Windows 10: Local vs Network user accounts

Created a local account ONLY:




Went to add my MSA:




MSA Added:




Checking my local account again:




Checking License status:




After verification of my account:




Checking serial number:




Verifying serial number on my MSA:




I still login using my local account credentials, NOT with MSA. I suppose one could say this is now a local account which is linked online. *Smile

 

Please, without pages of screen-prints, what are you saying? That a digital license can be transferred? Of course it can.

The answer to the OP's question is obvious. Link it to a MS account and then (if wanted) use another account or just disconnect it.

The hardware ID for that PC is linked to the last MS account linked and can later be moved to new hardware (assuming conditions are met) using the last linked MS account.

MS are not being tricky here - it is clear.

The only unclear thing is how often you can do this - for a Windows 10 license you got from an upgrade from 7 or 8 it appears to be 3 times. For a new retail Windows 10 license it appears to be unlimited.

 

The problem here is that people use the "Switch to MSA" method or login straight to the MSA during setup.

I do this differently as I don't want to use my MSA password nor username when logging in to my computer, but I still want all the features the MSA gives me.

So the answers to OPs question are:

• You can create a local account to which you later add your MSA
• You can login straight to MSA during setup
• You can use the Switch to MSA method
• You can create one MSA only account and hide it after you have created a local only account. But to me this makes no sense, as it has the same effect as steps 1-3 but with the drawback of the user having to then login to MSA for each app separately if he wants to use any of the MS services.

ALL the above are different ways to make your account connected online and all of them transfers the digital licence you have to your MSA. BUT all makes your login method a bit different to your computer.

• Adding MSA to your local account lets you login using your local account credentials
• Logging straight to MSA during setup requires you to always use your MSA login credentials
• Switching to MSA requires you to login using MSA credentials( I have to check if this only applies to the password or username too ) BUT your user folder will be whatever your original local account username was.

If you deactivate the MSA link after it had been established, your activation status will disappear, until you reconnect again No matter if your computer was activated or not before you added the MSA.

Either way how you decide to do it, YOU MUST make a connection on your computer to your MSA or your license will not be transferred to your MSA account and in case of hardware failure you may not be able to reactivate Windows again.

Your MSA is connected to the Windows Activation Servers, so when you do the "I have switched hardware" troubleshooting steps, the app communicate in tandem with both your MSA and the Activation Servers and cleans up all residues of your old hardware after your new hardware has a renewed digital licence locally and on your MSA.

 

Now I understand your misunderstanding of my posts!

Picture 4 - that is NOT a local account - it is an MS Account.


You have added a second account which is an MS account, not changed you original local account to an MS account!

That is in effect the workaround I said in my first post (in reverse but comes to same thing).

You now have two accounts - a local one and an MS one!

Try just using a local account and changing it to an MS account i.e. not adding a second MS account as I showed in my pictures!

In summary, you cannot change an MS account to a local account and retain digital link - you need two accounts.

Those two accounts are totally independent of each other - you have not linked local account to MS account as you state! That is not possible.

 

Re. last point, you are right - it seems digital licences can only be transferred three times (regardless if original was oem or retail).

If you have a Windows 10 retail standalone retail key, it is same as 7/8 retail key with no limits. I always advise trying to use a key first before using a digital licence transfer (this sets up a new digital licence with transfer limit remaining at 3).

This also applies to using a 7/8 retail licence to reactivate whilst still possible).

 

That sounds just about right. Except for a license that has unlimited transfers. But for such licence you pay much more than normally. I have to check how this works...

Ok it seems that if you buy a new retail copy of Windows 10 you can transfer the license as many times as you want. If you have an OEM license you can not transfer to new computer. If you upgraded from retail 7 or 8 to 10, you can transfer only once. If you upgraded OEM or Retail Windows 10 from Home to Pro...your licence is now retail regardless and can be transferred unlimited times.


How this can be compared to a hardware upgrade I have no idea still...it is a bit confusing, just like all MS rules. Need to find the right MS doc for this.

 

I can tell you what MS said to me:

I had a retail Windows 8 license which I upgraded to 10. I had always used this license to both run a VM (via VMware Fusion) and run as native boot. Whether this is valid I don't know (it is only one installed instance) but it always worked or 7 and 8. After the upgrade to 10 switching between the 2 failed irrespective which (VM or native) I upgraded as new hardware was seen and after a couple of switches it failed.

MS told me (by phone so not officially) that the upgrade license while retail channel is NOT transferrable whatever the underlying license was. They then replaced the activation I got from the upgrade with a retail Windows 10 key (for free) which lets me swap back and forth as much as I want. Clearly not all retail licenses (or perhaps I mean activations) are equal.

I think really (as long as you are being honest and have a plausible case) they will activate pretty much anything - even if it just to get you off the phone *Smile

 

Yes I found a document from MS that stated that the retail functionality (transferable license) of Win 7 and 8 is NOT applied to Windows 10 when upgrading using the old keys. You need to buy a full retail Win 10, if you want to keep upgrading your hardware unlimited times again with Windows 10.

You had a nice MS rep, if they gave you a new key for free, with all the retail benefits. *Smile

 

They've always been good with me.

I like to think it is my charming phone demeanor but most likely you are right - I was just lucky *Smile

 

What linking to the MS account means you login using the local account but you still need an MS account to access the store and Onedrive. So when you login to these is links you you local account to the MS account and you won't have to login each time. You MS account doesn't have to be an Outlook email account and it can be any of your email accounts.

 

Yes, exactly, you could use your Gmail also, or whatever email you have available when registering a Microsoft Account. *Smile