Online KMS Activation

Online KMS (Key Management Service) is a method used to activate Windows and Office products by contacting Microsoft’s public KMS servers over the internet. When a system with a KMS client key is installed, it sends an activation request to a Microsoft KMS server, which verifies the request and activates the product for a 180-day period. During this time, the product is fully functional.

How does Online KMS Activation work?

In the genuine KMS activation process, the system is designed to contact the registered server every 7 days. If the contact is successful, the activation is automatically renewed, resetting the 180-day period from the date of the successful connection. If the system fails to contact the server, it will be deactivated after 180 days and will remain deactivated until it can re-establish contact.

More details here and here.

How to get Lifetime Activation?

Using the MAS script, by default creates an auto renewal task.

It creates the following two files,
C:\Program Files\Activation-Renewal\Activation_task.cmd
C:\Program Files\Activation-Renewal\Info.txt

And creates a scheduled task \Activation-Renewal to run the script every 7 days. This task registers the working KMS server and triggers activation commands only for the installed Volume products. The scheduled task runs only if the system is connected to the Internet.

If you don’t want to install this renewal task, you can turn off the “Renewal Task With Activation” option in script menu.

Notes

  • With KMS Activation, you can update Windows/Office without any issues.
  • What is left in the system in the activation process?
    • If Renewal Task is installed: After activation, it leaves the KMS Server IP in the registry, which helps you to get the global activation feature whereby the system auto-renews the activation. About files and scheduled tasks, it has been mentioned above.
    • If Renewal Task is NOT installed: It leaves a non-existent IP 10.0.0.10 to avoid the Office Not Genuine Banner issue.
  • This script includes the most-stable KMS servers (16) list from all over the world. The server selection process is fully automatic. Script randomly selects a server, tests if it’s online, if yes then apply the activation command, if fails, then retry this process maximum of total 3 times for a product. Such redundancy makes sure that we get the working KMS server at any time.
  • If your system date is incorrect (beyond 180 days) and you are offline, the system will be deactivated, but will automatically reactivate when you correct the system date.
  • The advantage of Online KMS activation is that it doesn’t need any KMS binary file and the system can be activated using some manual commands or transparent batch script files. So this is for those who don’t like/have difficulties/trust issues in offline KMS because of its binary files and antivirus detections. But if you prefer offline KMS then checkout an open-source activator, abbodi1406’s KMS_VL_ALL

How are we getting it for free?

Developers have reverse-engineered the KMS Host Server setup, enabling anyone to host a KMS server and activate systems without restrictions. KMS activators like KMSpico, MTK, and KMS_VL_ALL work by locally creating an emulated KMS Host Server to activate Windows and Office. However, using this locally-emulated KMS server requires running certain binary files, which often trigger antivirus alerts (false positives).

An alternative method involves using a publicly available online KMS Host Server. In this approach, the emulated KMS server is hosted online, allowing users to activate their systems without needing to run any software on their local machines.

Is Online KMS activation safe?

Yes. Let’s dive into the details.

In the KMS protocol, there is a relationship between the host and client. The client system requests activation from the host system, which grants activation if eligible. During this process, the client system shares some non-sensitive information with the host. According to Microsoft documentation, the shared data includes the client’s FQDN, CMID, timestamp, product license state, expiration time, and IP address. Of these, the most notable is your IP address. Here are some key points to consider:

  • Sharing your IP address while online is not a security risk. You cannot browse any website without sharing your IP address.
  • IP addresses do not directly identify an individual. Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use dynamic IPs, meaning the same IP address can be assigned to different users over time. However, a static IP is permanently linked to a specific subscriber. ISPs will not disclose user information tied to an IP address without a valid legal reason.
  • Microsoft has historically not pursued legal action against home users for a small number of pirated activations (excluding stolen legal keys). The cost of legal action would far exceed any potential revenue gained from enforcing purchases.
  • No law enforcement agency will take action based solely on IP addresses from around the world without Microsoft’s explicit involvement.

How to remove Online KMS?

  1. In MAS, goto Online KMS activation and apply Uninstall option.
  2. After that, In MAS, goto Troubleshoot and apply Fix Licensing option.
  3. Done.

Office 'Non-genuine' Banner

  • Office Click-to-Run builds (since February 2021) that are activated with KMS check the existence of the KMS server name in the registry.
  • If KMS server is not present, a banner is shown in Office programs notifying that “Office isn’t licensed properly”, see here.
  • Therefore in manual mode, KeyManagementServiceName value containing a non-existent IP address 10.0.0.10 will be kept in the below registry keys:
				
					HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform
HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform
				
			
  • This is perfectly fine to keep, and it does not affect Windows or Office activation. For more explanation, visit here

Office Retail to Volume

Office Retail must be converted to Volume first before it can be activated with KMS.
By default, this activation script will convert Office C2R Retail to Volume.

  • Supported Click-to-Run products: Office 365 (Microsoft 365 Apps), Office 2024 / 2021 / 2019 / 2016, Office 2013
  • Office 365 itself does not have volume licenses, therefore it will be converted to Office Mondo licenses
  • Office Professional suite will be converted with Office Professional Plus licenses
  • Office HomeBusiness/HomeStudent suites will be converted with Office Standard licenses
  • Office 2013 products follow the same logic

Supported Products

Windows 10 / 11

Product NamesEditionIDGeneric Volume License Key
EducationEducationNW6C2-QMPVW-D7KKK-3GKT6-VCFB2
Education NEducationN2WH4N-8QGBV-H22JP-CT43Q-MDWWJ
EnterpriseEnterpriseNPPR9-FWDCX-D2C8J-H872K-2YT43
Enterprise NEnterpriseNDPH2V-TTNVB-4X9Q3-TJR4H-KHJW4
Enterprise GEnterpriseGYYVX9-NTFWV-6MDM3-9PT4T-4M68B
Enterprise G NEnterpriseGN44RPN-FTY23-9VTTB-MP9BX-T84FV
Enterprise LTSB 2016EnterpriseSDCPHK-NFMTC-H88MJ-PFHPY-QJ4BJ
Enterprise LTSC 2019EnterpriseSM7XTQ-FN8P6-TTKYV-9D4CC-J462D
Enterprise LTSC 2021EnterpriseSM7XTQ-FN8P6-TTKYV-9D4CC-J462D
Enterprise LTSC 2024EnterpriseSM7XTQ-FN8P6-TTKYV-9D4CC-J462D
Enterprise N LTSB 2016EnterpriseSNQFFDN-GRT3P-VKWWX-X7T3R-8B639
Enterprise N LTSC 2019EnterpriseSN92NFX-8DJQP-P6BBQ-THF9C-7CG2H
Enterprise N LTSC 2021EnterpriseSN92NFX-8DJQP-P6BBQ-THF9C-7CG2H
Enterprise N LTSC 2024EnterpriseSN92NFX-8DJQP-P6BBQ-THF9C-7CG2H
IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021
(19044.2788 and later)
IoTEnterpriseSKBN8V-HFGQ4-MGXVD-347P6-PDQGT
IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024IoTEnterpriseSKBN8V-HFGQ4-MGXVD-347P6-PDQGT
HomeCoreTX9XD-98N7V-6WMQ6-BX7FG-H8Q99
Home NCoreN3KHY7-WNT83-DGQKR-F7HPR-844BM
Home ChinaCoreCountrySpecificPVMJN-6DFY6-9CCP6-7BKTT-D3WVR
Home Single LanguageCoreSingleLanguage7HNRX-D7KGG-3K4RQ-4WPJ4-YTDFH
LeanCloudENBTWJ-3DR69-3C4V8-C26MC-GQ9M6
Enterprise multi-session
(17763 and later)
ServerRdshCPWHC-NT2C7-VYW78-DHDB2-PG3GK
Enterprise multi-session
(17134 and before)
ServerRdsh7NBT4-WGBQX-MP4H7-QXFF8-YP3KX
ProProfessionalW269N-WFGWX-YVC9B-4J6C9-T83GX
Pro NProfessionalNMH37W-N47XK-V7XM9-C7227-GCQG9
Pro EducationProfessionalEducation6TP4R-GNPTD-KYYHQ-7B7DP-J447Y
Pro Education NProfessionalEducationNYVWGF-BXNMC-HTQYQ-CPQ99-66QFC
Pro for WorkstationsProfessionalWorkstationNRG8B-VKK3Q-CXVCJ-9G2XF-6Q84J
Pro N for WorkstationsProfessionalWorkstationN9FNHH-K3HBT-3W4TD-6383H-6XYWF
SECloudEdition37D7F-N49CB-WQR8W-TBJ73-FM8RX
SE NCloudEditionN6XN7V-PCBDC-BDBRH-8DQY7-G6R44

Windows Server

Windows 8

Windows 7

EditionIDGeneric Volume License Key
Enterprise33PXH-7Y6KF-2VJC9-XBBR8-HVTHH
EnterpriseNYDRBP-3D83W-TY26F-D46B2-XCKRJ
ProfessionalFJ82H-XT6CR-J8D7P-XQJJ2-GPDD4
ProfessionalNMRPKT-YTG23-K7D7T-X2JMM-QY7MG
Embedded_POSReadyYBYF6-BHCR3-JPKRB-CDW7B-F9BK4
Embedded_StandardXGY72-BRBBT-FF8MH-2GG8H-W7KCW
Embedded_ThinPC73KQT-CD9G6-K7TQG-66MRP-CQ22C
ProfessionalEW82YF-2Q76Y-63HXB-FGJG9-GF7QX
EnterpriseEC29WB-22CC8-VJ326-GHFJW-H9DH4

MS Office

Unsupported Products

  • Office MSI Retail 2010/2013, Office 2010 C2R Retail, Office UWP
  • Any Evaluation version of Windows (i.e. ‘EVAL’ LTSB/C) cannot be activated.
  • Server Azure Datacenter (ServerTurbine) edition does not support activation on non-azure systems.
  • KMS activation on Windows 7 has a limitation related to OEM Activation 2.0 and Windows marker. For more info, see here and here.
  • Windows editions that do not support KMS activation by design:
    Windows Evaluation Editions
    Windows 7 (Starter, HomeBasic, HomePremium, Ultimate)
    Windows 10 (Cloud “S”, IoTEnterprise, ProfessionalSingleLanguage… etc)
    Windows Server (Server Foundation, Storage Server, Home Server 2011… etc)

If you don’t want the script to convert the Retail Office to Volume, you can turn off “Change Edition If Needed” option in the script.

Command line Switches

Setup Preactivate

Troubleshoot

For any issues regarding activating Windows via KMS38, read our troubleshooting section.