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

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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
    2018-11-08T12:07:49+00:00

    I HAVE EXACTLY THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS LAPTOP I BOUGHT 2ND HAND AND HAD AN ACTIVATED WINDOWS 10 PRO VERSION, I BELIEVE THAT BEFORE THEN IT WAS A WINDOWS 7 PRO VERSION, HENCE WHEN THE PREVIOUS PERSION UPDATED WHEN WINDOWS 10 WAS FREE FOR THE FIRST YEAR IT WAS UPDATED TO WINDOWS 10 PRO. WHEN I LOGGED INTO MY LAPTOP TODAY IT WAS STILL ACTIVATED UNTIL A FEW 10:01PM AUSTRALIAN EASTERN DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME. WHEN I DID THE TROUBLESHOOT TO SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS IT SAID THAT IT HAD FOUND A WINDOWS 10 HOME LICENSE AND WINDOWS 10 PRO WAS INSTALLED. TO ACTIVATE THE LICENSE I HAD TO GO TO THE WINDOWS STORE TO BUY A COPY OF WINDOWS 10 HOME AND THEN INSTALL IT FOR IT TO REACTIVATE. WHY SHOULD I DO THAT WHEN I HAVE HAD THIS COMPUTER FOR 2 YEARS AND HAVE ALWAYS GOTTEN THE WINDOWS 10 PRO UPDATES, ESPECIALLY THE MAJOR UPDATES WHEN THEY CAME THROUGH TWICE A YEAR. NO WAY AM I GOING TO DOWN GRADE TO 10 HOME WHEN I KNOW I HAVE A LEGAL 10 PRO VERSION.

    Its an issue with microsoft you should wait 1 or 2 days it will get fixed if you haven't read above it states :

    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

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-11-08T12:04:16+00:00

    I HAVE EXACTLY THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS LAPTOP I BOUGHT 2ND HAND AND HAD AN ACTIVATED WINDOWS 10 PRO VERSION, I BELIEVE THAT BEFORE THEN IT WAS A WINDOWS 7 PRO VERSION, HENCE WHEN THE PREVIOUS PERSION UPDATED WHEN WINDOWS 10 WAS FREE FOR THE FIRST YEAR IT WAS UPDATED TO WINDOWS 10 PRO. WHEN I LOGGED INTO MY LAPTOP TODAY IT WAS STILL ACTIVATED UNTIL A FEW 10:01PM AUSTRALIAN EASTERN DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME. WHEN I DID THE TROUBLESHOOT TO SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS IT SAID THAT IT HAD FOUND A WINDOWS 10 HOME LICENSE AND WINDOWS 10 PRO WAS INSTALLED. TO ACTIVATE THE LICENSE I HAD TO GO TO THE WINDOWS STORE TO BUY A COPY OF WINDOWS 10 HOME AND THEN INSTALL IT FOR IT TO REACTIVATE. WHY SHOULD I DO THAT WHEN I HAVE HAD THIS COMPUTER FOR 2 YEARS AND HAVE ALWAYS GOTTEN THE WINDOWS 10 PRO UPDATES, ESPECIALLY THE MAJOR UPDATES WHEN THEY CAME THROUGH TWICE A YEAR. NO WAY AM I GOING TO DOWN GRADE TO 10 HOME WHEN I KNOW I HAVE A LEGAL 10 PRO VERSION.

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  3. Sumit 44,226 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2018-11-08T12:05:57+00:00

    @Everyone we have no ETA but it should resolve within a day or two or much sooner. 

    Thanks.

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-11-08T11:54:06+00:00

    I am having the same problem on my HP Envy 34 which came with the Home edition and I upgraded to the Pro version via Store.

    I got the V1809 update and had some issues; so I used Windows Reset starting clean but could not activate my Win Pro that was installed from Reset.

    The error said I needed Home edition installed!

    Reloaded my last backup and am running this crippled edition.

    When will this get resolved?

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