Windows 10 suddenly deactivated

Sumit 44,306 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.

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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...

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-11-08T22:00:15+00:00

    I have solved with the activation; go on (solve the activation problems), and the windows copy will be activated

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-11-08T21:31:00+00:00

    Yes, they have legal licenses, as do I.  And they paid for them, as did I.

    And, obviously, I will give them time to fix it (in fact, it appears they have.)

    I think the main point I was trying to get across is that this does nothing but decrease the amount of trust between customers and MS.  Yes, other then a watermark, the machine(s) operate as normal.  However, no one can b entirely sure of what would happen next.  In this "state of fear" many people are currently living in, they are unsure if "an hour later", Windows would quit operating all together, shutting their business down.  Granted, I would hope MS would NEVER do that, but people are unsure now a days WHAT is going to happen next.  Look at the latest issues with updates deleting files, etc.  Yes, my clients have encountered those "bugs", already decreasing their trust in MS.

    I think they are right to be skeptical if they pay their $$, but even though they have, now MS is telling them their copy is NOT valid.  I just think MS needs a few more checks/balances in their systems before they even throw such a fear at their clients.  Once MS converts to nothing but an annual license fee (which they are going to do someday, probably soon), then they will face even more resentment and fear if something like this happens.

    I fully understand the issue of software bugs, being a developer myself (of over 35 years), but they need to ensure a little more QA of their rollouts, etc if they are going to rebuild the trust.

    Hopefully they will have learned something valuable from this, and pay a little more attention to:

    1. Ensuring their updates are a bit more "solid"
    2. Ensuring their licensing system is a bit more "solid"
    3. Communicating any potential issues on a timely basis (many people, including myself, spent more time then we would have liked to try to "figure out what WE did to break this.")

    Just my .02 worth.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-11-08T20:19:44+00:00

    What on earth is going on? Came here to post this. My Windows 10x 64 Pro was working fine all along. My Key was migrated from Win7 Ultimate Edition by MS... 

    Now I can't find any help online and their support phone just hangs up on me and says "Goodbye" after I select the right options.

    WTF Microsoft? 

    Same error

    "we found a windows 10 home edition digital license for a device running windows 10 pro. to activate using this digital license you need to install windows 10 home"

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-11-08T20:13:24+00:00

    48 hours? These guys have caused a worldwide problem and they want to take their time and get some coffee and bagels first before holding a meeting? This is crazy. Why not fix it now Microsoft?

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