Life tariff plans without subscription. All lifecell tariffs with detailed reviews

Linking your Windows 10 license to your account is extremely important if you want to retain the right to transfer it to another computer or continue to use it after changing components. So you need to know how to link a licenseWindows 10 to account.

Please understand that not all licenses can be saved for use on other computers. For the average user, there are basically two types of licenses for Windows:

• OEM license. This is the case when Windows comes pre-installed and activated right out of the box by the manufacturer.
• Retail license. Users purchase this license separately from the computer in the form of a key or installation media. They are used for a wide variety of purposes, most often to activate Windows on a computer assembled with one’s own hands.

OEM licenses cannot be transferred. Have you bought a new computer or a new motherboard? You will have to buy a new key for Windows 10. OEM keys remain tied to the device for life and cannot be transferred in any way.

Retail licenses can be transferred. You can change computer components (motherboard, for example) or even buy/assemble a new PC. To retain the right to use the purchased key, you must follow the procedure for linking the license to your Microsoft account.

Important: you cannot use Retail keys on two or more computers at the same time. Transferring a license will cancel activation on the previous device. One license per computer.

This entire procedure is done using Activation Assistant, which was introduced in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update.

Important: You must manually link the license on the computer where you use a local account. If you log in using your MSA account, the linking will take place automatically.

• Open Start – Settings – Update and Security. In the side menu you need to select the item Activation, and from there press the button Add account. The account on which this action is performed must have Administrator rights.
• Enter your Microsoft account information – login and password. If everything was successful, Windows will tell you that activation was completed using the digital license associated with your Microsoft user profile.
• After this, your license will be attached to your account, and you can transfer it to another computer or update the hardware in your device.

How to restore a Windows 10 license?

• On a new or upgraded computer, open Settings – Update and Security. At point Activation click Fixing problems.
• The system should now notify you about activation problems and the inability to activate the installed copy of Windows. To resolve the error, click I recently changed the hardware on this device.
• Enter the information for the account to which the license is linked. If you are using an account with linked activation, simply skip the step where you need to enter profile information.
• In the next step, Windows will show a list of computers where your Windows 10 key is used. Select the one to which the license is transferred and check the box This is the device I'm using right now. Then click Activate.

After this, the system will be activated.

In Windows 10 (version 1607 or later), you can connect your Microsoft account to a Windows 10 digital license on your device.

This can help you reactivate Windows using the troubleshooter if you make major hardware changes, such as replacing the motherboard.

Note: To find out which version of Windows 10 your computer is running, click the Start button, and then select Options → System → Intelligence.

To add a Microsoft account and link it to a digital license:

1. Options → Update and Security → Activation, and then select Add an account. To add a Microsoft account, you must sign in as an administrator and turn on User Account Control.
2. Enter your Microsoft account name and password, and then select Sign in. If this Microsoft account is not associated with the account you are using, you must also provide a password for your local account.
3. After adding your Microsoft account on the page Activations you will see information Windows is activated with a digital license associated with your Microsoft account.

Using the Activation Troubleshooter

After adding the Microsoft account associated with your digital license, you can use the Activation Troubleshooter to reactivate Windows, in the event of a significant hardware change.

Note Note: If you haven't added a Microsoft account and associated it with a digital license on your device, you won't be able to use the Activation Troubleshooter to reactivate Windows after a hardware change.

1. Click the Start button, select Options → Update and Security → Activation, and then select Troubleshooting. You must be logged in as an administrator.
2. The troubleshooter will display a message that Windows cannot be activated on your device. Select Hardware changes have been made to this device, and then select the Next button.
3. Enter your Microsoft account name and password, and then select Sign in.
4. From the list of devices connected to your Microsoft account, select the device you are currently using, check the box next to I am currently using this device, and then select Activate.

If you don't see the device you're using in the list of results, make sure you're signing in with the same Microsoft account that was associated with the Windows 10 digital license on your device.

If you signed in with the correct Microsoft account, Windows may not be reactivated for one of the following reasons:

• The version of Windows on your device does not match the version of Windows associated with your digital license.
• The activated device type does not match the device type associated with the digital license.
• Windows has never been activated on this device.
• The limit on the number of times you can reactivate Windows on your device has been reached.
• The device has multiple administrators, and another administrator has already activated Windows on this device.
• The device is managed by your organization and the Windows reactivation option is not available. For assistance with reactivation, please contact your organization's technical assistance person.

To make activation easier after a fresh installation of Windows 10, you can link your license to a Microsoft account. Then you can install the system without entering a license key, and after logging in with your Microsoft account, it will immediately be automatically activated.

Let's consider how to activate Windows 10 in this way?

During OS installation, we always need to enter the license key. If we have a laptop and an OEM dongle, then it is tied to the motherboard. That is, after installation, the system will always be activated based on the license being linked to the motherboard, and in this case you can perform repeated installations without entering a code. In such a situation, the need to enter the key disappears, however...

Not every user has a laptop and an OEM key tied to the motherboard - “regular” licenses are in no way associated with specific components of the computer. If you want to use this license during re-installation, you must always enter the product code. And this is not entirely convenient. However, there is a simple solution to this problem.

How to link a license to a Microsoft “account”

In Windows 10, you can link a license to a Microsoft account. In this case, the system can be installed without entering a license code; instead, when setting up a user, you just need to log in with a Microsoft account. Based on this, the license will be checked and the system will be activated. Agree, quickly and easily, without the need to enter a license code. The license for Windows 10 will be tied to your account in the same way as, for example, licenses for computer games in Steam or Origin accounts.

To bind, you need to go to the Start menu on the installed system and use the “gear” icon to launch the “Settings” application. Then go to the Update & Security section and select the Activation tab from the side menu.

Information about the activation status of your system will be displayed on the right. If the license is not already associated with your Microsoft account, you will see an "Add a Microsoft account" option. Click on it and enter the details of your account that you want to link to the product key.

Once the operation is completed, the activation state will be changed. You should now see a message that says “Windows 10 was activated using the digital license associated with your Microsoft account.” This means that the system has correctly associated the license code with your Microsoft account and there is now a digital license associated with your “account”. Thanks to it, you can install the operating system without entering a key - Windows 10 will be automatically activated the moment you sign in with your Microsoft account.

How to find out the license key in Windows 10

The new version of the OS was available as a free update for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. Users of earlier versions of the Microsoft operating system could also get Windows 10 for free - but only in a test version, which has some limitations. The third option is that we buy a new computer with a pre-installed system on board and receive a unique code for it.

Each copy of the product has its own license code. In addition, the system is linked to our Microsoft account, which will be useful for subsequent updates or when changing computers. Keys on Windows 10 can be divided into 3 categories:

• taken from a previous version of Windows;
• for the test version;
• provided when purchasing Windows 10 (for example, with a new computer).

The key may actually only be needed for the first and third cases. In the test version it doesn't matter much.

Finding out the license code is very easy and simple. All you need to do is use the free ProduKey utility. It is suitable for both “ten” and earlier versions from Microsoft.

After launching the utility, the main part of the window displays information about all found Microsoft product keys. That is, this is not only data about Windows 10, but also information about Internet Explorer or, for example, the Microsoft Office office suite.

If you are only interested in operating system data, simply select the desired option in the ProduKey list and double-click on it. A new window will open, where in the Product Key section you will find information about the installed OS version. The program will display information about the product name, key ID and computer name.

Until today, when a user installed a version of Windows, it was common practice to enter a license key. Now, starting with the new Windows 10 build number 14371, the activation mechanism has undergone changes - the key must now be entered once.

After entering the key once, the Microsoft license is automatically linked to your MSA, or Microsoft Account. If the operating system is installed for the first time, or if the device is updated to a new system from versions Windows 7/8.1, then the activation status remains saved on the server, and then, during subsequent installations, it is only confirmed.

It should be noted that Microsoft does not disclose every last detail of exactly how the Windows 10 activation process is implemented; most likely, this is done to discourage hackers. The good news is that the process of reinstalling the system from scratch has changed and the previously required key has sunk into oblivion. In addition, when a user updates his device from Windows 7 and 8 to Windows 10, a unique identifier is created that relates to a specific gadget, which is based on a license key and a combination of components. If the system is installed again on the same device, its activation occurs automatically. Of course, for the user, this kind of option will be at least convenient, since if you have to change the hardware, or in some other case, it will be easier to reactivate Windows.

If we focus on desktops, then in this case, when using a Microsoft account instead of a local account, the license will be “linked” to the MSA automatically. For this purpose, the developers have created a service for Windows 10 that checks activation while maintaining its status on the network. If the license fails for some reason, then using the new Activation troubleshooter service, as well as your own Microsoft account, the license can be easily restored.

It is noteworthy that if the user changed the video card or hard drive on the desktop, the Windows activation system will not consider this as a replacement of the computer, as a result of which the user will avoid many problems. Only the new motherboard is still considered by Microsoft as a transition to a completely new device. In this case, Software Licensing Management will request re-activation, which can be implemented on the mobile device.

If the user purchased a copy of Windows not together with the hardware, then the user can exercise the right to transfer the system to another computer. But when Windows, along with an OEM license, was preinstalled on the desktop out of the box, then transferring it to another device is impossible. According to preliminary data, the new feature will appear in the release build of the Anniversary Update within a month.