Your Windows License Will Expire Soon: How to Fix It

Applies to: Windows 11 and Windows 10, all editions. Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025.

What the “Windows license will expire soon” message means

Windows activations come in two kinds. Microsoft’s documentation puts it in one line: retail and MAK activation is perpetual, and the expiry date matters mainly for KMS clients.

KMS works like this: a company runs an activation server on its own network, and each PC checks in with it. Microsoft documents the timing. An activation is valid for 180 days, and by default each PC tries to renew every seven days. A PC that stays in contact with the server never notices. A PC that loses contact for long enough starts showing “Your Windows license will expire soon”, and when the 180 days run out, it shows as not activated.

So the message is not a bug and not a corrupted file. It is Windows telling you accurately that the license installed on it has an end date.

Step 1: Find out which license you have

Open Command Prompt and run these two commands. Neither needs administrator rights, and each answers in a small pop-up window after a few seconds.

slmgr.vbs /xpr

This shows the activation expiration date, or says the machine is permanently activated.

slmgr.vbs /dlv

This shows detailed license information. Read the Description line and, if present, the KMS lines below it.

Step 2: If it is a work or school PC

This is the expected case, and it is not yours to fix with a new key. The PC needs to reach your organization’s activation server.

1. Connect to the office network, or to the company VPN if you work remotely.
2. Leave the PC connected for a while, or open an administrator Command Prompt and ask it to renew now:

slmgr.vbs /ato

3. Run slmgr.vbs /xpr again. The date should have moved about 180 days ahead.

If it does not renew while connected, contact your IT department. Do not enter a personal product key on a PC your employer manages.

Step 3: If it is your own PC

A PC you own should not be on KMS activation. If it is, one of these happened:

• It is a former company PC, sold or given away without being reset to its original license.
• A shop or refurbisher installed Windows with a volume key instead of a proper license.
• Someone ran an activator tool on it. These work by pointing Windows at an unofficial KMS server. They are not a license, they stop working, and the tools themselves are a common source of malware.

In all three cases the fix is the same: install a permanent key for the edition that is installed.

1. Check the edition. Open Settings > System > About and read Edition. The key has to match it: a Pro key for Pro, a Home key for Home.
2. Remove any custom KMS server setting. Open Command Prompt as administrator and run:

slmgr.vbs /ckms

3. Enter the new key. On Windows 11, open Settings > System > Activation > Change product key. On Windows 10 it is under Settings > Update & Security > Activation. Or from the administrator Command Prompt:

slmgr.vbs /ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
slmgr.vbs /ato

4. Confirm. Run slmgr.vbs /xpr. It should now say the machine is permanently activated.

If the edition is Enterprise or Education: a Home or Pro key will not activate it, and there is usually no supported way to step down to Pro in place. Back up your files and do a clean installation of Windows 11 Pro or Home, then activate that.

If an activator tool was used: treat the PC as possibly infected. Run a full scan with Microsoft Defender, and consider the clean installation even if the edition is right.

If Windows is an evaluation copy

Evaluation copies of Windows Enterprise are trials with a fixed end date. A product key does not turn one into a full copy. When the trial ends, the desktop background goes black and the PC starts shutting down on a timer. Back up your files and install a full edition of Windows from Microsoft’s installation media, then activate it with a key for that edition.

Why slmgr /rearm is not a fix

Many guides tell you to run slmgr /rearm. Microsoft’s description of that option is that it “resets the activation timers”. It does not install a license, and it does not make a time-limited license permanent. It can hide the message for a while. It can be used only a limited number of times, and when the timer runs out again you are back where you started.

The same goes for running sfc /scannow, restarting Windows Explorer, or editing the registry to hide the notification. None of them changes what license is installed.

If the message comes back

If you need a permanent key, these are the ones we sell: Windows 11 Pro and Windows 10 Pro. Each is for one PC. The steps for entering one are in how to activate Windows 11 Pro with an OEM product key, and OEM vs retail explains the license types.