Windows 10 suddenly deactivated

Sumit 44,226 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2018-11-08T11:09:46+00:00

Hi,

There is an ongoing issue about Windows 10 suddenly shown as deactivated. The affected users need not to do anything as it is a known issue. Here is what was told by Microsoft Chat support:

Microsoft has just released an Emerging issue announcement about current activation issue related to Pro edition recently. This happens in Japan, Korea, American and many other countries.I am very sorry to inform you that there is a temporary issue with Microsoft's activation server at the moment and some customers might experience this issue where Windows is displayed as not activated.

Our engineers are working tirelessly to resolve this issue and it is expected to be corrected within one to two business days

Thanks to Vijay_Verma and Danielfor the information.

Thanks to PaulSey..., a Microsoft employee in this thread which has explanation about this in more detail:

We are aware of reports that some customers’ Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise machines are not recognizing their licenses as activated. Users may receive the following notification: “Error: you are running Windows 10 Pro, but you have valid digital license for Windows 10 Home," or one of the following error codes 0X803F8001, 0xC004C003.

We are actively working to resolve this within 24 hours. You can still use your PC; however, the watermark will appear until activation is restored. Thank you for your patience.

We will update this post with additional information as needed and once activations are restored.

Edit 1: Users report that Windows activation troubleshooter might say You have a Windows 10 Home license but you are running Windows 10 Pro. You are advised to ignore that message and wait for the fix.


Edit 2: Update as of morning 11/9/2018 Morning EST.

Any affected customer can continue to use Windows 10 Pro as usual, and the watermark will disappear within 24 hours as activation is automatically restored.

To manually resolve the issue:  Select the Start button, select Settings > Update & security > Activation, and then select Troubleshoot to run the Activation Troubleshooter.  (If the device is already activated, the Troubleshoot option will not appear.)

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Licensing and activation

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2018-11-08T21:50:17+00:00

We are aware of reports that some customers’ Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise machines are not recognizing their licenses as activated. Users may receive the following notification: “Error: you are running Windows 10 Pro, but you have valid digital license for Windows 10 Home," or one of the following error codes 0X803F8001, 0xC004C003.

We are actively working to resolve this within 24 hours. You can still use your PC; however, the watermark will appear until activation is restored. Thank you for your patience.

We will update this post with additional information as needed and once activations are restored.

Paul...

Was this answer helpful?

100+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments

466 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2018-11-08T20:22:41+00:00

    Try this:

    Open up an admin command prompt, type in:

    Slmgr.vbs /ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

    Where the Xs are you license.

    Then go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation, then click on "Troubleshoot". It should automatically fix the issue.

    Was this answer helpful?

    4 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2018-11-08T19:55:55+00:00

    I am speechless. Microsoft excels in thoroughly annoying customers turning proponents into opponents. Oh, and it happens in Germany, too. So, when I participate in teleconf and I share my screen for a presentation my business partners get the impression I am using pirate software. Well, thank you very much again for ruining my reputation Microsoft!!!

    I find it very very hard to stay polite.

    Was this answer helpful?

    4 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2018-11-08T19:35:46+00:00

    For those wanting to find out their BIOS-embedded product keys, one way to do this is with a Linux LiveUSB (such as Ubuntu Mate).  Flash the ISO to a USB drive (using something like Etcher), and then boot your computer using the USB drive.  If you can get to the desktop, open a Terminal and type:

    sudo tail -c+57 /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM

    I've uploaded a video demonstrating the procedure here:

    https://youtu.be/AN0DDbbK834

    Or setup Ubuntu 18.04 for good and never come back to Windows xD

    Was this answer helpful?

    4 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2018-11-08T16:39:48+00:00

    It may sound drastic, but you might consider blasting an email to all Windows 10 users.  I just wasted better than an hour of my time trying to figure out what the $#%@ was going on!

    Was this answer helpful?

    4 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments