You may see very cheap OEM and MAK keys being sold online and might have been tempted to buy it. Though these keys may work, they will only work for a few weeks to a few months. They are ticking time bombs counting down for deactivation and with it, comes all your important files. In some worst cases, it took 3 years for the key to get blocked. Imagine your PC containing 3 years of valuable transactions, documents, conversations, pictures, applications and other important files – GONE. Microsoft will always find out sooner or later.
Just remember, ALL OEM KEYS BEING SOLD ONLINE ARE STOLEN. IT IS ILLEGAL TO PURCHASE OEM LICENSES AND IT IS CONSIDERED AS PIRACY. An OEM license can only be sold with the device bound to it, such as a Laptop. That is why a brand new laptop with an already installed operating system has a sticker on it that shows the product key. This is known as COA or Certificate of Authenticity sticker. This is a legal OEM key as the COA shows that the laptop is bound to the key. A MAK license is a volume license key used by companies and organizations. As an example, all Windows Enterprise and Education use MAK and were never available as retail licenses. A new form of piracy occurs when these keys are illegally sold. Rule of thumb: A device using an OEM key without its appropriate license sticker uses a pirated license. A MAK license being used by an individual that does not belong to the original entity that purchased the MAK license is also using a pirated license. Both are in violation of the legal terms and agreements of software use – They will always get blocked no matter what.
Microsoft will always recognize these keys as stolen as they are being used by devices that are not supposed to use them. They will remotely lock that device at anytime with no chance given for reactivation leading to huge problems as the device will suddenly lose access to all files stored on your PC. The device will need to be reformatted before being able to reinstall a genuine copy of Windows – permanently losing all files in the process. Imagine if this happened to you after 3 years when you already have a trove of important files on your PC? People who rely heavily on their devices for work or business could suddenly lose a fortune just because of pirated keys. Do not risk your entire digital life by using an illegal license, it’s not worth it.
To validate your license, open Command Prompt and type “slmgr -dlv“ without the quotes. It should show the Activation ID, Application ID, Installation ID, Activation and Validation URLs that point to the official activation and validation servers which are activation.microsoft.com and validation.microsoft.com respectively. Product Key Channel should be Retail. License Status should be Licensed and not under a Grace Period or Notification. There should also be no activation expiration seen on this prompt. Any deviation from this criteria should be referred to the entity that sold you the license for clarification.
To know if your license is perpetual, open Command Prompt and type “slmgr -xpr“ without the quotes. Device should be Permanently Activated without expiration. If you see an expiry date, no matter how long the duration is, it is most likely a pirated license.
Wondering which version of Windows 11 is best for you? Click here for a quick comparison of all the retail versions of Windows 11: Home, Professional and Pro for Workstations.
Purchasing from Product Key Philippines guarantees that you will receive genuine, highest tier, retail, digital keys recognized and supported by Microsoft itself. A Retail license is the only type of license that binds to a person and not to the device hence, they do not require COA as they are freely transferable across multiple devices. It is also the only type of license an individual can claim ownership. Enjoy these list of full benefits of using genuine retail keys:
1. Direct Upgrade – Only the highest tier retail Windows 11 license can directly upgrade older operating systems such as Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 without any need for reinstallation. It will also directly upgrade lower versions of Windows 11 in just a single click! Just ensure you are upgrading a genuine copy of Windows because genuine product keys will not work on pirated or cracked operating systems.
2. Unlimited reinstallation – Once bound to your personal Microsoft account, you can install our keys unlimited number of times even to an entirely different device. This is perfect for people who frequently upgrade or change to new devices. Your device or one of its component will eventually fail and you will never know when. Having a genuine retail key means that you will never worry of purchasing another Windows again as you can simply reactivate again and again because the license is yours to use and reuse.
3. Official Microsoft support online – Owning a genuine retail license entitles you to access https://support.microsoft.com/ with your personal account and chat personally to a human Microsoft support representative. Since the key is bound to your personal account, support will be quicker and more personalized without the need to provide purchase receipts or the product key itself.
4. Online control panel at https://account.microsoft.com/devices/ – You will also be able to access the Windows online control panel that will allow you to perform important remote actions on any of your bound devices. All devices using the highest tier retail product keys bound to your Microsoft account will appear here.
5. Find your devices – Tablet PCs are small enough to get easily misplaced, lost or even stolen. In the Philippines, stolen laptops and tablet PCs have a very lucrative market. One useful feature of owning the highest tier retail key for Windows is the ability to find the exact location of your device. This is just one of the many security features of the Windows online control panel.
6. Remotely lock your PC – Your online control panel will also allow you to remotely lock your PC. This will prevent any unauthorized access by disabling the operating system itself and will only show your preferred lock screen message such as your name and contact details for the other party to get in touch.
7. Keep your devices secured – You will be notified of any security issues involving all your linked devices and Microsoft will give appropriate recommendations. This is to ensure that your devices are secured and running optimally at all times.
8. And other important features – Store device management allows you to share apps purchased from Microsoft official store on up to 10 other devices. You can also link your Android Phone to your PC to text right from your PC, see all your phone’s notifications and quickly transfer photos. You can even use the Your Phone to mirror your phone’s screen and see it on your PC. Cloud syncing allows you to share your PC settings across all devices you manage.
Using genuine retail license allows you to enjoy your device optimally by ensuring you get the best support, unbreakable security and useful features for both work and play.
