Computers are not immune to hardware faults and therefore require hardware upgrades at some point. However, you may need to reactivate Windows whenever you change significant hardware like a new motherboard or hard drive. There is a message saying ‘Unable to activate Windows after hardware change,’ and in such cases, you need to find a way to reactivate Windows.

You can also experience standard activation error codes like 0x803f7001 after a hardware change. With the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, you can reactivate Windows after a hardware change using the digital license. Let’s see how to resolve ’We can’t reactivate windows on this device. Try again later.’ activation error message.

How to Prepare a Windows Operating System for Hardware Change

It is always better to prepare yourself before hardware changes. If you are here before making any significant hardware changes, you need to perform some quick steps that will make it easy to activate Windows later. Make sure you have administrator rights before proceeding with the below instructions.

You can link your Microsoft account (MSA) to the Windows 10 digital license, making it easier to reactivate Windows after the hardware is changed.

Step 1: Press Windows key + I to open the Settings app and go to the Update & Security section.

Open Update & Security
Open Update & Security

Step 2: From the left panel of Update & Security, go to Activation.

Step 3: Now, check if you see ‘Windows is activated with a digital license’ next to Activation.

Check if Windows is activated with a digital license
Check if Windows is activated with a digital license

If you see such a message, click on Add an account under Add a Microsoft account.

Click on Add an account
Click on Add an account

If you have already linked your Microsoft Account to the Windows 10 digital license, you will see a ‘Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account’ message.

You can skip this section and move on to the next one.

Step 4: Enter your Microsoft account credentials and click on Next.

Enter Microsoft account credentials
Enter Microsoft account credentials

You will see ‘Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account’ next to Activation on successfully linking the MSA to the digital license. Once everything is done, you can make the required changes in your computer’s hardware and move on to the section to reactivate Windows.

If you have already done a hardware change and are facing trouble activating Windows and getting unable to activate windows after hardware change error, the solutions explained below can help you.

5 Solutions To Fix Unable to Activate Windows After Hardware Change

Microsoft has made reactivating Windows after hardware change pretty simple. There is no need to contact customer support to activate Windows; you can do it easily from the Settings app. You need to log in using an administrator account to activate Windows.

1. Wait for 2 Days

Sometimes, simply waiting for a few days to reactivate Windows can help you do it conveniently. The unregistered hardware components can cause errors while activating Windows. You can wait for two days and then try activating Windows again. The hardware configurations will be saved on Microsoft servers, and then you may activate Windows again.

It may sound weird, but simply waiting for 24 to 48 hours helped many people reactivate Windows without errors. If even after waiting for two days, you see an ‘unable to activate Windows after hardware change’ error message, you can move to the next fix.

2. Run Activation Troubleshooter

If you are unable to activate Windows after a hardware change, the Windows troubleshooter can help you with it. It is an easy troubleshooter provided by Windows to help its users with reactivating Windows.

Step 1: Go to the Settings app and open Update & Security.

Step 2: Navigate to the Activation from the left panel, and you will see Windows is not activated next to Activation.

Step 3: There will be a Troubleshoot option below the error message; click on it.

Step 4: When the Windows Activation window opens, click on the ‘I changed hardware on this device recently’ link.

If you have logged in via Microsoft Account (MSA) before, you will be prompted to add credentials after the above step.

Step 5: There will be a list of devices showing up on your screen; click on the device name you are trying to activate Windows for.

Step 6: If you don’t find the device in the list, click on ‘See other devices linked to your Microsoft account’ and choose the device.

Step 7: Check the checkbox next to ‘This is the device I’m using right now’ below the selected device.

Click on the Activate button to activate Windows for the device.

3. Use Product Key

If you cannot activate Windows via the troubleshooter window, you can try doing it using the Windows valid product key. You need to have a product key handy for that.

Go to Settings ➜ Update & Security ➜ Activation and click on the Change product key under the Update product key option.

Click on the Change product key
Click on the Change product key

Enter the Windows 10 product key in the dialog box on the screen and click on Next.

Enter the product key if unable to activate windows after hardware change
Enter the product key

The Windows will be activated as soon as the product key is processed, and the activation status will change after that.

4. Contact Microsoft Support

If you can still activate Windows after a hardware change, you can get in touch with the support team. You can go to the Microsoft Support page and get the required help by contacting the Microsoft support team.

5. Purchase Genuine Windows

You can experience unable to activate windows after hardware change error with the activation process if you are not using a genuine version of Windows and don’t have a valid license. In such a case, nothing can help you activate Windows after a hardware change, and you need to purchase a genuine Windows version.

Make sure you purchase from the genuine Windows website. If the purchase is made from untrustworthy sources, you can end up getting a fake Windows license.

Conclusion

At times, hardware change is the only solution to some Windows-related issues. However, dealing with the Windows activation error later can be a task. There can be errors that can stop you from activating Windows on your computer after changing the significant hardware component like motherboards.

And using Windows PC without activation is using it without important features like changing the background color, taskbar settings, and other personalization settings. Also, there will be a permanent watermark saying Activate Windows on your screen. If you are unable to activate Windows after hardware change, you should try using an activation troubleshooter. It is also necessary to use the genuine version of Windows to avoid errors while activating it.

FAQs

1. How long can you use Windows 10 without Activation?

You can use Windows 10 for one month after installation without activating it. After one month, you will miss out on some features.

2. Is Windows 10 illegal without activation?

No, using Windows 10 without activation is not illegal. However, if you add a license key from untrusted sources, it is illegal.

3. What do we miss out on if Windows 10 is not Activated?

There will be a permanent ‘Activate Windows’ watermark in the lower right corner of the screen. Also, the personalization features like changing wallpaper, colors, themes will be greyed out.

4. Does not activating Windows 10 affect the Internet?

No, a non-activated Windows 10 won’t stop you from accessing the Internet.