Question Windows activation quastion

[Jay_na_31]

Hi,

I recently built a brand-new computer, when installing win11 pro i was asked to enter a key, i jumped online and got one for 10$ , used it and everything worked fine.
my question is, now when i look at the Activation state it says: windows is activated with a digital license linked to your microsoft account

I looked and found my registration key in registry and noticed its completely different than the one i bought, i am assuming and please correct me if i am wrong that i already had a license linked to my account and that one is being used.
meaning the key i bought online is still usable?

if i try change product key and enter new key will i have 2 licenses linked to my account? i am building a second computer in 1-2 months will i be able to use one of these licenses for the new computer as well?

thanks in advance

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

10 dollar keys can sometimes deactivate. they aren't legally sold.

 

[USAFRet]

Hi,

I recently built a brand-new computer, when installing win11 pro i was asked to enter a key, i jumped online and got one for 10$ , used it and everything worked fine.
my question is, now when i look at the Activation state it says: windows is activated with a digital license linked to your microsoft account

I looked and found my registration key in registry and noticed its completely different than the one i bought, i am assuming and please correct me if i am wrong that i already had a license linked to my account and that one is being used.
meaning the key i bought online is still usable?

if i try change product key and enter new key will i have 2 licenses linked to my account? i am building a second computer in 1-2 months will i be able to use one of these licenses for the new computer as well?

thanks in advance

You have to ask yourself...How can someone sell a $100-$200 product for $10?

If you were looking for a 60" TV, and found one selling for $50, you'd run away laughing, knowing it was a scam.

Your $10 license may well deactivate itself at some point.
Or, that purchase may be supporting criminal activity like money laundering.

Where in the Registry did you find the supposed license key? You may be looking at something else.

 

[Jay_na_31]

Thanks for the response

i actually used i guide i found on this site:
How to Find a Windows 10 or 11 Product Key | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform. - this is where i found my current key

as for the 10$ key - its from a site that at the very least claims everything is legit and these are keys bought from company's who no longer need them... while i can't prove or disprove this it is stated on site which has been around for years...
the site itself has over 12k reviews on trustpilot.

i while back i did on upgrade to my licensed win 10 pro to win 11 pro and then went back to win10. this is where i am guessing i received the digital license - it was on a different motherboard so i assumed it wouldn't transfer ...

anyway, assuming the license, it legit ... can i add this key now to my Microsoft account (basically to verify if it works) and then use it on my new computer or will it overwrite the current license i have?

 

[USAFRet]

All scammers claim they are legit.

For what you found in the Reg...does it end in 3V66T?
If so, that is a generic placeholder key.
Your actual "digital license" is held at Microsoft, associated with your MS account.

If your current system is listed in your MS account as activated, then you don't need to do anything else.

 

[Jay_na_31]

I checked and my key does not end with the same characters as yours so maybe it is generic maybe not.
i also compared to my old win10 pro key - maybe the same key carried over but that is different as well.

 

[Math Geek]

when win 10 first came out, there was a lot of questions about the stored key since it was different than the provided key 100% of the time.

MS answered the question saying that was a place holder and their servers had the real key attached to the MS account. i am assuming this has not changed and win 11 is doing the same thing. you get some generic place holder key on the local machine, but the real key is stored at MS.

 

[punkncat]

Usually, when you check your status on MS/account the computers which are under your account will be listed by the name of the specific computer, like say "bedroom pc", "htpc" etc.

In a very general sense, if MS says it is activated, it is (for now). There are some enterprise versions and education versions that will not stay activated, but if it's a real home/pro license you may well be good.

 

[Jay_na_31]

when win 10 first came out, there was a lot of questions about the stored key since it was different than the provided key 100% of the time.

MS answered the question saying that was a place holder and their servers had the real key attached to the MS account. i am assuming this has not changed and win 11 is doing the same thing. you get some generic place holder key on the local machine, but the real key is stored at MS.

Thanks, i did not know this - i guess this means i will never know if the key i bought was actually a fake or not but at least i have a working license..

Usually, when you check your status on MS/account the computers which are under your account will be listed by the name of the specific computer, like say "bedroom pc", "htpc" etc.

In a very general sense, if MS says it is activated, it is (for now). There are some enterprise versions and education versions that will not stay activated, but if it's a real home/pro license you may well be good.

checked my account and noticed 2 computers one with the old motherboard and one with the new