Product key-based Windows Enterprise software licenses can be transitioned to Windows Enterprise subscriptions.

Devices with a current Windows Pro edition license can be seamlessly upgraded to Windows Enterprise.

You can deploy Windows Enterprise in your organization without keys and reboots. Windows Enterprise E3 and E5 are available as online services via subscription. For more information about configuring exclusions in Conditional Access policies, see Application exclusions. Organizations that use the Subscription Activation feature to enable users to upgrade from one version of Windows to another and use Conditional Access policies to control access need to exclude the Universal Store Service APIs and Web Application, AppID 45a330b1-b1ec-4cc1-9161-9f03992aa49f, from their device compliance policy using Select Excluded Cloud Apps.

Virtual Desktop Access (VDA): How to enable Windows subscription activation for VMs in the cloud.įor more information on how to deploy Enterprise licenses, see Deploy Windows Enterprise licenses.

How it works: A summary of the subscription-based licensing option.

Benefits: Advantages of subscription-based licensing.

Requirements: Prerequisites to use the Windows subscription activation model.

The evolution of deployment: A short history of Windows deployment.

Inherited activation: Allow virtual machines to inherit activation state from their Windows client host.

Subscription activation for Education: Information about subscription activation for Windows Education.

Subscription activation: An introduction to subscription activation for Windows Enterprise.

This article covers the following information:

The subscription activation feature eliminates the need to manually deploy Enterprise or Education edition images on each target device, then later standing up on-premises key management services such as KMS or MAK based activation, entering Generic Volume License Keys (GVLKs), and then rebooting client devices. If you have devices that are licensed for earlier versions of Windows Professional, Microsoft 365 Business Premium provides an upgrade to Windows Pro edition, which is the prerequisite for deploying Windows Business.

Subscription activation also supports step-up from Windows Pro Education edition to Education edition. You can use this feature if you're subscribed to Windows Enterprise E3 or E5 licenses. The subscription activation feature enables you to 'step-up' from Windows Pro edition to Enterprise or Education editions.

Win 10 activation key