Hands On - Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter

Earlier this week we learned about a new feature for the upcoming Windows 10 Anniversary Update called the Activation Troubleshooter but we were unable to dive deeply into it because all of our test systems were properly activated.

However, after setting up a couple of un-activated virtual machines we can now see more of the utilities troubleshooting screens and dialog boxes.

This tool is going to be very handy for Windows 10 users who might have simple activation problems or even swap out system hardware that triggers a prompt to activate the operating system after the hardware upgrades.

For everyone who has taken advantage of the year long free upgrade to Windows 10 from their previous Windows 7 or 8.1 system this tool will enable the user to even retrieve their unique Digital License that is stored and associated with their Microsoft Account on that device and subsequently reactivate the OS.

It is not clear yet what will happen for those users who purchase Windows 10 after the free upgrade period is over though. Two possible scenarios is that they will also activate their upgraded/installed system after purchasing the upgrade, $119 for Windows 10 Home and $199 for Windows 10 Pro, and receive the same Digital License associated with their hardware for future re-activations.

The other option would be using their Windows 10 product key like we always have with Windows 7 and 8.1 to activate the OS installation.

I am sure we will learn more about all of this as the Windows 10 Anniversary Update goes live but in the mean time check out these Activation Troubleshooter screenshots.