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aibox_pctop's avatar
aibox_pctop
Copper Contributor
Mar 18, 2026

Windows 11 PRO OEM Licenses not activating

Hello,

 

I have issues with activating new Windows 11 Pro OEM FQC-10537 licenses on new equipment. The problems appeared yesterday and are still persisting. The errors are random from cannot reach activation servers to different error codes like 0xC004E028 or 0x8004FE94.

 

I spoke to a Microsoft agent he checked the product keys and confirmed that they are valid but he said that the product keys are for windows 10 Pro although the sticker with the product key says Windows 11 Pro OEM software. He suggested to try the to activate the product keys on windows 10 but the keys still do not activate. The online activation portal which replaced the phone activation said that the activation ID is invalid. The Microsoft chat agent redirected me here to ask for help.

 

Are there any problems with the Microsoft activation servers? Yesterday morning another key from the batch I have worked. The problems started from yesterday afternoon with other keys. That is why I think there are problems with the activation servers.

Any help is appreciated.

 

Thank you

deployment
licensing

6 Replies

  • Rene-NL's avatar
    Rene-NL
    Occasional Reader
    Mar 19, 2026

    I can't tell for sure, but try connecting on IPV4 (disable ipV6) and try again. My PC got activated now, but could be coincidental, no way to tell...

  • Rene-NL's avatar
    Rene-NL
    Occasional Reader
    Mar 19, 2026

    Same issue here since yesterday. I installed 3 exact same PC's with the exact same software image, Windows 11 Pro. 2 activated with no issue, the 3rd won't activate. So I reinstalled Windows 11 Pro on this machine, clean install. Same issue. So now I am thinking this is related to this particular PC. I tried a different internet connection, no difference.

  • DeBertrand's avatar
    DeBertrand
    Iron Contributor
    Mar 19, 2026

    Activation issues with Windows 11 Pro OEM licenses can be frustrating, especially when they occur suddenly and with various error codes like 0xC004E028 and 0x8004FE94. These errors typically indicate problems reaching Microsoft's activation servers or issues with the license itself.

  • Difaya's avatar
    Difaya
    Iron Contributor
    Mar 19, 2026

    Activation servers can occasionally experience outages or synchronization problems, especially during high demand or updates.

  • Yago13's avatar
    Yago13
    Copper Contributor
    Mar 18, 2026

    Hi,

    I’m having the same problem. What’s the recommendation?