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YaBoyShredderson's avatar
YaBoyShredderson
Copper Contributor
Jun 23, 2026

Windows failed to activate after reinstallation

I was forced to reinstall windows 11 after my pin broke. I needed to update my BIOS and after doing so, I couldn't login. I cant remember exactly what it said, but it said my pin is longer working and I have to sign in a different way. For some reason no matter what I did, it would not connect me to the internet to actually do this. 

 

I thought its no bother because this windows installation is well past the point it needs to be refreshed anyway, so I went into recovery mode and selected the option of reinstalling windows but keeping my files. This worked, let me sign in but did not activated for some reason. 

 

I made windows installation media on a usb to reinstall windows fresh (after backing up all my files) and this did not work either. For some reason no matter what, windows is not activating.

 

It gives the error 0xc004f213 (im not at my pc right now so this may be wrong). I have reinstalled windows many many times in the past and it activated automatically everytime as my windows license is linked to my microsoft account.

licensing

2 Replies

  • YaBoyShredderson's avatar
    YaBoyShredderson
    Copper Contributor
    Jul 07, 2026

    I have installed the home edition (same as before) of windows 11. As far as I'm aware, the windows license is tied to my Microsoft account, not the hardware. 

  • Jamony's avatar
    Jamony
    MCT
    Jul 06, 2026

    Hi YaBoyShredderson, activation after a reinstall normally works automatically if the PC had a digital license before. The first thing I would check is that you installed the same Windows edition as before. A Home license will not activate Pro, and a Pro license will not activate Enterprise. Then go to Settings > System > Activation and run the troubleshooter. Sign in with the Microsoft account that was used before the reinstall and choose the hardware change option if it appears. If activation still fails, note the exact error code and contact Microsoft activation support, because they can see what license is attached to the hardware.