" subscription keys are Retail keys. They still activate with a Digital License. And the product code in use changes to the generic key for that edidtion.
And once I have that Digiatl License I can skip entering any key at all. I only even have to use that key once for the very first activation. I can enter it again if I want, still activates with the digital license and switches to the generic key.
Most of my PC's now have multiple Digital Licenses for just about every edition of Windows 10 except N and KN. I don't enter any key, pick an Edition to install from the list, and they activate with a Digiatl license.
Last edited by alphanumeric; 12 Mar 2019 at 16:31.
If I do a clean install and setup using a local account mine will say "Activated with a Digital License". It can be any local account name, like say "User".
If I do a clean install and setup using a Microsoft Account, doesn't even have to be my account, it will say "Activated with a Digital License linked to your Microsoft account".
And switching back and forth between the two types of accounts will change the message. If I switch back to a local account the "linked to" part goes away. Switch back to a Microsoft Account and it comes back.
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