How to activate Windows 11

Activating Windows 11 takes about a minute once the operating system is installed. If you have not installed it yet, use the download link in your delivery email first — activation cannot happen before installation.

What you need

• An internet connection.
• Windows 11 already installed on the machine.
• The 25-character product key from your delivery email.

The five steps

1. Open Settings, then System, then Activation.
2. Open Change product key and select Change.
3. Type or paste the 25-character key. Include the hyphens.
4. Select Next, then Activate, and wait while Windows contacts the activation servers.
5. Reopen Settings > System > Activation and confirm it reads Windows is activated.

If it fails

Write down the exact error code on screen before you try anything else. The code is what tells us what happened. Three codes have their own pages: 0xC004C003, 0xC004F050 and 0xC004F074.