Microsoft Confirms Some Windows 10 Pro Licenses Are Suddenly Being Deactivated
Redmond, we have a problem. Some users who have Windows 10 Pro installed report getting a notification telling them their Windows license is no good, even though it's valid and has been working correctly for months or years. Apparently there is something wonky going on with Microsoft's activation servers.
Complaints landed on Reddit, starting with a user who said he has been running Windows 10 Pro just fine for years, dating back to when he migrated from Windows 8 Pro to Windows 10 Pro for free. "I got a notification saying my key is Windows 10 Home version and that I need to install it... WTF is going on?," the user wrote.
Others quickly chimed in with similar complaints.
"Just happened to me. I had a physical Win 8.1 Pro Key and I activated/upgraded it to Win10 Pro like years ago.
I know it's a major bug because it lists buying a Win 10 Pro key in the store as an option..I go in and it says it can't do it," another user wrote.
Microsoft is aware of what it says is an "ongoing issue" and said that users who are affected by it don't need to do anything. A Windows Insider spoke with a support agent at Microsoft and posted the response to Microsoft Answers. Here's what the agent said...
"Microsoft has just released an Emerging issue announcement about current activation issue related to Pro edition recently. This happens in Japan, Korea, American and many other countries.I am very sorry to inform you that there is a temporary issue with Microsoft's activation server at the moment and some customers might experience this issue where Windows is displayed as not activated. Our engineers are working tirelessly to resolve this issue and it is expected to be corrected within one to two business days."
The agent also confirmed that the Windows activation troubleshooter is telling some Windows 10 Pro users that that they have a Windows 10 Home license, as others have reported, and advised ignoring the message while Microsoft works on a fix.
I'm not sure how widespread the problem is, or what the timeline is on a fix. I have Windows 10 Pro installed on my own system, with the October 2018 Update installed, and have not run into any activation issues.
