Activate Windows OEM or retail edition with KMS Client

Last Updated on March 26, 2023

For a personal computer, there are many ways to activate the Windows operating system. That is, you can use a digital license, product key, or Key Management Services (KMS) ​[1]​. If you buy Windows, you obtain a digital license or a product key to activate it. Usually, this license is permanently activated. On the other hand, you may get a Windows license from your organization, school, or university. Generally, this license uses the KMS client method, which applies to a Windows Volume Edition (Windows version). Then, you need to connect your computer to a KMS host or server to activate it. In addition, you need to renew it every 180 days ​[2]​.

You can install Windows OEM or retail editions on your computer. However, activating it using KMS can cause errors, as follows:

Error: 0xC004F074 The software licensing service reported that the computer could not be activated. 
No Key Management Service (KMS) could be contacted. 
Please see the Application Event Log for additional information.

To solve this issue, you can perform the following steps.

Step 1: Synchronize your computer clock

Usually, a computer with newly installed Windows might show the incorrect date and time. Activating Windows without correcting it can cause the following error:

A problem occurred when windows tried to activate. Error code 0x80072F8F.

To prevent this error, adjust the time zone, including the date and time on your computer ​[3]​.

Step 2: Install KMS Client Setup Key

Activating the Windows using KMS Client requires a KMS Client Setup Key. To install it, do as follows ​[4]​:

1. Select and copy a KMS Client Setup Key from the Microsoft website based on the Windows edition on your computer. For example:
   • in Windows 10 Professional edition, you can use W269N-WFGWX-YVC9B-4J6C9-T83GX as your key;
   • in Windows 8 Professional edition, you can use NG4HW-VH26C-733KW-K6F98-J8CK4 as your key.
2. Open command prompt (CMD) with an administrator privilege.
3. In CMD, type slmgr /ipk <KMS_Client_Setup_Key>, then press Enter.
   For example, if you use Windows 10 Professional edition, type:
   slmgr /ipk W269N-WFGWX-YVC9B-4J6C9-T83G

You may get a success message after installing KMS Client Setup Key, as seen in Figure 1.

Step 3: Activate using KMS Client

Finally, you can activate your Windows using the KMS Client. Although your organization, school, or university may provide you with a procedure for using the KMS Client, usually it is as follows:

1. Open command prompt (CMD) with an administrator privilege.
2. To set the proper KMS server address, copy the command below and paste it into the command window:
   cscript C:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs -skms <KMS_servername_or_KMS_IP>:port
   You can also specify the TCP port if required (the default port is 1688).

3. Activate Windows while connecting with the KMS server using the following command ​[5]​:
   cscript C:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs -ato

Then wait until you see the “Product activated successfully” message, as seen in Figure 3. This process may take several minutes.

Appendix

Checking the Windows activation status

After activating your Windows using KMS Client, as in step 3, you may want to check the detail of the activation status. In this case, you can use the following command ​[5], [6]​:
cscript C:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /dli

Although the License Status is Licensed, it will expire in 180 days, as seen in Figure 4.

Similar process

There are several ways to implement this guide.

First, you can use either Command Prompt (CMD) or Windows Powershell to perform the activation process in this guide. However, make sure to run it as an administrator.

Second, Windows recognizes the slmgr command by default. Thus, you can try either one of the following commands.

• cscript C:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs <option>
• slmgr.vbs <option>
• slmgr <option>

A different way of using commands may cause distinct behavior. For example, using cscript C:\windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /dli may show the result inside the command window, as in Figure 4. However, both slmgr.vbs and slmgr gives results in a popup/message box, as in Figure 5.

Troubleshooting

Command prompt shows error “Access Denied”

The command prompt may show Access Denied while running slmgr.vbs. It is usually with the error codes of 0xC004F025 or 0x80070005. It shows you do not have enough permission and needs elevated privileges.

Right-click Command Prompt (CMD) before opening, and select Run as administrator. Then, try again activating the KMS. 

Error code: 0x800706BA during KMS activation  

It shows that your computer is unable to communicate with the KMS server or host. There are many possible explanations, including: 

• The firewall has blocked the connection to the KMS server. When activating KMS, try temporarily disabling your firewall.
• It can also cause by unconfigured firewall on the KMS server or host. In this case, you should try to contact your KMS host administrator. 

Other error codes and its possible solution

If you have other error during kms activation, you can visit this Microsoft website.

References