What Happens If You Don’t Activate Windows 10?

As to Windows 10 activation, there are lots of questions such as, how long can you run Windows 10 without activating, is it OK not to activate Windows 10, what happens if you don’t activate Windows 10, and so on. This post from MiniTool Partition Wizard answers these questions. Start reading.

What happens if I don’t activate Windows 10?

What happens if you don’t activate Windows 10? I used it for a while and then entered the “hack” to allow 120 before activating Windows Ultimate. Today when I turned on my computer and it notified me that my copy was “not genuine.” My copy is legit, but I am using this copy on my junk computer and want to save the code for when/if I get a newer computer in the future. — www.sevenforums.com

Apart from the question asked by the poster, other questions about Windows 10 activation are as follows.

  • How long can you run Windows 10 without activating?
  • What are the downsides of not activating Windows 10?
  • Is it OK not to activate Windows 10?
  • …

Now let’s explorer the answers to these questions.

Answers to Those Windows 10 Activation Questions

The short answer to the questions: you can use Windows 10 forever without activating but there are restrictions and other problems.

MS allows you to use an unactivated Windows 10 without restrictions for one month after installing it. That means that some restrictions come into effect after one month. What are the restrictions?

Take it easy. The restrictions do not mean that MS forces you to buy a license and keeps rebooting the computer every two hours if they run out of the period for activation but refer to some features becoming unavailable — anything related to Personalization will be grayed out or not accessible.

What happens if you don’t activate Windows 10? You won’t be capable of changing desktop backgrounds, color themes, and icons. Then, you will see an Activate Windows watermark remains at the lower right-hand corner. Also, you will receive MS notifications asking you to activate Windows 10 every day.

It seems OK to use Windows 10 without activation. However, Windows 10 can work without activation but it is never recommended. Why? The two main reasons are experience and legality.

As mentioned above, unavailable features, the Activate Windows watermark, non-stopping notifications can wreck your experience on Windows 10. Also, if you are using Windows 10 for commercial purposes, it can be illegal to use the software without having a license.

So, activate Windows 10 on your computer as soon as possible if MS informs you to activate it.

How to activate Windows 10? Go to How to Permanently Activate Windows 10 Free with CMD.

Final Thoughts on Windows 10 Activation

Now you should have answers to the question “what happens if I don’t activate Windows 10” and other questions. Although Windows 10 can work without activation, for a better Windows 10 experience, it is highly that you activate it.

If you have any other questions about Window 10 activation, please leave them in the following comment zone.

About The Author

Vicky

Position: Columnist

Vicky is a website editor who has been writing tech articles since she was graduated from university. Most of her articles talk about Windows PC and hard disk issues. Some of her articles also touch on YouTube usage and issues. During her spare time, she likes to spend time reading, watching videos, and sitting on her Yoga mat to relax.