Windows 10: Activation switched from "with product key" to "with Digital License"

Here ya go, Cereberus:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...-10-activation

 

Cheers mate, will look into it again.

 

NO! NO! NO! It is making me sign in with a password every log in - but my two other users do not. How do I remove the darn password, I dont want it!!

 

Switch back to a local account I guess. You didn't say anything about other users until now. Or set a PIN, a pin is only 4 digits to enter.

 

With MS account:-

run netplwiz, uncheck box saying user needs password to login.

At next screen, enter password, and confirm, ok

Reboot pc.

Only problem is if you remove need to enter password, you do not stop to select other users. Just better to have a pw for each account with multiple users.

 

I mentioned that in post #41, He doesn't want to use a password period. Just click the user to log in, and log in without entering a password.

 

If I did this, would my license still linked to my MS account? Will it boot straight to the Desktop? When I first upgraded to 1607 I linked my license to my MS account, then switched back to a local account without a password.

Has anyone else read for the past month or so all licenses show up as Retail, even if you upgraded from OEM?

 

If you do that while logged in with a Microsoft ID, it will log in with your Microsoft ID, and boot right to your desktop. License should still be linked.
If you do that while logged in with a local account, it will (as far as I know) log in with your local account, and boot to your desktop. License "likely" won't be linked to your MS account.
I don't use a local account anymore, haven't for a long time.

My theory of why they change to Retail is its a new license and tech support switches from the OEM to Microsoft. In the past if you had an OEM install, you called the manufacturer who sold you the PC for tech support. If it was a Retail you called Microsoft. Once you upgrade via the free upgrade the OEM isn't going to help you much. They usually only offer support for the factory installed OS. Once you upgrade that, your on your own. That's my theory on it. I haven't seen anything official as to why it happens. My MSDN keys are all Retail anyway so my installs will all say Retail.

 

Quote from Ten Forums video thread:

 

I have done as alpha recommended and deselected the tick box (option 1) but it still asks me for password, the last boot up suggested I had an incorrect pass and gave me two sign in options which neither appeared to do anything. Three boots down, trying one more

edit: still asking for password, so I finally found out where to 'delete' my MS account from the pc, but not outlook, and found that it was actually superceding my own (old!) account. I deleted the email address and it logeed me out, then my 'normal' screen appeared and I logged in successfully without a password.

 

@Kari

Nice videos, great work. I wish I had those skills

My experience has been different though. I don't know why but that's not how it works for me.
This what I did. I'm using Education version because that PC already has digital Licenses for Home and Pro.

Install Education 1507 with a skip key > shows as not activated.
Enter my Retail key > shows as activated with product code.
Clean install Education 1507 with a skip key on the same PC > shows not activated.
Enter my same Retail key shows as activated with a Product code.
Clean install Education 1507 with a skip key on the same PC > shows not activated.

Where in that sequence does it get the Digital License?

This is what I get on a clean install with a skip key, and this PC was already activated with Education twice.
It also had an Internet connection in all cases.

 

You should probably start a new thread on this issue by the way. Any when you remove the check mark, and click OK, it should have asked you to confirm your password. Did you just leave if blank or enter one?

 

The button Activate (as seen in your screenshot) does not automatically mean activation has failed because missing digital license or wrong product key.

It is also shown when Windows cannot reach activation servers. Most often a simple click of that button automatically activates Windows.





If the message about Windows being unable to reach activation servers will be shown even after clicking that button, disabling Internet connection, re-enabling it and then reboot should fix that issue.

I repeat: the message you get, and the Activate button shown do not automatically mean a failed activation. It can also mean that temporarily Windows was not able to reach activation servers. This for some reason seems to happen quite often on virtual machines.

 

I clicked that and it still would not activate. That was one of the first things I did on the second clean install. I then entered a product key and it activated with no issues.

EDIT: Screen shoot shows it has internet connection.

 

Anyway, as mentioned in videos Windows needs to be fully updated. I have absolutely no issues in clean installing build 10586.0 wiping the hard disk without a key as long as I before reinstall updated 1511 build 10586 to be up-to-date, 10586.494.

This, as so many other Windows features is best to be done when Windows is fully updated.

The second of four videos I posted proves this beyond a doubt.