Here you’ll see the status of your Windows 10 license and what you can do to activate it and remove the watermark. To find out why you have the “activate Windows” watermark on your system, head to Settings > Update & Security > Activation. How to Check Your Windows 10 Activation Status We’ll then dive into how to potentially remove the “activate Windows” watermark using other methods. Now that you understand activation, let’s take a look at some of the most common reasons this watermark appears.

You’ll still receive system updates and don’t have to deal with any nagging popups. If you don’t mind this, however, Windows 10 otherwise functions as normal. This prevents you from changing the wallpaper, theme color, Start menu, and similar. Additionally, you can’t use any of the items in the Personalization category of Settings. You’ll see the “activate Windows” watermark in the bottom-right corner of your screen, plus a message in Settings letting you know that Windows isn’t activated. What It’s Like to Use Non-Activated Windows 10Īs it turns out, a non-activated copy of Windows 10 works almost exactly the same as an activated one, with a few minor limitations. Windows 10 allows you to link your digital license with your Microsoft account, which makes reactivating it in the future much easier (as we’ll see).

Conversely, those who upgraded to Windows 10 from a licensed copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 have a digital license and don’t need a product key for activation. If you purchased your PC ready-built, it also likely came with a product key. You’ll receive a product key if you buy a Windows 10 license from Microsoft or another retailer. You have two main ways to activate Windows 10: with a product key, or through a digital license.

Activation checks your copy of Windows with Microsoft’s servers to make sure that it’s genuine.

While you can download Windows 10 freely from Microsoft and install it on any computer at no cost, doing so does not activate the operating system. See our Windows 10 activation FAQ for more information. We explain what Windows activation means and how you can remove the “activate Windows” watermark in Windows 10.īefore we proceed, let’s first briefly explain what Windows activation is.

Activate windows watermark