Windows 11 Digital Licence Question

mata · Jan 25, 2023

Hello,
My dad bought Windows 11 (from microsoft website) and it presumably has a digital licence linked to his MSFT account because the purchase confirmation email did not contain a product key.

The licence has never been used.

How can I activate it on my my computer and the licence will stay associated with windows on my computer?

BrianInEngland · Jan 25, 2023

The licence is linked to the MS account it was purchased with

kelper · Jan 25, 2023

Phone Microsoft to get this sorted.

mata · Jan 25, 2023

BrianInEngland said:
The licence is linked to the MS account it was purchased with

Thanks, so dad who has the licence on his account signs into my computer and activates it. all good.
If I delete his account from my computer, will windows stays activated?

kelper · Jan 25, 2023

I suggest you call Microsoft, their support is excellent.

Global Customer Service phone numbers - Microsoft Support

This page provides phone numbers of Microsoft customer service.

support.microsoft.com

BrianInEngland · Jan 25, 2023

mata said:
Thanks, so dad who has the licence on his account signs into my computer and activates it. all good.
If I delete his account from my computer, will windows stays activated?

First part yes, second part - not so sure

mata · Jan 25, 2023

kelper said:
I suggest you call Microsoft, their support is excellent.

Global Customer Service phone numbers - Microsoft Support

This page provides phone numbers of Microsoft customer service.

support.microsoft.com

No worries, it is just a question how digital licences work and had no idea it was such a difficult topic. I will try it first then consider calling them.

mata · Jan 25, 2023

BrianInEngland said:
First part yes, second part - not so sure

i will let you know in a couple days after i build the computer.

NavyLCDR · Jan 25, 2023

mata said:
Thanks, so dad who has the licence on his account signs into my computer and activates it. all good.
If I delete his account from my computer, will windows stays activated?

Yes and yes. The digital license is actually tied to the unique hardware ID of the computer. There is only a link to the digital license on the Microsoft account. Once you copy the license from dad's computer to your computer using the Activation Troubleshooter, the digital license for your computer is stored on Microsoft Activation servers based upon the hardware ID of your computer - not the Microsoft Account that was used to obtain it. As an alternative, you could log into your dad's computer with your Microsoft Account. Then his digital license would be linked to your MS Account also and you could you use your own MS Account to copy the license using the Activation Troubleshooter.

Think of your dad's MS Account as a credit used to buy a ticket for you to go a concert. Once he uses his credit card to get the ticket, the ticket is yours and his credit card becomes irrelevant.

Winuser · Jan 26, 2023

mata said:
Hello,
My dad bought Windows 11 (from microsoft website) and it presumably has a digital licence linked to his MSFT account because the purchase confirmation email did not contain a product key.

The licence has never been used.

How can I activate it on my my computer and the licence will stay associated with windows on my computer?

MS had me use the generic key for the version I purchased. They never gave me a key.

mata · Jan 26, 2023

NavyLCDR said:
Yes and yes. The digital license is actually tied to the unique hardware ID of the computer. There is only a link to the digital license on the Microsoft account. Once you copy the license from dad's computer to your computer using the Activation Troubleshooter, the digital license for your computer is stored on Microsoft Activation servers based upon the hardware ID of your computer - not the Microsoft Account that was used to obtain it. As an alternative, you could log into your dad's computer with your Microsoft Account. Then his digital license would be linked to your MS Account also and you could you use your own MS Account to copy the license using the Activation Troubleshooter.

Think of your dad's MS Account as a credit used to buy a ticket for you to go a concert. Once he uses his credit card to get the ticket, the ticket is yours and his credit card becomes irrelevant.

Thankyou NavyLCDR that is how i would expect it to work. Handy to know that i can transfer it to my account, I will do that so i can then reuse it if i upgrade or replace the computer.