Can I increase licensing days of Windows 11 Enterprise Evaluation?

NndnG · Oct 28, 2022

Hi,

Recently I downloaded and installed Windows 11 Enterprise Evaluation edition but it’s active for 90 days only.

Please let me know, how to activate it permanently or how to increase its licensing days?

With Regards

NndnG

DigitalGoat · Oct 28, 2022

Re install the evaluation copy, might work from a clean install or purchase it.

Sven1458 · Oct 28, 2022

this is how it used to work

Extent the activation time
There is a space before the “-“
slmgr –rearm

x BlueRobot · Oct 28, 2022

NndnG said:
Please let me know, how to activate it permanently or how to increase its licensing days?

You need to purchase a licence key. That's what the evaluation edition is for: evaluating if you need or want the Enterprise edition. I don't believe you can purchase a single licence of Enterprise either, typically they're always sold as volume licences since they're intended for corporations only.

You can try and extend the evaluation period by using the command suggested by @Sven1458, however, there will be a limit to the number of time you'll be able to successfully apply this.

Winuser · Oct 28, 2022

Buy it. If there was a way to extend it, I wouldn't tell you. Pluss it would be against forum rules.

cereberus · Oct 28, 2022

Winuser said:
Buy it. If there was a way to extend it, I wouldn't tell you. Pluss it would be against forum rules.

Even buying it is virtually impossible without having a corporate volume licence deal.

MisterEd · Oct 28, 2022

Why don't you get an MSDN subscription from Microsoft? That way you can evaluate all the software you want with no time limit.

Somebody can correct me if I am wrong but can Windows 11 Enterprise be activated with a MAK key?

MAK keys are for small businesses and individual business users who don't have KMS servers.

spapakons · Oct 29, 2022

There is a workaround, but I haven't tested if it really works. You can disconnect from the internet and then use the Command Prompt or Powershell as Administrator to change the key to the generic key of Pro (or any other version). This will downgrade Enterprise to that version. If you are connected to the internet you are not allowed to downgrade. Then you change the key again to your Enterprise key to upgrade to Enterprise again, but I am not sure if you are given another 90 days evaluation. Haven't tried it. What are the Enterprise features you need? Maybe you can use the Pro version instead. If you need to install Windows to Go on USB there are third party tools for this and you can do it in either Home or Pro. For the rest features you might find a third party application doing the job.

NndnG · Nov 2, 2022

Sven1458 said:
this is how it used to work

Extent the activation time
There is a space before the “-“
slmgr –rearm

It worked but with slmgr /rearm.

spapakons · Nov 2, 2022

Which as already mentioned can be done limited times, probably 2-3.

barman58 · Nov 7, 2022

MAK keys are made available to corporate customers for use by long term distance workers who cannot always make it back to the main office to renew their licence for Microsoft corporate products as would be the norm for office based workers.

The use of fake Key Management Servers [KMS] and stolen MAK keys are not allowed in discussions here on these forums except for removal and related discussions

MisterEd · Nov 7, 2022

barman58 said:
MAK keys are made available to corporate customers for use by long term distance workers who cannot always make it back to the main office to renew their licence for Microsoft corporate products as would be the norm for office based workers.

The use of fake Key Management Servers [KMS] and stolen MAK keys are not allowed in discussions here on these forums except for removal and related discussions

MAK keys are also available for small businesses and non-profits. I purchased software for a small non-profit from a Microsoft authorized volume license distributor. When I logged into the Microsoft Volume Licensing center I was offered the choice of KMS or MAK keys for the software. I chose to use MAK keys for obvious reasons.

spapakons · Nov 7, 2022

A typical computer ay home doesn't have the appropriate hardware or network infrastructure to use the Enterprise features anyway, so stick with Windows 11 Pro. You hardly need all the Pro features either, but it doesn't harm to use Pro to get the "complete" set of features for a typical home computer.

spapakons · Nov 7, 2022

MisterEd said:
MAK keys are also available for small businesses and non-profits. I purchased software for a small non-profit from a Microsoft authorized volume license distributor. When I logged into the Microsoft Volume Licensing center I was offered the choice of KMS or MAK keys for the software. I chose to use MAK keys for obvious reasons.

I am not sure, but I guess the EULA for such keys allows use only for corporate computers, it is illegal to activate your private home computer with such key, unless you use it for the company work. Much like Apple requires Mac OS to run only on Apple products, Corporate licenses should be used for corporate computers or the computers their employees use to work remotely from home. Not for any other private computer. It is like using an Office Education license for business. Yes, you can, but according to EULA is not allowed.

barman58 · Nov 7, 2022

The use of KMS servers is the most secure system, all devices require logging on to the internal servers and require a specific token which is then checked regularly at a time period set by the administrator. This can be a few minutes to several days or weeks. MAK keys are used for users who are likely to be out of the office for long periods and do not have remote access to the office.
There are fake KMS servers that can be used to cheat the system and of course MAK keys can be stolen and resold by the criminal elements

spapakons · Nov 7, 2022

Even if you bought the keys for your business, EULA doesn't allow their use on non-corporate computers. Like you may buy an Educational license but you are not allowed to use it unless you are a student or teacher etc.

Winuser · Nov 8, 2022

spapakons said:
I am not sure, but I guess the EULA for such keys allows use only for corporate computers, it is illegal to activate your private home computer with such key, unless you use it for the company work.

If this is still true, MS needs to step up their enforcement. One can easily buy the Windows 11 OS and/or devices that use the MAK keys.

barman58 · Nov 8, 2022

You do see cases of Microsoft sales agents selling to what appears to be a legitimate customer who then sells the MAC licences to random users outside the terms of the original sale - with the amount of business who legitimately purchase software from Microsoft or it's agents online it is very difficult to police every less than honest transaction.

spapakons · Nov 8, 2022

Back in topic, an average home user doesn't need the extra features of Windows 11 Enterprise, so there is no point extending the evaluation period. Downgrade to Windows 11 Pro or Home and you should have all the features you need. To downgrade you must first disconnect from the internet, because Windows won't let you downgrade for some weird reason when online. Then replace the Windows key with your genuine Windows 11 Home or Pro key, or the respective generic key. Once online again, Windows should activate automatically if you have a digital license in Microsoft server.

MisterEd · Nov 8, 2022

Winuser said:
If this is still true, MS needs to step up their enforcement. One can easily buy the Windows 11 OS and/or devices that use the MAK keys.

Techsoup is an authorized seller of volume license software for non-profits. Before I was allowed to buy software from them I had to send them proof that our organaization was a 501(c)(3). After I did that I bought Microsoft software and received MAK keys from the Microsoft Volume License Center. Note that since our organization is small we didn't have a domain email setup so I used an regular Microsoft account I created for our organization.

Things changed a few months ago. For volume license software Microsoft now requires either a work or educational email account. Right now I don't know how I am going to get around that.

Can I increase licensing days of Windows 11 Enterprise Evaluation?

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