How to Use Slmgr to Change, Remove, or Extend Your Windows License

Windows activation is designed to be as foolproof as possible, so Microsoft’s graphical tools keep it simple. If you want to do something more advanced like remove a product key, force an online activation, or extend the activation timer, you’ll need Slmgr.vbs.

This command line tool is included with Windows, and provides options unavailable in the standard activation interface provided on the Update & Security > Activation screen in the Settings app.

First: Open an Administrator Command Prompt Window

To use this tool, you’ll want to launch a Command Prompt with Administrator access. To do so on Windows 8 or 10, either right-click the Start button or press Windows+X. Click the “Command Prompt (Admin)” option in the menu that appears. On Windows 7, search the Start menu for “Command Prompt,” right-click it, and select “Run as Administrator.”

Note: If you see PowerShell instead of Command Prompt on the Power Users menu, that’s a switch that came about with the Creators Update for Windows 10. It’s very easy to switch back to showing the Command Prompt on the Power Users menu if you want, or you can give PowerShell a try. You can do pretty much everything in PowerShell that you can do in Command Prompt, plus a lot of other useful things.

View Activation, License, and Expiration,Date Information:-

To display very basic license and activation information about the current system, run the following command. This command tells you the edition of Windows, part of the product key so you can identify it, and whether the system is activated.

slmgr.vbs /dli

To display more detailed license information–including the activation ID, installation ID, and other details–run the following command:

slmgr.vbs /dlv

View the License Expiration Date:-

To display the expiration date of the current license, run the following command. This is only useful for Windows system activated from an organization’s KMS server, as retail licenses and multiple activation keys result in a perpetual license that won’t expire. If you haven’t provided a product key at all, it’ll give you an error message.

slmgr.vbs /xpr

Uninstall the Product Key:-

You can remove the product key from your current Windows system with Slmgr. After you run the below command and restart your computer, the Windows system won’t have a product key and will be in an unactivated, unlicensed state.

If you installed Windows from a retail license and would like to use that license on another computer, this allows you to remove the license. It could also be useful if you’re giving that computer away to someone else. However, most Windows licenses are tied to the computer they came with–unless you purchased a boxed copy.

To remove uninstall the current product key, run the following command and then restart your computer:

slmgr.vbs /upk

Windows also stores the product key in the registry, as it’s

sometimes necessary for the key to be in the registry when setting

up the computer. If you’ve uninstalled the product key, you should run

the below command to ensure it’s removed from the registry as well.

This will ensure people who use the computer in the future can’t grab

the product key.

Running this command alone won’t uninstall your product key. It’ll

remove it from the registry so programs can’t access it from there,

but your Windows system will remain licensed unless you run the

above command to actually uninstall the product key. This option is

really designed to prevent the key from being stolen by malware, if

malware running on the current system gains access to the registry.

slmgr.vbs /cpky

Set or Change the Product Key:-

You can use slmgr.vbs to enter a new product key. If the Windows

system already has a product key, using the below command will

silently replace the old product key with the one you provide.

Run the following command to replace the product key, replacing

#####-#####-#####-#####-##### with the product key. The

command will check the product key you enter to ensure it’s valid

before using it. Microsoft advises you restart the computer after

running this command.

You can also change your product key from the Activation screen in

the Settings app, but this command lets you do it from the command

line.

slmgr.vbs /ipk #####-#####-#####-#####-#####

Activate Windows Online:-

To force Windows to attempt an online activation, run the following

command. If you’re using a retail edition of Windows, this will force

Windows to attempt online activation with Microsoft’s servers. If the

system is set up to use a KMS activation server, it will instead

attempt activation with the KMS server on the local network. This

command can be useful if Windows didn’t activate due to a

connection or server problem and you want to force it to retry.

slmgr.vbs /ato

Activate Windows Offline:-

Slmgr also allows you to perform an offline activation. To get an installation ID for o􀂩ine activation, run the following command:

slmgr.vbs /dti

You’ll now need to get a a confirmation ID you can use to activate the

system over the phone. Call the Microsoft Product Activation

Center, provide the installation ID you received above, and you’ll be

given an activation ID if everything checks out. This allows you to

activate Windows systems without Internet connections.

To enter the confirmation ID you’ve received for offline activation, run

the following command. Replace “ACTIVATIONID” with the activation

ID you’ve received.

slmgr.vbs /atp ACTIVATIONID

Once you’re done, you can use the slmgr.vbs /dli or slmgr.vbs /dlv

commands to con􀂦rm you’re activated.

This can generally be done from the Activation screen in the Settings

app if your PC isn’t activated–you don’t have to use the command if

you’d rather use the graphical interface.

Extend the Activation Timer:-

Some Windows systems provide a limited time where you can use

them as free trials before entering a product key. For example,

Windows 7 offers a 30-day trial period before it begins complaining

at you. To extend this trial period and reset it back to 30 days

remaining, you can use the following command.As Microsoft’s

documentation puts it, this command “resets the activation timers.”

This command can only be used several times, so you can’t

indefinitely extend the trial. The number of time it can be used

depends on the “rearm count,” which you can view using the

slmgr.vbs /dlv command. It seems different on different versions of

Windows–it was three times on Windows 7, and it seems to be five

times on Windows Server 2008 R2.

This no longer seems to work on Windows 10, which is very lenient if

you don’t provide it a product key anyway. This option still works on

older versions of Windows and may continue to work on

other editions of Windows, such as Windows Server, in the future.

slmgr.vbs /rearm

Slmgr.vbs Can Perform Actions on Remote Computers, Too

Slmgr normally performs the actions you specify on the current

computer. However, you can also remotely administer computers on

your network if you have access to them. For example, the first

command below applies to the current computer, while the second

one will be run on a remote computer. You’ll just need the computer’s

name, username, and password.

slmgr.vbs /option

slmgr.vbs computername username password /option

The Slmgr.vbs command has other options, which are useful for

dealing with KMS activation and token-based activation. Consult

Microsoft’s Slmgr.vbs documentation for more details.

Slmgr Commands

The above examples are fairly basic and should be the only ones most people needs to use. However, if you require more advanced options, take a look at the slmgr command syntax and the other supported options.

slmgr [MachineName [username [password]]] [option]

Slmgr Command Options

Item

Explanation

MachineName

The machine to administer. Defaults to the local machine if omitted.

username

The username of an administrator account on the remote machine.

password

The password for username.

/ato

Activate Windows license and product key against Microsoft's server.

/atp Confirmation_ID

Activate the product with a user-provided Confirmation_ID. 

/cdns

Disable DNS publishing by the KMS host.

/ckhc

Disable KMS host caching.

/ckms

Clear the name of KMS server used to default and port to default.

/cpky

Delete the Windows product key from Windows Registry.

/cpri

Set the KMS priority to low.

/dli

Display the current license information with activation status and partial product key.

/dlv

Display additional license information. Similar to /dli but more detailed.

/dti

Display Installation ID for offline activation.

/ipk key

Change the Windows product key. Replaces the current product key if present.

/ilc file

Install a license file.

/rilc 

Reinstall system license files.

/rearm

Reset the evaluation period/licensing status and activation state of the computer. Use /rearm-app to specify an app, or /rearm-sku for a specific sku.

/skms

Set the Volume Licensing KMS server and/or the port used for KMS activation.

/skhc

Enable KMS host caching (enabled by default). This blocks the use of DNS priority and weight after the initial discovery of a working KMS host.

/sai interval

Sets the interval in minutes for unactivated clients to attempt KMS connection.

/spri

Set the KMS priority to normal (default).

/sprt port

Set the port on which the KMS host listens for client activation requests (default TCP port is 1688).

/sdns

Enable DNS publishing by the KMS host (default).

/upk

Uninstall the currently installed Windows product key and return the license status back to a trial state.

/xpr

Show the expiry date of the current license or indicate whether activation is permanent.