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Hey guys, I have a question for you. I purchased a Windows 10 Pro product key through my college when I was attended because they had it at a discounted rate since I was in the tech field. This was a normal key that was delivered digitally. I’ve had issues with activating that key lately and when I called Microsoft about they were telling me the product key wasn’t valid and they didn’t have any additional info. Since the release of windows 10 I’ve had this product key and it has activated fine on at least 6 or more occasions when I got a new laptop that had windows 10 home on it. I called the school and spoke with them and their tech and said the product key has expired. Sounded odd, so I dug deeper. The only answer I got is some of the student programs have an expiration date and this is one of them and it cannot be reissued. After that I called Microsoft again and explained the situation and they wound up reissuing me a key that they sent via email.

Anyone ever heard of a full windows 10 license expiring other than Enterprise?

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I have heard of these expiring if they are volume based licenses from the school. To keep them active normally you have to re-sign into the schools domain every 180 days or so.

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I wouldn’t think you sell an individual license like that but I’m sure curious

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How many laptops do you plan on installing that one product key on? MS keeps track of activations and the corresponding hardware it’s installed on. With the number of installs you admitted to and the number of times those machines have phoned home it wouldn’t be a surprise if your key has been flagged and invalidated.

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Volume license keys need to re-activate every 90 days, and with your companies KMS, if you are no longer a student then the key is no longer valid, it will be in the T&Cs that the discount applies and the license is valid while you are a student with your @college.com email address or your @company.com email address, when you leave or finish, so does that contract. Even if the key does not activate with your KMS, it will be registered to your email account, which when you no longer own it, means you are no longer eligible.

When you as an individual get a discounted key, be that for Windows, office or any other product, the discount is only valid while you are at the company that issue it.

The same is true of the Microsoft HUP (Home user program), staff under a business that offer this can buy office for £10 (not sure of the other rates) but it is legally only valid while employed at the company you purchase it from

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If you are no longer a student, this key and activation are no longer valid, it’s an agreement discount while you are a student

There is a good chance the license is also only valid as a single install, even if you replace hardware, the license is typically a single install - you need to check your T&Cs on this as you are likely breaking those multiple ways (using it when no longer a student, multiple activations etc.)

You don’t make an outright purchase, you buy it discounted to use while you are eligible.

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You need to read the T&Cs as I keep pointing out, these offers are only valid while employed by the company or enrolled as a student at that education facility - the tech you spoke to who told you it has expired is correct, you are no longer a student - you are no longer valid to use the license. This will be in the contract.

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Well rod per the agreement with my college, alumni get to keep all the benefits and continue to buy from that tech store. I recently got the latest server 16 data center for free as part of an offer they were doing.

This question definately wasn’t about the college and whether I’m entitled to it or not… I already said Microsoft reissued the key. Microsoft also had access to the order number. The email I got from them is pasted below. And no, you can’t see the product key if you click the link lol.

I do hope this thread doesn’t turn out like so many others do here.

Dear Customer
Based on your request, you have been issued a Product Key. Click here to go to the Product Key distribution site.
Please note that your access to Product Key distribution site will expire by 8/11/2018.
Troubleshooting:
If clicking on the link above does not work, try the following:

  1. Open a new instance of Internet Explorer
  2. In the address bar copy the following link: https://keydelivery.one.microsoft.com/Home/ShowKey/daebc872-ec54-4426-b3a2-2a8fc6ab9018/3420735/en-US
  3. Click Go or, on your keyboard, please Enter or Return.
    If you continue to have access problems or want to report other issues in accessing this URL, please contact Microsoft Help using the tool free numbers printed on your product.
    Thank you,
    *** Microsoft ***
    Note: Please do not reply to this message.
    This e-mail message has been sent from an unmonitored e-mail address. We are unable to respond to any replies sent to this e-mail address.
    © 2018 Microsoft Corporation.

@rod-it

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Rod I also want to make it clear it’s not volume licensed. Nowhere did I say anything about that so I’m not sure where that come from. It was a license purchased from Microsoft through a campus tech store. No different than but office at a discounted rate. I’m not to interested in discussing this one further. It’s already went a little to technical and to far.

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Also for the other guy, I’ve reactivated on the same laptop a few times and I’ve recently put it on a different one. The old laptop has been reverted to Windows 7. According to TC yes, you can indeed do that with no issue as long as it’s active only on 1 computer at a time.

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I guess I have to post lastly that if Microsoft reissued the key, I obviously did no wrong. I do not pirate software and overall that’s where this whole conversation was headed I do believe. I try to be as reputable and honest as I can be in my community and the thought of being accused of that considering how much I donate to “underprivileged developers” and all other kinds of crap bothers me considering it’s only $200USD.

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I don’t know why you have taken my response as targeted or malicious to you - I pointed out that VL needs to re-activate, not that you had VL, in the same respect as the post you awarded BA to, which stated the same about volume licenses in education.

You’ve awarded a BA which states you have to reactivate every 180 days on the schools network, which you wont be able to if you are not on the network from which the key came from, what is the difference with what I said about VL and re-activating and what they said? I’m not making this in to a debate but it’s the same thing.

Either way, whatever your outcome, I will advise you read the T&Cs for this license.

Who accused you of anything, I pointed out that many of these programs expire when you are no longer in education or at the company who you got the deal from.

If you feel like I was suggesting you was stealing, you misread it.

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Well rod, most of your post (yes I’ve read of them and do value your opinion as well as others) can be taken as offensive to the OP and responders. It’s all about tact I guess. I have a lot more information today about what all happened and why than I did when I started the topic. It turned out to be an idiot that intercepts mail for the store that said that, and Microsoft has no idea why the key no longer works. Hence the reissue. Thanks.

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So it’s a full retail license, then?

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Just an FYI - this is not true. MS support does its best to help people and will often issue keys and help people activate, even without any kind of proof of license. They, for the most part, are trying to make people happy, not trying to enforce licensing.

I’m not talking about you here, just saying that as a general statement. It always amazes me when people say things like ‘well, it worked, therefore it’s legit’ when (in many cases) it’s clearly not legit. Working =/= legit. Getting help from MS =/= legit.

Having a valid license (which you seem to have) is what makes things legit.

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Yeah…I never said anything student version, “for education” version or anything else. Not sure where the volume license thing is coming from. It’s more or less the same thing as getting a student discount on a sandwich…same sandwich everybody else is getting, except yours is cheaper.

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About the license reissue, I didn’t know that dragon. I never even knew Microsoft could reissue keys until they did it for me. I thought it was new or I was super special lol. However they were able to pull up my order number to see where I purchased it.

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I have commented before - I do not mean any offence to people, posters, OPs, staff or their pets - it may be how I write, how it’s read or general differences in the UK/US language in how things come over. Remember, while we both speak English, there are different types of English. words in the US language mean different things to that in the UK language and vice versa.

But I do not mean offence - so never take my posts as such. If you was offended, I am happy to apologise, though I didn’t write anything with intent of doing so.

If I wanted to be offensive, people would clearly know this.

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Thanks Rod. I understand.

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Well, generally speaking, school store type stuff is only valid when at the school and is EDU licensing, which is a type of VL. It’s almost never just some kind of discount, like and a sandwich would be. That’s where those comments were coming from.

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