Your licence will not activate? Here is what is behind it.
Pick the program and the message you see. You get the cause, every step in the right order and every command ready to copy.
Which program is this about?
What do you see?
Your licence key does not match the installed edition
What is behind it A Pro key does not activate a Home installation. Windows has to be switched to Pro first – no reinstall, no data loss. The switch code below is Microsoft’s public key: it activates nothing, it only changes the edition.
What to do now
Open the command prompt as administrator: Start menu, type cmd, right-click, “Run as administrator”. Confirm every command with Enter.
First check which edition is actually running:
DISM /Online /Get-CurrentEdition
If it says Core or CoreSingleLanguage, Home is still installed – continue with step 3. If it says Professional, Windows is already Pro – jump to step 8.
Disconnect the computer from the internet completely: Wi‑Fi off, LAN cable out. Otherwise Windows tries to activate the switch code and stops with the same error again.
Enter Microsoft’s public edition-switch code. It activates nothing – it only turns Home into Pro:
slmgr.vbs /ipk TCNWM-3R6MD-R39HX-C28F7-XD726
Restart. The switch happens while booting and takes a few minutes:
shutdown /r /t 0
After the restart, check once more which edition is running now:
DISM /Online /Get-CurrentEdition
If it still says Core, take the second route – it triggers the same switch through the edition upgrade:
changepk.exe /ProductKey TCNWM-3R6MD-R39HX-C28F7-XD726
Reconnect the computer to the internet and now enter the Pro key you bought. The quickest way is this – replace the five blocks with your key. Through the interface: Settings › System › Activation › “Change product key”.
slmgr /ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXXslmgr /ato
If it still does not work, send us screenshots of these two outputs together with your order number. They show us immediately where it is stuck:
DISM /Online /Get-CurrentEditionDISM /Online /Get-TargetEditions
The server rejected your licence key
What is behind it The key is already running on another computer, it has been used up – or Microsoft has blocked it. After switching from Home to Pro it also happens that people enter the switch code instead of the key they bought.
What to do now
Open the command prompt as administrator: Start menu, type cmd, right-click, “Run as administrator”. Confirm every command with Enter.
Did you switch from Home to Pro before? Then enter the key you bought now, not the switch code. This is by far the most common case.
Check which key is currently registered. The output shows the description, the channel and the last five characters:
slmgr /dlv
If the key is still running on an old computer, release it there. The second command also clears it from the registry:
slmgr /upkslmgr /cpky
Then enter your key again and activate – replace the five blocks with your key:
slmgr /ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXXslmgr /ato
Wait a couple of hours and try again. When the servers are busy, that is often enough.
If nothing changes, write to us with your order number. We will replace the key – that is the normal procedure and costs nothing.
Activation stops even though nothing is wrong
What is behind it This code almost always comes from the connection to the activation service, not from your key. Switching the connection briefly usually does it.
What to do now
Open the command prompt as administrator: Start menu, type cmd, right-click, “Run as administrator”. Confirm every command with Enter.
Turn the internet off for a moment, wait ten seconds and turn it back on.
Then start the activation again:
slmgr /ato
Check whether it went through. “The machine is permanently activated” means: done.
slmgr /xpr
If that does not help, try a different connection – a phone hotspot clears up network problems in minutes.
No activation server could be reached
What is behind it Either the connection is missing, the system clock is wrong, or a company network is blocking. With volume licences the code also means that Windows expects a KMS server which does not exist here.
What to do now
Open the command prompt as administrator: Start menu, type cmd, right-click, “Run as administrator”. Confirm every command with Enter.
Check the date, the time and the time zone. A wrong clock makes every activation fail.
Check which channel Windows expects. If the output says “VOLUME_KMSCLIENT”, Windows is looking for a server:
slmgr /dlv
In that case remove the registered KMS server:
slmgr /ckms
Enter your key again and activate – replace the five blocks with your key:
slmgr /ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXXslmgr /ato
If it still hangs, restart the licensing service and try once more:
net stop sppsvcnet start sppsvcslmgr /ato
On a company network: try a phone hotspot. Firewalls often block the activation addresses.
Still stuck?
Write to us. With these four details we can act straight away, without having to come back with questions:
Windows does not recognise the computer after the rebuild
What is behind it After a mainboard swap the hardware counts as a new device. Your licence is not lost – it only has to be assigned to the new device again.
What to do now
Open the command prompt as administrator: Start menu, type cmd, right-click, “Run as administrator”. Confirm every command with Enter.
Sign in with the Microsoft account the computer was linked to before.
Open the activation page, go to Troubleshoot and choose “I changed hardware on this device recently”. This command opens the page directly:
start ms-settings:activation
Then check whether it worked:
slmgr /xpr
If no account was linked, enter the key again – replace the five blocks with your key:
slmgr /ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXXslmgr /ato
If it is rejected, write to us with your order number. We will reset it.
Activation runs but never reports back
What is behind it It usually hangs on the connection or the licensing service without Windows naming a number. These five steps clear it up in the fastest order.
What to do now
Open the command prompt as administrator: Start menu, type cmd, right-click, “Run as administrator”. Confirm every command with Enter.
First check whether it went through after all:
slmgr /xpr
If the first command says “not activated”, get the full output. It shows the channel, the licence status and the error number:
slmgr /dlv
Run the troubleshooter. This command opens the activation page directly:
start ms-settings:activation
Restart the computer once:
shutdown /r /t 0
After the restart, trigger the activation again:
slmgr /ato
Activation via the installation ID – at Microsoft itself
What is behind it For computers without internet, and for cases where the normal activation does not go through, Microsoft has its own portal. You enter the installation ID there and Microsoft gives you the confirmation ID back. The ID comes from Microsoft – nobody else can issue it.
What to do now
Open the command prompt as administrator: Start menu, type cmd, right-click, “Run as administrator”. Confirm every command with Enter.
Open the activation wizard:
slui 4
Choose “Activate by phone” and a country. Windows now shows the installation ID – nine blocks of six digits. If no window opens, get the same ID like this:
slmgr /dti
On any device – a phone will do – open Microsoft’s activation portal: aka.ms/WindowsActivate
Solve the captcha there, sign in, then choose “Activate a Microsoft Product”, select the product and enter the installation ID.
Microsoft gives you the confirmation ID. Enter it in the same window. If that window is closed, this works too – put in the digits without hyphens:
slmgr /atp CONFIRMATION-ID
Check at the end:
slmgr /xpr
Let us look at this together
What is behind it Some things cannot be guessed from a distance. With the outputs below and your order number it is usually settled within 24 hours.
What to do now
Open the command prompt as administrator: Start menu, type cmd, right-click, “Run as administrator”. Confirm every command with Enter.
Note the exact wording of the message including the error number – a screenshot is even better.
If this is about Windows, send us this output. It contains the edition, the channel and the licence status:
slmgr /dlv
If it is about Office, this one. For Office 2016 to 2024 the folder is always called “Office16”:
cd "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16"cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus
Note which product and which edition you ordered – your order email says so.
Send us everything together with your order number.
The wrong Office edition is installed
What is behind it Your key belongs to the volume licence edition (LTSC). What is installed, however, is the retail edition or Microsoft 365 – and the two do not accept each other. The only way is: remove everything, then install the right edition.
What to do now
Open the command prompt as administrator: Start menu, type cmd, right-click, “Run as administrator”. Confirm every command with Enter.
Remove every Office edition on the machine completely – including OneNote, trial versions and Microsoft 365. This command opens the program list:
appwiz.cpl
Then restart the computer. This step is the one people skip, and it is the number one reason it still does not work afterwards:
shutdown /r /t 0
Now install the edition that belongs to your order. Your order email says which one that is; if in doubt, write to us with your order number.
Only then enter the key – in Word or Excel under File › Account.
To check: these two commands show which key is registered now and whether it was activated. For Office 2016 to 2024 the folder is always called “Office16”:
cd "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16"cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus
Your licence key has used up its activations
What is behind it This message means the key has already been used on the maximum number of devices allowed. As long as one of those installations still exists, you can free the slot yourself – if you no longer have access to that computer, we replace the key.
What to do now
Open the command prompt as administrator: Start menu, type cmd, right-click, “Run as administrator”. Confirm every command with Enter.
Do you still have the old computer? Then open the command prompt as administrator there and change into the Office folder:
cd "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16"
Show which key is registered on that machine. Note the five characters after “Last 5 characters of installed product key”:
cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus
Free the slot – put those five characters at the end of the command:
cscript ospp.vbs /unpkey:XXXXX
After that the key can be entered on the new computer. If you no longer have access to the old computer, write to us with your order number and this screenshot.
You will then get a new key. That is the normal procedure and costs you nothing.
An old Office key is still registered on the computer
What is behind it Word or Excel shows a different year than you bought, or the new key is rejected. In these cases Office keeps using the old entry – that has to go first. For Office 2016 to 2024 the folder is always called “Office16”, whatever year is on the box.
What to do now
Open the command prompt as administrator: Start menu, type cmd, right-click, “Run as administrator”. Confirm every command with Enter.
Change into the Office folder. If the first command says “The system cannot find the path specified”, use the second one – then a 32-bit edition is installed on 64-bit Windows:
cd "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16"cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16"
Show the registered keys:
cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus
In the output every entry has a line “Last 5 characters of installed product key”. Note those five characters. If there are several entries, remove all but yours.
Remove the old entry – put the five characters at the end:
cscript ospp.vbs /unpkey:XXXXX
Now enter your key – replace the five blocks with your key:
cscript ospp.vbs /inpkey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
And activate it:
cscript ospp.vbs /act
Check the status once more. “LICENSE STATUS: ---LICENSED---” means everything is done:
cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus
Office asks for an account it does not need
What is behind it The sign-in window belongs to Microsoft 365. A perpetual licence activates with the key, not with a sign-in. If the window keeps coming back, a second Office edition is usually still installed.
What to do now
Open the command prompt as administrator: Start menu, type cmd, right-click, “Run as administrator”. Confirm every command with Enter.
Close the sign-in window – on “Later” or the cross, not on “Create account”.
In Word open File › Account and enter the licence key there. Afterwards the same place says that the product is activated.
If the window keeps appearing, check the program list for a second Office edition or Microsoft 365 and remove it:
appwiz.cpl
To check: this output shows which key is really registered and whether it was activated:
cd "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16"cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus
Your licence key is rejected when you enter it
What is behind it Usually a typo or the wrong edition – a Professional Plus key does not activate Home & Business. From the command prompt you can see in two lines what is actually installed.
What to do now
Open the command prompt as administrator: Start menu, type cmd, right-click, “Run as administrator”. Confirm every command with Enter.
Copy the key straight from our email instead of typing it out. I and O are almost always the digits 1 and 0.
Check under File › Account which edition is installed and compare it with your order.
The same is quicker from the command prompt. “Professional Plus” and “Home and Business” are different editions and need different keys:
cd "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16"cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus
If the edition matches, enter the key right here and activate – replace the five blocks with your key:
cscript ospp.vbs /inpkey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXXcscript ospp.vbs /act
If everything matches and it still does not work, write to us with your order number.
Activating Office via the installation ID – at Microsoft itself
What is behind it Office has the installation ID route as well. The confirmation ID comes from Microsoft, through their own portal – nobody else can issue it.
What to do now
Open the command prompt as administrator: Start menu, type cmd, right-click, “Run as administrator”. Confirm every command with Enter.
Open an Office program. If the activation does not start on its own, choose “Activate by phone” in the window.
Choose a country. Office now shows the installation ID – nine blocks of seven digits. The window looks like this:
You can only add this now – once you have paid it is too late.
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Check your licence key quickly
Type the licence key in here before you enter it for real. We only check the format – five blocks of five characters. Whether the key is valid is for Microsoft alone to decide at activation.
The check runs entirely in your browser. The key is never sent anywhere and never stored.
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No licence key received?
Check your spam or promotions folder. The email contains a download link, and some providers filter it out.
Check the email address on your order confirmation. A typo there is the most common cause.
If you pay by bank transfer, the licence key only goes out once the payment arrives – that can take one or two working days.
