If you are converting a computer from a KMS host, MAK, or retail edition of Windows to a KMS client, install the applicable setup key (GVLK) from the following tables. To install a client setup key, open an administrative command prompt on the client, type slmgr /ipk and then press Enter. Windows Revision: Ultimate (Ultimate), Professional (Professional), Enterprise (Enterprise), Home Premium (Home Premium), Home Basic (Home Basic), Starter (Initial). Supports Windows x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit). To work KMS Auto does not require network connection. How to activate Windows 7 Automatic mode.
EmailIf you’ve installed your Windows with a MAK product key and now want to change it to KMS or install a clean OS (never activated), this guide will definitely help you. It also can be useful if you want to activate your Windows copy on the corporate KMS server, this guide will definitely help you.
- After the installation, you will find a Windows icon at the bottom right corner and Office icon at the left corner for activation. Now click on the Activation tab You will see EZ-Activator highlighted with color. Wait for few seconds and your Windows will be activated.
- Activate Windows 10 Offline or Without a Product Key. After you complete the preparation phase, you can activate Windows 10 permanently and offline. Please see and use one of the two following methods. Activation of Windows 10 Using KMS Auto-Lite. The first tool that you can use to activate Windows 10 permanently is the KMS Auto-Lite.
Microsoft offers two ways of Windows and MS Office activation for corporate customers under the volume license program. They can use MAK and KMS keys for activation.
- MAK (Multiple Activation Keys)—MAK license is like a Retail (box) license, but allows to activate several copies of Windows using a single MAK key. The number of activations limited. It depends on the type of your license agreement (Open, Select, or Enterprise Agreement). You must activate Windows copy with the MAK key installed via the Internet or by phone;
- KMS (Key Management Service)—this is an activation type for enterprise customers. The KMS activation server allows to activate corporate versions of Windows OSs and Microsoft Office products within the enterprise network. The KMS infrastructure is very simple: install Volume Activation Services role on Windows Server, add your KMS Host Key (from Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center), and activate your corporate KMS server on Microsoft (perform this only once). After that, your enterprise KMS clients can send activation requests to the KMS server and activate with it.
The main advantages of KMS activation:
- KMS clients do not need to access the Internet or the phone to activate the product. Only network access to the KMS server is required;
- The KMS client is being activated on the internal KMS server for 180 days and attempts to renew the activation every 7 days;
- In case the KMS server is damaged or lost, there is nothing to restore from backup on the KMS server. Install a new server, install KMS role, enter the KMS host key, activate—and everything is ready to go!;
- Instead of a KMS activation, in the AD domain you can use the Active Directory optimized version—ADBA (Active Directory Based Activation);
- KMS infrastructure is simple and extensible, one KMS server can serve thousands of clients.
Deploying KMS Activation Host on Windows Server 2019
You can install a KMS server on any version of Windows Server. In this example, we will show how to install a KMS activation server on Windows Server 2019 using PowerShell.
- Run the PowerShell console as administrator and execute the following command:
- If your Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security service is enabled, you need to open incoming connections on TCP port 1688 in order for the KMS client to contact KMS server. This can be done by the following PowerShell command:
- Go to the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center website > Downloads and Keys > Windows Server > Windows Server 2019 > Key and copy your KMS Host Key (Windows Srv 2019 DataCtr/Std KMS).
- Now you can install your KMS host key on your server. Run the command:
- In order to activate your KMS server on Microsoft servers online, run the command:
(you need to temporarily provide direct Internet for your server);
- To check the KMS server activation status, run:
- If necessary, you can optionally install the
- Now you can configure KMS clients to activate on your KMS server.
Please note that KMS host key Windows Srv 2019 allows you to activate all previous versions of Windows, starting from Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 R2. However, if your KMS server is activated with an older host key, you won’t be able to activate new versions of Windows.
For example, if you activated your KMS server with the Windows Srv 2012R2 key, you cannot activate Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016. The maximum supported versions of Windows to activate in this case are Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2.
If you use previous versions of Windows as the KMS server, you need to install special updates before installing a new KMS host key:
- Windows Server 2012 R2 — servicing stack update KB3173424, and any latest cumulative update;
- Windows Server 2016 — servicing stack update KB4132216, and any latest cumulative update.
Activate Windows with KMS Server
Changing the activation key to the public KMS Client Setup Key
Before activating your Microsoft product (Windows or Office) on the KMS server, you must change the product activation key to the public KMS Client Setup Key. You can change the product key to KMS from the Windows GUI (use the command slui.exe 4), or you can use the slmgr command line tool. Slmgr.vbs is a VBS script located in the %SystemRootsystem32 folder and used to manage the Windows licensing on a local or remote computer;
To activate a KMS client, it must have a special KMS public key installed. This product key is called the GVLK key (Generic Volume License Key). For each Windows editions, this key is unique. To replace an existing product key, run the command prompt as an administrator on the computer you are want to activate and type:(XXXXX is GVLK key for your Windows edition from the table below)
In our case, we want to activate Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019 on a KMS server. The KMS Client key installation command will look like this:Checking VLMCS Record in DNS and setting KMS server address
After you specify the GVLK key, the KMS client tries to connect to the previously configured KMS server or find a special SRV (_VLMCS) record in the DNS. This DNS record is created when you install a new KMS server in the domain and pointing to your KMS server. After KMS server discovery using the DNS server, the client performs the OS activation.
You can skip this step if your DNS has a valid SRV record that allows clients to find the KMS server.
Tip. You can check this DNS entry using the nslookup command:If the client does not find the KMS server automatically, you can specify the address of the KMS server manually using the slmgr with the option /skms. You can also specify the TCP port on which the activation service listens (by default 1688):
You can test network connectivity between your computer and the KMS server using the PowerShell command:
- To activate Windows with the KMS server, run the command:
And wait until the message Product activated successfully appear;
Check the Status of Windows Activation
Optionally, you can display information about the Windows activation status:
As you can see, the utility returned the following useful info:
- Name — the OS version;
- Description — distribution channel VOLUME_KMSCLIENT channel;
- License status — licensed;
- Volume activation expirations — 180 days;
- KMS server IP address and DNS name.
Most Common KMS Activation Errors
Most often users facing the following errors when activating Windows with KMS server:
- 0xC004F074 — key management server is unavailable. It means that the KMS service on the server is not running or access to it from the client is blocked (check TCP port 1688 availability on a server);
- 0xC004F038 — you did not have the necessary number of activation request on the KMS server (for desktop Windows edition the minimum number of KMS clients – 25, for Windows Server – 5);
- 0xC004F015 — you can see this error when you try to activate Windows 10/Server 2016/2019 on an old KMS server that is activated with the old KMS host key. In this case, you need to get a new KMS host key from VLSC, and reactivate your KMS server.
- Unable to reach Windows activation servers.
Kms Host Activation
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Brian Jackson started this blog in 2011. Brian has a huge passion for WordPress and technology for over a decade. Brian enjoys blogging, movies, and hiking.