Windows 11 eduction / pro/ activation issue

starsi360 · Jun 16, 2025

Hi all
I bought a lenovo desktop PC from a second hand retailer. When I do a clean install of Windows 11, it automatically installs Windows 11 Pro Education. I want it to be just Pro, and not education edition.

Now I know I can use the ei.cfg file to force it to allow me to choose plain old pro (non-education edition). But I am setting this up for someones office and if they decide to reinstall windows from USB in future (without the ei.cfg) then I assume it will revert to Pro Education due to an embedded/bios PID for Pro Education

My question is, is there any way to permanantly change this so that when installing windows from USB it won't go to Education and instead install just Pro? Is there a way to change or override the embedded key?

Thanks!

antspants · Jun 16, 2025

starsi360 said:
if they decide to reinstall windows from USB in future (without the ei.cfg) then I assume it will revert to Pro Education due to an embedded/bios PID for Pro Education

Correct

starsi360 said:
question is, is there any way to permanantly change this so that when installing windows from USB it won't go to Education and instead install just Pro? Is there a way to change or override the embedded key?

Not that I have ever heard of. The embedded key is stored in a secure area of the UEFI/BIOS and cannot be changed or removed by standard users. Manufacturers write it during production.

You’d need to use some tricky BIOS/UEFI editing app I would imagine. But you could end up bricking the laptop.

If you’re giving them the installation media, then all should be good as long as you have edited the ISO by adding the ei.cfg file.

starsi360 · Jun 16, 2025

antspants said:
Correct

Not that I have ever heard of. The embedded key is stored in a secure area of the UEFI/BIOS and cannot be changed or removed by standard users. Manufacturers write it during production.

You’d need to use some tricky BIOS/UEFI editing app I would imagine. But you could end up bricking the laptop.

If you’re giving them the installation media, then all should be good as long as you have edited the ISO by adding the ei.cfg file.

Thanks, to be honest I am not happy with someone else using it and it having the possibility of reverting to education as it feels a bit sketchy - I am going to return it to where it came from and find an alternative machine. Thanks for confirming my suspicions that it cannot be changed!

antspants · Jun 16, 2025

starsi360 said:
Thanks, to be honest I am not happy with someone else using it and it having the possibility of reverting to education as it feels a bit sketchy - I am going to return it to where it came from and find an alternative machine. Thanks for confirming my suspicions that it cannot be changed!

You can stipulate a Windows version in the file.

How to confirm my license key is legit?

Hello. I was previously running Windows 10 Home Edition. I can't remember where I got my license key from, but I think it was originally a Windows 7 key that I bought directly from Microsoft. A few years ago, I bought a grey market key for Windows 11 Pro Edition from eBay in order to upgrade...

www.elevenforum.com

antspants · Jun 16, 2025

I’ll paste it here:

If you want to bypass a laptops embedded version of Windows Home/Education during the install process and install Windows Pro, please read the following.

To bypass the BIOS version restrictions, you can edit a multi edition Windows.iso

Open notepad and enter the following

Code:

[Channel]
Retail

Save the file as ei.cfg
Place the file in the ISO sources folder.

I am not sure if AnyBurn free (<— Instructions) allows to edit the ISO, there are other ways

Download Anyburn Free (I have the Pro versions so I am unaware of the Free versions restrictions)

I believe 7-Zip also works to achieve this

During the Windows installation you will be asked what version of Windows you would like to install.

OR

Code:

[EditionID]
{Edition}

[Channel]
Retail

[VL]
0

Replace the line {Edition} with the Windows edition you want to install.
EditionID can be: Home, Professional, Enterprise, Education, and so on, depending on the available editions in your specific Windows ISO

For example:

Code:

[EditionID]
Professional

[Channel]
Retail

[VL]
0

Channel can be changed to Retail or OEM

You can also create a pid file and pre enter your

Open notepad and enter the following:

Code:

[PID]
Value=XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Save the file as pid.txt
Place it into the sources folder

Replace XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX with your legitimate product key. If you don’t have a product key or you want to manually enter it later just skip creating the pid.txt file.

zbook · Jun 16, 2025

One or more of these links may be useful:

Windows 11 Pro license for just $10

https://www.techspot.com/news/100809-microsoft-windows-11-pro-or-win10-license.html

www.elevenforum.com

(see the tracking how to move between editions chart)

Downgrade Windows 10 Pro for Workstations to Windows 10 Pro

How to Downgrade Windows 10 Pro for Workstations to Windows 10 Pro

www.tenforums.com

pseymour · Jun 16, 2025

I’ve never heard of an OEM defaulting to the edu SKU in the firmware, and that’s the industry I’m in. More than likely, the device is still hooked to someone’s Entra/Intune, and it’s going to keep switching the SKU when it connects to the Internets.

NormanF · Jun 1, 2026

Education is different from Pro Education. Its a MAK key that is permanently activated. Its a subset of Enterprise for the education world. Its considered the best version of Windows without the bloatware and avoids the hassle of trying to install Enterprise LTSC. All you have to do switch the licence.

NormanF · Jun 1, 2026

MAK keys have a set number of activations. When they're used up, the key is invalid. They differ from digital keys like Pro that can always be activated again.

Windows 11 eduction / pro/ activation issue

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