Windows 10: Why does use of a COA product key always require phone activation?

Ah but if you were using the branded OEM install media, Windows 7 would activate with the original OEM-SLP activation. No having to use the key on the COA sticker and no having to activate by phone. But your not, your using stock media with the COA sticker and having to do a phone activation.

That will not happen with Windows 8 or 10. They both activate online with the OEM embedded key. No phone activation required. That's all I meant to point out. Microsoft is making it easier.

 

Repeated activations (clean installations) may trigger a required phone activation, I believe. I had to do that either with Windows 7 or 8 (don't remember which) after clean installing multiple times over a period of time.

 

i havent switched any hardware but hard disk on my win7pro OEM. i have 2 similar computers. one went fine with the win7 pro clean install -> update to win10

second wont activate and keeps whining about not activated, despite the system accepted the key in the installation. been waiting couple weeks for it to activate but no, had to turn up the fast ring insider to that computer too and wait for better times, where you can feed the WIN7 key to WIN10 and get it activated via that. cba to phonecall, too lazy for that

 

If you're waiting for a build to download that permits use of a legacy key then simply upgrade manually via the Media Creation Tool.

 

Not a solution. I am not restoring the computer to factory condition. You can't choose which drive to use when using the manufacturer's recovery media. And it does not matter about stock media. Use of a COA key requires phone activation. That is not my original question.

 

That is not the original question. COA keys always require phone activation. The first time. Any time. The question was "What is it about COA pks that requires phone activation instead of automatic activation over the web?"

It is always the same. The automated agent has the user read off the Installation ID, then verifies something which takes about two seconds, and then reads back the activation string. No questions like "how many computers are you using this product key on?" Nothing. So what is in the Installation ID that could not have been transmitted with online activation? That is my question. As I said in my opening post, I am not having a problem, just a question.

 

You asked why you have to do a phone activation with the COA sticker yes. All I said was with windows 8 and 10 you don't have too, times have changed. It doesn't matter what media you use, it will read the embedded key. I was making conversation on the topic. That's all. With Windows 7 you have a choice, use the Branded OEM media and no need for a phone activation. You do not need to use the key COA sticker if you use the OEM branded install media. Use regular media and your doing a phone activation. The media you use with Windows 7 does matter. Your right, these days its recovery media which limits what you can do. You can get install media that will let you clean install Windows 7, custom if you want, and activate with OEM-SLP activation. I've done it with Windows XP and Windows 7. The custom OEM media has a $OEM$ folder and files in the sources folder. I manually add one to all my PC's to add the custom OEM info. Mine won't do the OEM-SLP because those files aren't there, or needed for Windows 8 and 10. I can do any other customization though.

 

Except I didn't get OEM branded media. But I don't care about that. That has nothing to do with the question anyway. I am not trying to avoid the phone call. I don't care about that. Like I said, this is not an issue, it is just a question about what info is in the installation ID that can't be transmitted automatically and therefore requires all COA installations to be activated only by phone. I know why Microsoft started requiring COA keys to be activated by phone. I am just curious about the mechanics.

 

Yeah, PC's don't ship with the physical media like they did in the past. My fathers Dell laptop that shipped with XP came with 3 or 4 CD's for reinstalling XP. Now you get nothing but a utility to make recovery media. I don't know if you'll ever get an answer to your question though. Even if you do, Microsoft isn't likely to change it at this point, not for Windows 7 anyway. I don't know what's in the installation ID.

 

Like most everybody else I upgraded from 7 on my Dell XPS 8500 and Dell Latitude E6520. I long ago got in the habit of buying FPP copies and replacing the OEM editions so I could move licenses (I used to assemble my own computers too). I was running standalone licenses on both Dells and it occurred to me that I should be able to repartition and install the original editions using the either the standalone licenses or the COA keys. After all I was doubly licensed and the upgrade would only consume one.

My first attempt was to install using my standalone keys, but the activation wizard rejected the standalone product keys as "already in use," so I knew which licenses were bound to the Windows 10 upgrades.

It turned out that the COA keys were fine, but the activation wizard always said "Your product key requires activation by phone" and provided the metalink to start the phone activation wizard. It turns out to be unlike using the phone activation wizard in transfer or too-frequent-activation scenarios. The automated agent never asks any questions. The only information I provided was the installation ID. Then the agent verified something and just gives the activation string.

So I am curious about what is the point of that exercise? What info did I give in the installation ID that made one bit of difference and why couldn't that be collected and verified in an automated online activation?

And why would an automated agent take my word for anything anyway? *Smile