Can't activate Windows 10 after upgrade from activated 8.1

metalknuxx said:

hello, i just upgraded my original Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, and when i try to activate it, Windows gives me an error


"Windows cannot be activated, please try again later"

How can i solve this?

First, stop the panic I guess its normal... considering the huge publicity that Microsoft gave to "Windows 10" world wide.
Here's the solution: Just click on the "Activate" button continuously it will activate, they are having huge traffic that's why you are like stock there.

It works, so just do it

I upgraded around 6 AM this morning from Windows 7 SP1 without a problem with activating.

dgcdan said:

Okay so after the GWX update wouldn't show for me on Windows 7 I used the media creation tool to upgrade to 10. After about 3 hours of trying to activate it's finally just worked. So anyone getting this error it's definately a server load problem. Hopefully they are finally fixing it. :)

Attachment 26615

I can confirm this is correct, I tried all day yesterday to activate and then tried again this morning and it worked. Keep spamming the activate key and it will work at some point. I am on Win Home, UK based.

After upgrading from 8.1 yesterday Windows 10 would not activate. Started the computer this morning and it is activated !
Woolah !!
Jim

I just got home from work, I tried the activation and it was activated from the first try.

metalknuxx said:

hello, i just upgraded my original Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, and when i try to activate it, Windows gives me an error


"Windows cannot be activated, please try again later"

How can i solve this?

Hi there, you should upgraded to the wrong version. Please make sure that you should follow the correct version. For example, my tablet comes with Windows 8.1 with bing, so I should upgrade to Windows 10 "Home" instead of "Pro".
All of my genuine Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 were upgraded to Windows 10 without problem.

You are not necessary to insert any product key or activation during the upgrading process.
You should refers to the link here to ensure that you were upgraded to the proper edition. Pro or Home? Perhaps you need to do a system restore to roll back to windows 8.1 then upgrade again to the proper edition.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/Windows-10-specifications#upgrade

Brink said:

Can I reinstall Windows 10 on my computer after upgrading with free upgrade?

Once you’ve upgraded to Windows 10 using the free upgrade offer or Media Creation Tool on an activated Windows 7 or 8.1 PC, you will be able to reinstall, including a clean install, on the same device. You won’t need a product key for re-activations on the same hardware. If you make a meaningful change to your hardware, you may need to contact customer support to help with activation. You’ll also be able to create your own installation media like a USB drive or DVD, and use that to upgrade your device or reinstall after you’ve upgraded.

True - but if you then change your hardware you cannot activate Windows 10.
I tried the online activation - it failed.
The I tried the telephone activation - it didn't work either.
I tried speaking to a nice gentleman from India on the Microsoft help line and apparently you have to go back to previous windows (8.1 in my case and re-activate). I am in the process of doing this and telephone activation has just worked when I declared (correctly) that I am only using the product key on a single machine. This is a strange limitation that will hit more and more people over the next year or so.