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The article explains how to transfer a Windows 11/10 license to another computer. Pre-installation and activation of Windows 11 on new laptops will start soon, however this is not the case when building a custom machine. You will need to install the program on your PC device once you are done. Although it may seem difficult, this procedure is actually quite simple. Follow the steps are given below.
You will likely need a Windows product key if you build a new computer running Microsoft’s operating system, possibly one of the biggest PC builds. Yes, if you can run Windows 10 or 11, you can do it without a key. However, this “inactivated” version of Windows has an annoying watermark in the lower right corner of the screen, and several functionality, including the ability to change the wallpaper, will need to be turned off. So having a Windows product key is quite beneficial, but as far as you know, if you are replacing a computer and the existing computer has a working Windows key, you can transfer the key to the new computer. We say “may” because the type of license you have now determines whether you can transfer your Windows license. We have mentioned the steps to move a Windows license to another PC.
How to determine if you can transfer a product key in Windows
Microsoft distributes Windows 10 licenses through a variety of channels, but only two of them are available to consumers: retail and original equipment manufacturer (OEM). You can move the product key to another machine if you purchased a Windows 10 retail license (opens in a new tab). You can also transfer the product key to a different device if you intend to upgrade from Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 to Windows 10 using a retail copy of the operating system. In general, there is no restriction on the number of license transfers you can make, as long as you disable the previous installation and ensure that you are not using the same product key on multiple systems.
The only problem is that occasionally you may still experience activation difficulties that you won’t be able to fix unless you speak to Microsoft support directly and explain the situation. Are you dealing with an “OEM” license if your notebook comes pre-installed with Windows 10, like a Surface Laptop 4 or a Dell XPS 13. The product key in this case cannot be transferred and cannot be used to activate a different device. Also, you can transfer the license to a new computer if you have upgraded from Windows 10 Home for Windows 10 Pro by purchasing the upgrade from the Microsoft Store. This is possible because the product key will be transformed into a digital license connected to your Microsoft account.
How to transfer a product key to a new PC in Windows
On a PC with a Windows 10 retail license, you can transfer the product key to a new device. You just need to remove the license from the system and then you can apply the same key on the new computer.
Disable old Windows computer
To remove the product key in Windows 11, follow these steps:
Step 1: Open To start.
Step 2: Search for Command promptright click on the top result and select the Execute as administrator option.
Step 3: Type the following command to remove the current product key and press Enter:slmgr /upk.
Step 4: Type the following command to clear the license from the Registry and press Type: slmgr /cpky
Step 5: After completing the steps, you will be ready to use the product key to activate the same edition of Windows 11 on a new system.
While the instructions described above will uninstall the product key, the process will not remove activation from Microsoft’s servers. Instead, the process will prevent detection of the same product key being used on multiple devices, allowing you to reactivate another computer. If the computer is no longer in service or connected to the Internet, it is not necessary to follow these steps as you will be able to use the product key on the new system without any problems.
Activate new Windows computer
After deactivating the previous installation, you can use the product key to activate a new installation manually. Or you can contact Microsoft support for assistance if the manual process is not working.
Install the license using the command prompt
To activate Windows 10 with a previous product key, follow these steps:
Step 1: Open To start.
Step 2: Search for Command promptright click on the top result and select the Execute as administrator option.
Step 3: Type the following command to reactivate Windows 10 and press Enter:slmgr /ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Step 4: Type the following command to verify activation and press Enter:slmgr /dlv
Step 5: Confirm in the “License Status” section that the status is “Licensed” to verify that Windows 10 is fully activated.
After completing these steps, Windows 10 should be successfully activated on the new installation. If the status is set to “Notification”, restart your computer and recheck the status with the command (see step 4), or you can also check Definitions > Update and security > Activation.
Install the license using Microsoft support
Alternatively, you may need to contact Microsoft’s support line to complete activation by providing the installation ID using the
slui 4
command. However, there have been reports of the command not working. If this is the case for you, you may need to contact Microsoft directly and explain the situation to activate the installation. To activate a supported-assisted copy of Windows 10, follow these steps.
Step 1: Open To start.
Step 2: Search for Command promptright click on the top result and select the Execute as administrator option.
Step 3: Type the following command to activate the copy of Windows 10 and press Enter:slui 4
Step 4: Select your region in the activation wizard.
Step 5: click on the Next button.
Step 6: Use the toll free number to call Microsoft.
Step 8: click on the Enter confirmation ID button.
Step 9: Enter the “Confirmation ID” provided by Microsoft support.
Step 10: Click on the Activate Windows button button.
Conclusion
Here they are final from our article how to transfer Windows 11 license from one computer to another. Instead of buying a new license from scratch, you can easily transfer an existing Windows 11 license to a new PC. Make sure the editions are compatible if you want to transfer an existing product key to a different device. The article is finished and now you know how to transfer Windows 10/11 license to another new computer.