How to Transfer Your Windows 11 License to Another Computer

By Soumendu Nandi 8 Min Read
How to Transfer Windows 11 License to a New Computer

Most of the time, when purchasing a new PC, Windows 11 comes pre-installed. However, have you ever wondered about the potential cost of acquiring a new license for upgrading to a different system? For certain users, obtaining a fresh Windows 11 license for their new computer can turn out to be rather expensive.

Nevertheless, if you currently have Windows 11 installed on your old machine and have built a new PC to replace it, it’s important to understand that you can transfer your existing Windows 11 license to the new computer without the need for a new purchase. In this guide, we will discuss the process of transferring a Windows 11 license to another computer.

Is the Windows 11 License Transferrable?

There are several channels through which Microsoft provides licenses, such as Retail, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer’s product), and Volume. Some licenses are transferable, while others are not. For instance, if you possess a retail copy of Windows 11, you can transfer the product key to a different system.

With a retail license, you need not worry about the number of times you can install it on various systems, but you must ensure that any other installations are deactivated correctly.

In the case of an OEM Windows 11 License, you cannot transfer these licenses to another computer. This license is issued by the device manufacturer, and transferring it to a different computer is not permissible. However, Volume licenses can be transferred, but only to an organization. To initiate this process, you can reach out to our organization.

What If Windows Pre-Installed in Your System?

However, if you are using a system with Windows pre-installed on it, you are likely utilizing the OEM license of Microsoft Windows 11. In this scenario, you are not permitted to transfer the product key from one system to another. In other words, the product key cannot be used to activate another installation.

If you possess a retail copy of the Windows 11 license, you have the freedom to transfer the license to a new system. The user must remove the license from the old system. If the retail key is not removed, the installation process with the product key on the new system will not succeed.

How to Transfer Windows 11 License Key

Here are the steps to remove it from installing it to the new system. Follow the guide till the end to know how you can transfer a Windows 11 license from the old system to the new PC build:

1. Check Your Windows 11 License Type

Before transferring your Windows 11 license to a different computer, it’s essential to identify the type of license linked to it. It’s worth noting that only a retail license can be transferred.

To find out the Windows 11 license type, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Start Menu icon.

2. In the Search bar, type Command Prompt and click on Run as administrator to open it with administrative rights. Alternatively, you can also use Windows PowerShell.

Run CMD as Admin

3. Now, on the Command Prompt; type the following command to determine the license type and press Enter:

slmgr /dli
Check License Type

5. Confirm the license type with the information available in the Windows Script Host dialog. As you can see; we have a retail license. We can transfer it to another computer.

2. Know Your Windows 11 Product Key

To transfer your Windows 11 license, you will need to locate the corresponding product key.

If you purchased a retail license directly from Microsoft, the product key should have been sent to your email address at the time of purchase. If not, you can obtain it by logging into Microsoft’s website using the same credentials you used when purchasing the license.

However, if you have purchased the retail license from a third-party vendor, you should have received a product kit with a USB drive and a product key on the box.

If you’re still unable to locate the product key, refer to our guide on finding the Windows 11 product key and extract it from your PC.

3. Uninstall Windows 11 Product Key

However, before we transfer the key to another system, we need to remove it from the previous device. To remove/uninstall the product key from the old computer, you can follow the following steps mentioned below:

1. Run Command Prompt as administrator on your old computer.

2. To remove it from your old computer, you need to execute a command. Type or copy and paste the following command to de-register the product key.

smlgr.vbs /upk
Uninstall Windows 11 Product Key

3. This action will deactivate the license associated with that computer, and you should receive a confirmation message.

4. After that, you have to execute another command to remove the product key from Windows Registry. For that, run this command

smlgr.vbs /cpky
De-registering Windows 11 Product Key from Windows Registry

Note: If you are not getting the uninstall product key successfully. Then you should run the same commands several times until and unless the message comes up.

You can deactivate the product key from your old computer by following the steps mentioned. You are now ready to apply the product key to your new computer.

4. Reactivate the Windows 11 License on a New Computer

Now, we have the 25-character product key code, and the Windows 11 License has been removed from the old computer. You are now ready to transfer a Windows 11 License to another device.

Here’s how you can use the product key to reactivate the Windows 11 license on a new computer.

1. Run Command Prompt as administrator and enter the following command

slmgr.vbs /ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

Note: Here, replace “xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx” with your actual Windows product key.

Reactivate Windows 11 License on a New Computer

2. You can also follow this path to activate the new computer Start Menu > Settings > System > Activation > Change. To change the product key. Here, enter the 25-character code to activate your system.

Transfer Windows 11 License

After that, your Windows 11 license should be successfully transferred to your new computer. You can check the license status by following our detailed guide on; how to check Windows 11 activation license status.

Conclusion

That’s it! This is how you can transfer Windows 11 licenses to a new computer. Transferring your Windows 11 license to another computer can save you money. It might seem like a complex task, but with the right information and steps, it becomes a manageable process.

By identifying your license type, locating your product key, deactivating the license on the old computer, and activating it on the new device, you can seamlessly transition your Windows 11 license and enjoy all the benefits of the operating system on your upgraded hardware.

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An electrical engineer by background and loves to surround himself with blogs, articles on technology niches covering programming language, smartphone blogs, Blockchain, etc.
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