ActivationWs is a customizable solution that allows you to automate the Multiple Activation Key (MAK) activation process for various Microsoft products, like Windows, Office, and Extended Security Update (ESU).
ActivationWs is a customizable solution that allows you to automate the Multiple Activation Key (MAK)[^1] activation process for various Microsoft products, like Windows, Office, and Extended Security Update (ESU) add-ons. [^1]: MAKs are interchangeably referred to as product keys, or license keys
Key benefits:
Requirements | Installation and Usage | FAQ | Contribution | Code of Conduct
ActivationWs made up of two components: an ASP.NET web service and a PowerShell script to install the MAK and activate the product.
The following illustration shows a simplified version of the MAK deployment and product activation process:
Activation steps:
Activate-Product.ps1
is deployed to your devices using ConfigMgr or a deployment tool of your choicehttps://activation.sls.microsoft.com
). A proxy server can be specified in the web.config file, where necessaryActivate-Product.ps1
requires Windows PowerShell 3.0 or later and needs to be executed with administrative rightsThis section highlights some of the most frequent scenarios and guides you through the initial setup.
After you have deployed ActivationWs web service to IIS, deploy the PowerShell script Activate-Product.ps1
.
The following animation demonstrates the MAK installation and activation of an ESU product:
[!NOTE] For the deployment of ESU MAKs, please ensure that these prerequisites are met on your devices:
ActivationWs also supports you in the activation process for air-gapped devices, offering a time-saving alternative to calling the Volume Licensing Activation Center.
Activation steps:
slmgr.vbs /atp <Confirmation ID> <Activation ID>
[!TIP] The following section contains answers to frequently asked questions. Please feel free to file an issue or contact me should you have any question or need support.
ActivationWs web service requires access to the URL listed in the Requirements section.
Please take a look at this blog article, which outlines the available updates to verify the deployment.
Error | How to fix it |
---|---|
The product key is invalid | - Check your MAK - For the deployment of ESU MAKs only: ensure that all of the prerequisites are installed on your ESU eligible device If it fails even though you followed these steps, please take a look at the following support article: How to rebuild the Tokens.dat file when you troubleshoot Windows activation issues |
The Installation ID (IID) and the Confirmation ID (CID) do not match | For the deployment of ESU MAKs only: ensure that all of the prerequisites are installed on your ESU eligible device |
(500) Internal Server Error | This is a "server-side" error, meaning that the ActivationWs web service couldn't acquire the Confirmation ID. Reasons include: - The ActivationWs web service couldn't connect to the required URL - No activations are left on your MAK. Check the remaining activation count - The specified WebServiceUrl is incorrect |
Please contact Volume Licensing Support
You could create a task sequence (TS) variable that contains the MAK. Then modify the PowerShell script Activate-Product.ps1
to not output the MAK and create an instance of a COM object that represents the TS environment to read the variable, eg.
$tsEnv = New-Object -COMObject Microsoft.SMS.TSEnvironment
$productKey = $tsEnv.Value("PKEY")
This would prevent the MAK from showing up in the ConfigMgr log files.
There are many ways to contribute:
This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct.