For a long time, activating a copy of Windows entailed keeping a 25-character product key safe. This key was a physical item that was needed for every clean installation. The Digital License (sometimes called Digital Entitlement) has mostly taken the place of this old way of doing things in Windows 10. This update changed the way Windows is authenticated in a big way. Instead of a physical key related to the program, there is now a digital key tied to the device’s hardware and the user’s Microsoft account.
How Digital Entitlement Works
The Link Between Hardware and Microsoft Account
The Digital License works by linking your Windows activation status to two main identifiers in a safe way, which keeps it active forever.
When a legit copy of Windows 10 is activated first on a device, regardless if this was an upgrade from an older version of Windows 7 or 8 or just purchase on a retail, servers of Microsoft will make a hardware hash. This is a fingerprint that is unique based on the CPU, motherboard, and network adapter. The Digital License is then connected to this hash. Reinstalling the exact same version of Windows 10 on the same hardware, this will identify the hash by the installation server and will immediately reactivating the operating system without the need of a product key.
Benefits of Activation and Reinstallation
The digital license has a lot of benefits over the conventional product key approach, especially when it comes to maintenance.
The best time to use Zero-Touch Reactivation is when you are doing a clean installation. Skipping the phase where you enter the product key is allowed when the same version of Windows 10 is installed which was already active. Windows immediately checks the hardware hash once you connected to the internet, this checks against Microsoft’s servers turning itself back on being a completely hands-off process.
When upgrading from older versions the free offer of Windows 10 upgrade was based on the Digital License scheme. The original product key will be permanently replaced with a Digital License when a real copy of Windows 7 or 8 was upgraded. This just means that the old Windows 7/8 key is no longer needed once doing a clean install later and the Digital License for Windows 10 will activate it for you.
Last Insights
The Windows 10 Digital License is a new way to verify software that is based in the cloud and puts user convenience and system reliability ahead of keeping track of physical keys. It makes sure that reactivation happens automatically and without any problems during reinstallation by linking the activation status to the device’s hardware and, optionally, to a Microsoft Account. It also makes it easy to fix activation problems following large hardware changes. This method has made it easier and more dependable than ever to keep a Windows system operational.
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