Windows 10: WIN 11 PRO RE-ACTIVATION

I have originally purchased a product key for, and installed /activated, WIN 10 PRO after creating an outlook email as requested. I was then asked to upgrade to WIN 11 PRO with the same product key I assumed. I have been running WIN 11 PRO Also Activated with no problems until suddenly I couldn't use Personalization features as WIN 11 PRO shows NOT ACTIVATED. When I try to activate it does nothing and running the Activation Troubleshoot returns a message to check internet connection which I'm connected or contact an administrator. as it stands I cannot activate WIN 11 PRO nor ente

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Can I use a Windows 11 Home Activation Key on a pre-installed Windows 11 Pro?

For context, I am building my PC and I paid a service to assemble the components I gathered. When the PC came back, an unactivated Windows 11 Pro was already installed on my PC. I wanted to activate Win11 Home because I don't need the Win11 perks. My question is :

1. Can I use a Windows 11 Home Activation Key on a pre-installed Windows 11 Pro?

or

2. Do I need to uninstall the Win 11 Pro and change it to a Win 11 Home first? If yes, can anyone give me a step-by-step guide?

Thank you!

 

How to activate Win 10 Home retail that was upgraded to Win 10/11 Pro on new PC

I built a new PC and would like to transfer my retail licensing from my old PC to my new one.

Timeline:

• Old Custom PC was built.
  
• Windows 10 Home edition was purchased from Microsoft Store 10/2020 for $139.00. I was provided a product key.
  
• Windows 10 Home edition installed to Old PC.
  
• Upgrade to Windows 10/11 Pro was purchased 08/2023.
  
• Old PC was upgraded to Windows 10 pro. Activation status shows as linked to my Microsoft account. Using CMD to produce product key does not work. Using slmgr /dlv command produces information stating I have retail licensing.
  
• New PC is built. Windows 11 Pro clean install and no previous information restored to this PC. Sign into Microsoft account during Windows setup.
  
• Reset old PC and wipe storage the secure and slow way in preparation to sell to a friend.
  
• New PC check activation status - NOT ACTIVE
  
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Troubleshooting Steps Taken:

• Troubleshoot button
  
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• I changed hardware on this device recently:
  
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  • Old PC was removed from my account, but at one point showed up here prior to removal and when attempting to use it it also failed.
    
  • The other linked devices are old PC's or my other handheld PC.
    
• Change product key > Entered my original Windows 10 Home product key from 10/2020 purchase and it does not work.
  

Next Steps?

• At this point I am trying to determine if my original license key was upgrade to be a 10/11 pro key or if it retains its Win 10 Home status and is only valid for a Win 10 Home installation. If this is the case and I were to install windows 10 home I do not see how I would be able to update to Windows 11 Pro again.
  
• I contact support.... Multiple times to no avail.
  
  • First call - confirmed all the same basic steps as above then transferred me to installation support. Installation support answered then hung up the phone at the end of my explanation.
    
    • I gave up for the night as this was ~11:30 PM
      
  • Today I have gone through all the same steps again with another agent before being transferred to technical support. Tech support remotes into my device and goes the the slmgr array of commands in attempt to resolve and when I get a "core error" tells my my installation of Windows 11 Pro is corrupt and provides an email with a set of instructions for a "custom installation". Steps are followed to go through the normal procedure of doing essentially a Windows 11 clean install via downloading the Windows 11 Pro ISO and navigating to setup. I opted to reinstall Windows 11 Pro and keep no files.
    
    • Clean install I opted to not restore any previous backups and setup as a new PC. After logging into my Microsoft account during setup I again navigate to Activation to arrive at the same result. Not Active.
      
    • Basic troubleshooting steps again leaves me in the same boat.
      
    • Support hung up as soon as I got past the initial robo voice questions.
      
    • Support will no longer even give me a callback when going through the "Get Help" options where I provide my phone number.
      
  • For context... at no point was I even slightly rude or impatient and opted to record every call.
    

Apologies for the novel, but would rather provide all the information up front. At this point I do not know where I am at in the support process and feel after spending nearly $250, after tax, on retail licensing I am being pressured with lack of support difficulties to spend another $200 on new licensing as I am many hours deep into this now with 0 resolution.

 

How To Upgrade Win 11 Home to Win 11 Pro w/ M365 E3 Subscription

I recently purchased a new laptop, and it came with Win 11 Home. I wouldn't normally buy a new machine with the Home edition, however, I knew my M365 E3 subscription includes Win 10/11 Pro, so I thought I'd be able to upgrade it. No so, at least not yet.

My impression was once I register the laptop using my E3 account, I would then have the option to upgrade to Pro, but that doesn't seem to be possible for me. Admittedly, I'm very likely missing something obvious, but I do need help.

Here's the Trouble (and some add'l notes): I've tried everything I can think of to make this happen and I've read countless Microsoft Docs and community questions, but I continue to hit dead end after dead end.

Notes

• Added work account (E3) account in Settings and ensure the laptop is registered in Azure AD.
  
• Intune doesn't see the device and when I attempt to sync it with my domain, I receive an error which states, "The sync could not be initiated (0x80190190 Bad Request (400)". I feel like I'm missing a URL in a policy or need to create a policy, but I genuinely don't know.
  
• I created a Win 11 Pro install w/ a flash drive. Went through the process to upgrade, but never saw what I expected to see (request to authenticate w/ 365 account).
  

Does anyone have step-by-step instructions to:

1. Ensure I've done all the prerequisite steps in my tenant (registered with domain, managed by Intune if that's necessary, anything else).
   
2. Upgrade it from Win 11 Home to Win 11 Pro using my E3 subscription.
   

All I want to do is upgrade it to Pro so I can join it to my Azure AD domain. I don't want to buy a Pro license since I'm already paying for it. That's all.

Please help.