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Activate Using Key Management Service

This document discusses how to configure and use Key Management Service (KMS) for volume activation of Windows operating systems. KMS allows activation of multiple client computers against a single KMS host. The document describes how to install a KMS host on Windows 10 or Windows Server 2012 R2, activate the host by phone or online, and then use that host to activate other Windows clients on the network without needing individual keys. It also discusses using an existing KMS infrastructure from earlier versions of Windows to activate new clients.

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David Sofita
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12 views

Activate Using Key Management Service

This document discusses how to configure and use Key Management Service (KMS) for volume activation of Windows operating systems. KMS allows activation of multiple client computers against a single KMS host. The document describes how to install a KMS host on Windows 10 or Windows Server 2012 R2, activate the host by phone or online, and then use that host to activate other Windows clients on the network without needing individual keys. It also discusses using an existing KMS infrastructure from earlier versions of Windows to activate new clients.

Uploaded by

David Sofita
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Activate using Key Management Service

Article

 12/12/2022
 5 minutes to read
 17 contributors
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In this article
1. Key Management Service in Windows 10
2. Key Management Service in Windows Server 2012 R2
3. Verifying the configuration of Key Management Service
4. Key Management Service in earlier versions of Windows
5. Related articles

Applies to:

 Windows 10
 Windows 8.1
 Windows 8
 Windows 7
 Windows Server 2012 R2
 Windows Server 2012
 Windows Server 2008 R2
Tip

Are you looking for information on retail activation?

 Activate Windows
 Product activation for Windows

There are three possible scenarios for volume activation of Windows 10 or Windows
Server 2012 R2 by using a Key Management Service (KMS) host:

 Host KMS on a computer running Windows 10


 Host KMS on a computer running Windows Server 2012 R2
 Host KMS on a computer running an earlier version of Windows

Check out Windows 10 Volume Activation Tips.


Key Management Service in Windows 10
Installing a KMS host key on a computer running Windows 10 allows you to activate
other computers running Windows 10 against this KMS host and earlier versions of the
client operating system, such as Windows 8.1 or Windows 7.

Clients locate the KMS server by using resource records in DNS, so some configuration
of DNS may be required. This scenario can be beneficial if your organization uses
volume activation for clients and MAK-based activation for a smaller number of servers.
To enable KMS functionality, a KMS key is installed on a KMS host; then, the host is
activated over the Internet or by phone using Microsoft activation services.

Configure KMS in Windows 10

To activate, use the slmgr.vbs command. Open an elevated command prompt and run
one of the following commands:

 To install the KMS key, run the command slmgr.vbs /ipk <KmsKey>.
 To activate online, run the command slmgr.vbs /ato.
 To activate by telephone, follow these steps:
1. Run slmgr.vbs /dti and confirm the installation ID.
2. Call Microsoft Licensing Activation Centers worldwide telephone
numbers and follow the voice prompts to enter the installation ID that you
obtained in step 1 on your telephone.
3. Follow the voice prompts and write down the responded 48-digit
confirmation ID for OS activation.
4. Run slmgr.vbs /atp \<confirmation ID\>.

For more information, see the information for Windows 7 in Deploy KMS Activation.

Key Management Service in Windows Server 2012 R2


Installing a KMS host key on a computer running Windows Server allows you to activate
computers running Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server
2008, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, and Windows Vista.
Note

You cannot install a client KMS key into the KMS in Windows Server.

This scenario is commonly used in larger organizations that don't find the overhead of
using a server a burden.

Note

If you receive error 0xC004F015 when trying to activate Windows 10 Enterprise,


see Error 0xC004F015 when you activate Windows 10 Enterprise on a Windows
Server 2012 R2 KMS host.

Configure KMS in Windows Server 2012 R2

1. Sign in to a computer running Windows Server 2012 R2 with an account that has
local administrative credentials.
2. Launch Server Manager.
3. Add the Volume Activation Services role, as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Adding the Volume Activation Services role in Server Manager

4. When the role installation is complete, select the link to launch the Volume
Activation Tools (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Launching the Volume Activation Tools

5. Select the Key Management Service (KMS) option, and specify the computer
that will act as the KMS host (Figure 6). This computer can be the same computer
on which you installed the role or another computer. For example, it can be a client
computer running Windows 10.
Figure 6. Configuring the computer as a KMS host

6. Install your KMS host key by typing it in the text box, and then
select Commit (Figure 7).
Figure 7. Installing your KMS host key

7. If asked to confirm replacement of an existing key, select Yes.


8. After the product key is installed, you must activate it. Select Next (Figure 8).
Figure 8. Activating the software

The KMS key can be activated online or by phone. See Figure 9.


Figure 9. Choosing to activate online

Now that the KMS host is configured, it will begin to listen for activation requests.
However, it will not activate clients successfully until the activation threshold is met.

Verifying the configuration of Key Management


Service
KMS volume activation can be verified from the KMS host server or from the client
computer. KMS volume activation requires a minimum threshold of 25 computers
before activation requests will be processed. The verification process described here will
increment the activation count each time a client computer contacts the KMS host, but
unless the activation threshold is reached, the verification will take the form of an error
message rather than a confirmation message.

Note

If you configured Active Directory-based activation before configuring KMS activation,


you must use a client computer that will not first try to activate itself by using Active
Directory-based activation. You could use a workgroup computer that is not joined to a
domain or a computer running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

To verify that KMS volume activation works, complete the following steps:

1. On the KMS host, open the event log and confirm that DNS publishing is
successful.
2. On a client computer, open a Command Prompt window and run the
command Slmgr.vbs /ato.

The /ato command causes the operating system to attempt activation by using
whichever key has been installed in the operating system. The response should
show the license state and detailed Windows version information.

3. On a client computer or the KMS host, open an elevated Command Prompt


window and run the command Slmgr.vbs /dlv.

The /dlv command displays the detailed licensing information. The response
should return an error that states that the KMS activation count is too low. This test
confirms that KMS is functioning correctly, even though the client hasn't been
activated.

For more information about the use and syntax of slmgr.vbs, see Slmgr.vbs Options.

Key Management Service in earlier versions of


Windows
If you've already established a KMS infrastructure in your organization for an earlier
version of Windows, you may want to continue using that infrastructure to activate
computers running Windows 10 or Windows Server 2012 R2. Your existing KMS host
must be running Windows 7 or later. To upgrade your KMS host, complete the following
steps:

1. Download and install the correct update for your current KMS host operating
system. Restart the computer as directed.
2. Request a new KMS host key from the Volume Licensing Service Center.
3. Install the new KMS host key on your KMS host.
4. Activate the new KMS host key by running the slmgr.vbs script.
For detailed instructions, see Update that enables Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 KMS
hosts to activate a later version of Windows and Update that enables Windows 7 and
Windows Server 2008 R2 KMS hosts to activate Windows 10.

You can configure one of the computers as a Key Management Service (KMS)
host and activate the KMS host by phone. The other computers in the isolated
network can then activate using the KMS host.
Installing a KMS host key on a computer running Windows 10 allows you to
activate other computers running Windows 10 against this KMS host and
earlier versions of the client operating system, such as Windows 8.1 or
Windows 7. Clients locate the KMS server by using resource records in DNS, so
some configuration of DNS may be required. This scenario can be beneficial if
your organization uses volume activation for clients and MAK-based activation
for a smaller number of servers. To enable KMS functionality, a KMS key is
installed on a KMS host; then, the host is activated over the Internet or by
phone using
Microsoft‫ג‬€™s activation services.

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