Frequently asked questions about product keys. (2023)

A product key allows you to use a software product that you license under a specific Volume Licensing program. Product keys listed in the VLSC are to be used only with volume license products and are to be used only by your organization.

An Online Service Activation (OSA) key is a type of product key. It is a one-time redemption key used to activate Microsoft Online Services subscriptions.

For more information, see theFrequently asked questions about online service activation for open programson here.

1. Sign in to the VLSC Volume Licensing Service Center
2. Select Licensing > Relationship Summary > License ID > Product Keys.

You will find product key information for each product, the license type (Volume Licensing Key, KMS, and MAK), and the number of Multiple Activation Key (MAK) activations used and available.

You can also select the Download all product keys link to download the keys displayed for an entitlement to a local drive.

You can also find product keys on the VLSC for individual products atDownloads and KeysVLSC guide.

If your agreement authorizes access to a product that requires a key, those keys will appear in the "Downloads and keys" section. However, some products do not require a product key. This will be indicated in the special instructions listed in the product description in the "Downloads and Keys" catalog.

To see if your product requires a key, go toProduct Activation and Important Information. In the Search Products section, choose a product or search for the product name.

A setup key is used for each product/version combination to prevent activation (ie, unlock the product). You can obtain a setup key in one of the following ways:

1. physical achievement- For products purchased by physical delivery, the configuration key is printed on the cover of the support.
2. discharge processing- For products downloaded from the VLSC, the setup key is displayed on the download screen and may be accompanied by the following text: Some downloadable products require setup keys. Make a note of this setup key, as you will need it during product installation. For more information on configuration keys, visit KMS Client Configuration Keys.

Volume license product keys are provided for eachlicense IDlisting on your MicrosoftSummary of the relationship. You can have multiple license IDs:

• Enterprise Agreement (EA) and Select Plus customers receive product keys by product group (systems, servers, and applications).
• Select Agreement customers receive product keys by product group (systems, servers, and applications) based on their anticipated purchases.
• Open License customers and Open Value customers receive the appropriate product keys based on their license purchases.

Volume Activation is a configurable solution that helps automate and manage the product activation process on computers running Windows operating systems licensed under a Volume Licensing program. Volume activation is also used with other Microsoft software (mainly Office suites) that are sold under volume license agreements and that support volume activation.

• Tools to manage Office volume activation
• Volume Activation for Windows 10

Volume Activation applies only to systems covered by a Volume Licensing program and is used strictly as a tool for activation. It is not tied to billing or license billing.

Volume Activation offers two different models to complete volume activations. Customers can use one or both of these key types to activate systems in their organization:

• Key Management Service (KMS)allows organizations to activate systems within their own network.
• Multiple Activation Key (MAK)activate systems once using Microsoft hosted activation services.

• For more information about volume activation, see theVolume Activation Planning Guide.
• Read documents and review videos related to Windowsbefore implantation.

Key Management Service (KMS) is an activation service that allows organizations to activate systems on their own network, eliminating the need for individual computers to connect to Microsoft for product activation. It does not require a dedicated system and can easily be hosted on a system that provides other services.

KMS requires a minimal number of physical or virtual computers in a network environment. These minimums, called trigger thresholds, are set to be easily met by enterprise customers.

• Activation limits for Windows
  • Your organization must have at least 5 computers to activate servers running Windows Server.
  • Your organization must have at least 25 computers to activate client systems running Windows.
• Office activation limits
  • Your organization must have at least 5 computers running an edition of Office to activate installed Office products using KMS.

For more information about activation limits, see theVolume Activation Planning Guide.

KMS keys are no longer pre-assigned to open contracts, as the use of MAK (Multiple Activation Key) keys is the preferred method for activation.

KSM keys can be assigned, by exception, to open clients that meet the minimum KMS activation threshold for Windows Server, OS, and Office. To request such an exception, submit a web form request toVLSC support.

To do this, you must have VLSC Administrator, Key Administrator, or Key Viewer permissions and provide the following information:

1. Agreement/Enrollment Number or License and Authorization ID.
2. Product name (include version and edition).
3. Last 5 characters of the product key.
4. The number of host activations required.
5. Business justification or reason for implementation.

if you need additional KMS activations to activate more than six (6) KMS hosts, please submit a web form request toVLSC support.

To do this, you must have VLSC Administrator, Key Administrator, or Key Viewer permissions and provide the following information:

1. Agreement/Enrollment Number or License and Authorization ID.
2. Product name (include version and edition).
3. Last 5 characters of the product key.
4. The number of host activations required.
5. Business justification or reason for implementation.

A multiple activation key (MAK) activates systems once through Microsoft hosted activation services (which require connecting to a Microsoft activation server). Once the computers are activated, no further communication with Microsoft is required.

We recommend that customers use the Key Management Service (KMS) to activate their Multiple Activation Keys (MAKs). KMS is the preferred activation method for large-scale deployments. Many factors determine the number of activations associated with each MAK, including the licenses purchased, the customer's purchase price level, and their Volume Licensing program.

The number of activations available for a product does not always match the number of licenses purchased. Typically, you will receive a higher number of activations if you need to reinstall and activate some of your products. Please refer to the License Summary section of your agreement for the number of licenses.

Increases in the amount of activation of MAK can be requested throughweb formand may be granted by exception. For Canada and the US, useN.America MAK ADD web form

To do this, you must have VLSC Administrator, Key Administrator, or Key Viewer permissions and provide the following information:

1. Agreement/Enrollment Number or License and Authorization ID.
2. Product name (includes version and edition).
3. Last 5 characters of the product key.
4. The number of host activations required.
5. Business justification or reason for implementation.

You can activate licenses in two ways using the MAK:

• MAK independent activation- Each computer individually connects to Microsoft via web or phone to complete activation.
• MAK Proxy Activation- A centralized activation request is made on behalf of multiple computers with a single connection to Microsoft online or by phone. This method uses the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT), which is part of the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK). VAMT enables IT professionals to automate and centrally manage the volume activation process using MAK and includes verification of the number of activations in MAK.

See the following resources for information on VAMT:

• Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) Technical Reference
• Manage activation using the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT)
• DescargarVolume Activation Management Tool (VAMT)

See the following resources for help determining which key to use when activating a Microsoft Volume Licensing product:

Read these Microsoft documents on licensing and activation of Windowsbefore deploying Windows or Windows Server. Additional resources include this video onVolume Activation Basics.

If you deploy Windows using the Key Management Service (KMS) as the activation method, note that:

• Windows Server is not supported as a KMS host to activate Windows.
• A patch is available to allow Windows client machines to activate. (A Windows Server KMS key is required.)

If you are using Windows Server as KMS host, your alternatives are:

• Upgrade the KMS host machine to Windows Server.
• Downgrade the machine to Windows Server 2003.
• Run the KMS host on a Windows volume editing machine.
• Run a Windows Server virtual machine.

Yes, the following Volume Activation changes are related to Office, Project, and Visio:

• Office KMS Host activates any Office suite or application.
• Only one Office KMS key needs to be installed and used for activation.

If you deploy Office using Key Management Service (KMS) as the activation method, note that:

• Windows Server is not supported as a KMS host for activating Office.
• There is no patch available to enable activation of Office clients.

If you are using Windows Server 2008 as KMS host, your alternatives are:

• Upgrade the KMS host machine to Windows Server.
• Downgrade the machine to a previous version of Windows Server.
• Run the KMS host on a Windows PC.
• Run a Windows Server virtual machine on a newer version of Windows Server.

After you download the media from the VLSC server, you can activate it through the product activation wizard, and you do not need to locate a volume license key or product setup key on the VLSC. Upon completing all the steps of the activation wizard, the server will connect to the Microsoft Clearing House over the Internet to validate the information entered. Alternatively, for offline servers, the activation wizard offers phone activation or web activation as alternatives.

To start the process, you must firstassign a remote desktop license rolefor the server, (from the "Start" menu, go to "Administrative Tools", then "Server Manager") and thenenable RDS service(In Remote Desktop License Manager, click the Start button, select "Administrative Tools," select "Remote Desktop Services," and select "Terminal/Remote Desktop License Manager.)

During activation, you are prompted to select theLicense program and contract number. Note for Open License customers, you must enter your authorization number. For MPSA, enter the purchasing account number (not the MPSA Agreement number). If you are not sure of the program type for the license ID under which your CALs were purchased, go toSummary of VLSC relationshipsand see the Main Program column.

For information on Terminal Server licenses, visitTerminal Server Licenses - Windows Server | Microsoft Documents.For information about installing the Remote Desktop Licensing feature and activating the license server, go toActivate the Remote Desktop Services license server | Microsoft documentsTroubleshooting Cannot connect to RDS because no RD license server is available - Windows Server | Microsoft documents

Yes. Imaging rights are granted to all Microsoft Volume Licensing customers. Under these rights, customers may recreate licensed copies of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or Full Packaged Product (FPP) using the media provided under their agreement, provided that the copies made from the media volume licenses are identical to the original licensed product. As a Volume Licensing customer, the required Volume License keys can be found on the Product Key page. You can also request your keys through aMicrosoft activation center.

For more information on image reproduction rights, seearticle on this page about the reinvention of rights.

The VLSC provides an option to download your product keys to a local file for later use. When downloaded fromDownloads and Keyspage, the file contains all the volume license keys associated with the agreements in your VLSC profile. However, if you download the license ID-specific view keys from the Relationship Summary page, the file will only contain the keys associated with the license ID you are viewing.

A downloadable product key file is in a tab-delimited format and can be opened in Excel to sort and view the keys. You can also preview the file with any text editor. The columns included in the file are: License ID, Parent Program, Organization, Product, Product Key, Type, and MAK Activations Used/Available. To open a downloaded file in Excel, complete the following steps:

1. Abra Microsoft Excel.
2. CliqueArchiveand soOpened- select the downloaded CSV file.
3. selectdelimited(default) and then selectseparated by tabs(to avoid displaying all the data in a single column).
4. CliqueEnd up. The .CSV file opens in Excel and the data is displayed in separate columns.

You can find more VLSC training resources on this site, including videos..