How to Activate Windows 11? Try 2 Ways Here Now! - MiniTool (2024)

If you install Windows 11 on your PC but it is not activated, how can you activate this new operating system? Take it easy and MiniTool will show you how to activate Windows 11 Pro or other editions. Also, how to check if Windows 11 is activated will be introduced.

Windows 11 Isn’t Activated

If you perform Windows 11 compatibility check and find your PC can run Windows 11, you may choose to install Windows 11. After finishing the Windows setup, you may get a message on the desktop screen “ActivateWindows.GotoSettingstoactivateWindows”.

This watermark is annoying. Besides, you cannot change the personalization settings, for example, set the desktop background, set PC colors, customize the lock screen, taskbar, start, and more.

The urgent thing you should do is to activate Windows 11. Well then, how can you activate Windows 11 Pro or other editions? Follow the methods below now.

How to Activate Windows 11

Use Windows 10/11 Product Key

If you have a Windows 10 product key and upgrade Windows 10 to Windows 11 via Windows Update while keeping all of your programs & files, you don’t need to activate Windows 11 separately. During the installation of Windows 11, the system will be activated automatically.

If you install Windows 11 and find it is not activated, you can activate the operating system manually with a Windows 11 activation code.

1. Launch the Settings app and navigate to the System You can see a message from the right section saying “Windows isn’t activated”. Just click the Activate now button to continue.
2. Under the Change product key section and click Change.
3. Enter your Windows 10/11 activation code and click Next. Then, Windows will begin the activation task.

In addition, you can move to the next way to activate Windows 11.

Activate Windows 11 CMD (with KMS)

The following are the steps on how to activate Windows 11 with KMS in Command Prompt (CMD).

1. Launch Command Prompt as an administrator in Windows 11.

2. Install a license key: type the command slmgr /ipk kmsclientkey and press Enter. The KMS client key is the activation key that corresponds to your system and just choose a proper Windows edition. You can search for it online. Then, you get a message “Installed product key successfully”.

3. You need to set a KMS server by using the command slmgr /skms yourserver. The server can be kms.msguides.com, kms8.msguides.com, etc.

4. Type slmgr /ato and press Enter to activate Windows 11.

After trying one way, if you are not sure whether your Windows 11 is activated, you can check your PC.

How to Check if Windows 11 Is Activated?

Two ways to check Windows 11 activation status:

1. Go to Settings > System > Activation > Activation state.
2. Or you can run Command Prompt as administrator, type slmgr /xpr, and press Enter.

Back up Windows 11

Using an official version of Windows 11 is very important and make sure you activate Windows 11 with a license key from Microsoft. Or else, a piratic version could cause some security issues, potentially causing data loss.

For Windows 11, you had better also create a backup for your PC to avoid data loss caused by system issues, update issues, mistaken operations, a hard drive failure, virus attacks, and more. Talking about PC backup, run MiniTool ShadowMaker, one of the best backup software. Then, follow the guide – .

Final Words

This post shows you how to activate Windows 11 with an activation code or KMS. Just choose one way to get an activated Windows so that you can personalize the PC.