If you didn’t add your Microsoft account and link it to the digital license on your device, you won’t be able to reactivate Windows after a hardware change using the Activation troubleshooter. If you sign in to your activated Windows 10 Home or Pro device with a local account and not a Microsoft account (MSA), then you will need to add your Microsoft account to link the MSA to the digital license activated on your PC.Īfter you add your Microsoft account and link it to your digital license, you can use the Activation troubleshooter to help reactivate Windows after a hardware change. You can use this MSA linked digital license to re-activate your Genuine Windows 10 device by running the Activation troubleshooter, if you run into Activation issues caused by hardware changes.

If you already used an MSA to sign in to your activated Windows 10 Home or Pro PC, your MSA will be automatically linked. If you have two MSAs verified on a PC and you use one to go through the reactivation process to transfer the digital license, then if you try it with the other MSA you will get told it's no longer possible. Don't think of the license as attached to the MSA, but instead think of the MSA as having the authority to transfer the license. So any administrator MSA that is verified on a PC will show as having the HardwareID associated with their MSA and the OS digital license associated with that HardwareID. There is not a concept of a primary administrator MSA on a PC. This can help you reactivate Windows using the Activation troubleshooter if you make a hardware change later, such as replacing the motherboard.

Starting with Windows 10 Anniversary Update and Windows 10 build 14371, you can link your Microsoft account (MSA) to the Windows 10 digital license (formerly called digital entitlement) on your device. How to Link Microsoft Account to Digital License for Windows 10 Activation

Windows digital license