Solved License seems lost


MaxPeck58

MaxPeck58

Member
Local time
3:46 AM
Posts
5
OS
Windows 11
I woke up this morning to find that Windows seems to have reverted to "Windows Home Evaluation Mode". What happened? I've been using 11 for something like 8 months and all-of-a-sudden this happens.

I checked the "activation" status and it shows that it's activated, so why is it in "Evaluation Mode"?

Thanks...
 
Windows Build/Version
22H2 (Build 22581.1)
Last edited:

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
MaxPeck58 said:
I woke up this morning to find that Windows seems to have reverted to "Windows Home Evaluation Mode". What happened? I've been using 11 for something like 8 months and all-of-a-sudden this happens.

Windows Build/Version 22H2 (Build 22581.1)
Click to expand...

Welcome to Eleven Forum

22581.1 is an Insider build, currently available for the Dev and Beta channels. Are you in the Insider program?

www.elevenforum.com

KB5013296 Cumulative Update Windows 11 22H2 Insider Dev and Beta Build 22581.200 - March 29

UPDATE 4/06: https://www.elevenforum.com/t/windows-11-22h2-insider-dev-and-beta-build-22593-1-ni_release-april-6.5696/ UPDATE 3/29: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22581.200 (KB5013296). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

The Insider builds are 'evaluation' copies, as it will tell you in Winver. Where are you seeing the words "Evaluation Mode" ?

1648212587865.png
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to lid hinges starting to break up this laptop has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    I've now clean installed 25H2 and used Garlin's scripts to update Secure Boot to CA 2023 and revoke the PCA 2011 certificates. It's new role is to test secure boot issues.

    Info for 2021-2026:
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR was a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (1st gen) type 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device. This has now been sold. It has been replaced by my System Eight.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, 1920x1080 touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine. As its new home has an existing digital licence for Pro I've been able to upgrade the migrated OS from Home to Pro.

    My SYSTEM EIGHT is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (5th gen) type 20LN, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, a supported device for Windows 11. Currently running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds as native boot vhdx.
Bree said:
Welcome to Eleven Forum

22581.1 is an Insider build, currently available for the Dev and Beta channels. Are you in the Insider program?

www.elevenforum.com

KB5013296 Cumulative Update Windows 11 22H2 Insider Dev and Beta Build 22581.200 - March 29

UPDATE 4/06: https://www.elevenforum.com/t/windows-11-22h2-insider-dev-and-beta-build-22593-1-ni_release-april-6.5696/ UPDATE 3/29: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22581.200 (KB5013296). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

The Insider builds are 'evaluation' copies, as it will tell you in Winver. Where are you seeing the words "Evaluation Mode" ?

View attachment 25351
Click to expand...
eval.pngversion.png

The system tray has disappeared and the above text has replaced it. I checked the activation status and it looks OK. I was at one time part of the "Insider" program but resigned from that some time back. I wonder if OEM_DM channel indicates that they think I'm part of the insider program? I figure this is a bug.

Any ideas?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Hey Bree. After you mentioned that I went and looked at the Update settings and, yeah, it appears that they think I'm still using it. I turned that off. Betcha that's what it was! The section that shows activation shows that nothing is wrong. Must be a bug. Also, I didn't see the word "Evaluation Mode", that was just my words for it. I see now that if it's a beta that would make sense. I'll see if I can roll back to the previous version. (Can you do that?)

1648214635208.png
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Yeah, that's what it was. I just rolled back to the previous build and everything is back in order. Thanks for the feedback guys!
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
@MaxPeck58 Please go to the first post and just above it, you'll see a spot to mark this thread as solved so other users know.

But as mentioned above, if you're on the Insiders builds, even though you are activated (and legit) it will still be considered an Evaluation Copy as that's the way they work, they have internal timebombs to force you to upgrade or leave the Insiders.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro βIntel® Core™ i7-1165G732 GB DDR4-3200 SDRAMIntel® Iris® Xᵉ Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro β
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion Laptop 15-eg0070wm
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4-3200 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xᵉ Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2TB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD

  • At a glance

    macOS Ventura3.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i540 GB 2400 MHz DDR4Radeon Pro 570 4 GB
    Operating System
    macOS Ventura
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Apple iMac 27" 5K (2017)
    CPU
    3.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
    Memory
    40 GB 2400 MHz DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon Pro 570 4 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" 5K, 34" UW
    Screen Resolution
    Mon 1: 5120 × 2880 Mon 2: 2560 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    32GB NVME, 1TB SSD
Archigos said:
@MaxPeck58 Please go to the first post and just above it, you'll see a spot to mark this thread as solved so other users know.

But as mentioned above, if you're on the Insiders builds, even though you are activated (and legit) it will still be considered an Evaluation Copy as that's the way they work, they have internal timebombs to force you to upgrade or leave the Insiders.
Click to expand...
Gotcha, thanks. Just marked it solved.

Yeah, I don't know how or why I selected that I wanted the insider builds offhand. I probably did that at some earlier time and just forgot about it. I'm a software developer, not a beta tester!
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
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