Windows 10: Windows 11 Pro N deactivated after a BIOS update

I have a digital license of Windows 11 Pro N tied to my Microsoft account. Prior to the BIOS update, I had already experienced deactivation of Windows as I was modifying the computer hardware. I was able to activate using the standard reactivation method for the linked device with the Account.After updating the BIOS, the activation reset again. Attempting to fix the problem with the same reactivation method did not help, as it displayed a message that reactivation had already been performed for this device. I tried deleting all previously bound devices to the Account and adding them again, but

:)

 

BIOS Update Deactivates Windows 0x803FABBD

Final Update:

Support got back to me to see if the issue was resolved (it wasn't) so some more troubleshooting attempts were made. Support tried to enter some keys using the slmgr utilities. Neither key worked.

So then they went on to taking half a dozen screenshots of my system configuration, proof of purchase, and uploaded these screenshots over their secure file exchange to send off to someone else to approve giving me a new key. After about 15 minutes support gave me a new key that allowed windows to activate (until I need to update my BIOS again).

Statistics

• Time to resolve issue from first call to support: 7 days
  
• Installations of Windows 11: 3 (two as directed by support, one to fix the mess that support made on my computer)
  
• Number of times support stuck around until the end of the Windows install: 0
  
• Number of support personnel spoken with: 5
  
• Phone calls made / received: 5
  
• Time spent on the phone: 3+ hours
  
• Number of times assured "This will work": 6+
  

Overall I'd give the experience an F.

The hours wasted getting my legitimate copy of Windows activated far exceeded the cost of purchasing a new Windows 11 Pro license at $200.

Microsoft clearly needs to figure out Windows activation after a BIOS update. This is a brutal user experience. Here's some examples of other people running into the the same exact issue. Just search for "windows activation after bios update" in Bing!

Redirecting

Windows loses activation after bios update, then refuses reactivation as claims license in use

Reddit - Dive into anything

https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?...tivated-after-bios-upgrade-pro-z690-a.374548/

BIOS update deactivates windows license?

https://forums.evga.com/BIOS-update-causing-Windows-activation-issues-m3585166.aspx

https://forums.evga.com/Bios-Updates-Windows-Activations-m3582933.aspx

https://www.****/threads/windows-activation-after-bios-update.754455/

 

BIOS Update Deactivates Windows 0x803FABBD

Tech support got back to me.

Things that were attempted this go around:

1. Changed some registry settings. There were keys (computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion for instance) that had a mix of "Win 11 Pro" and "Win 11 Enterprise". Anything that indicated "Enterprise" was changed to "Pro" or "Professional". All the stuff that was already "Pro/Professional" was left as is and support attempted to reactivate windows... This didn't fix anything so we moved on to
   
2. Reinstalled windows... again. This was a repair at least so at least my applications were intact this time around. As an added bonus my MBR didn't get completely destroyed so I didn't have to spend hours unfixing a full Windows 11 install (yay?).
   
   If anyone is interested in trying this you can head to
   
   https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11 and choose "Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices". Double click on the ISO (Win11_22H2_English_x64v1.iso for me) to mount it and run the setup.exe in the root directory. If you navigate the process properly you will end up with a windows.old folder on the root of your harddrive but it won't trash all your applications. Maybe there is a non-zero chance of it doing something useful, but since a BIOS update landed you here and not a corrupted Windows installation, I'm betting that it will just end up wasting 45-60 minutes of your life.
   

Allegedly I'll be getting a call tomorrow to see if step 2 worked and in theory when I inform support that it didn't they'll get me a new license for Windows 11 Pro.

Or maybe I get to install Windows 10 and try upgrading to Windows 11 to see if that works. Who knows.

 

BIOS Update Deactivates Windows 0x803FABBD

After updating my mother board's BIOS windows became deactivated.

The built in troubleshooter fails to reactivate windows if I select "I changed hardware on this device recently". Resulting in: "We can’t activate your copy of Windows as the digital license for this device has already been used to reactivate Windows."

Calling tech support resulted in fumbling through troubleshooting and eventually being instructed to reinstall Windows on the computer. This didn't fix anything.

The license was purchased in November of 2022 and has only been used this newly built computer.

This is a Windows 11 Pro installation with the 2022H2 update installed.