Select the device to activate with the new hardware.
How to reactivate license after hardware change on Windows 10
You can now upgrade the device with the new hardware and then use the reactivation instructions below. Once you complete the steps, you should see the Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account message on the "Activation" settings page. If this is the case, you can skip the steps and continue with the reactivation process below.Ĭonfirm your Microsoft account credentials. Quick note: If the Activation is set to Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account, then the product key is already linked to your Microsoft account. Under the "Add a Microsoft account" section, click the Add an account option. Under the "Windows" section, confirm Activation is set to Windows is activated with a digital license.To ensure reactivation happens successfully after a hardware change on Windows 10, use these steps: How to check activation before hardware change on Windows 10 How to reactivate installation after hardware change on Windows 10.How to prepare reactivation before hardware change on Windows 10.In this Windows 10 guide, we will walk you through the steps to use the "Activation Troubleshooter" feature to reactivate a device after a hardware change.
However, since the original release of Windows 10, the activation process has evolved, and now, you can associate the computer's digital license to your Microsoft account and then use the Activation Troubleshooter feature to reactivate after a hardware change or clean installation. In the past, if the setup lost its activation after upgrading or replacing some of the hardware, you had to contact Microsoft technical support directly to reactivate, which was a solution less than ideal since you needed to go through many steps and not many users knew about the option. If you make significant hardware changes to a computer, such as replacing the motherboard, processor, or main storage drive, Windows 10 is likely not going to recognize it as the same device, causing the setup to become deactivated (with error 0xC004F211).