Microsoft has ended its phone-based activation for Windows and Office, pushing users to an online-only system requiring a Microsoft account. This change, discovered by a tech enthusiast, impacts older ...

Phone activation for Windows has been discontinued. You'll have to use an online portal to activate Windows. The portal requires a Microsoft or business account. Microsoft has typically offered a few ...

Microsoft has officially retired the traditional phone-based activation system for Windows and Office that served as a reliable fallback for users for over two decades. Indeed, the "slui 4" command ...

Microsoft has seemingly disabled phone call activation for Windows 11, and perhaps older versions as well, making it impossible to activate Windows without an Internet connection. This is an unwelcome ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Add us as a preferred source on Google Customers have noticed Microsoft's phone lines aren't ...

For more than two decades, Microsoft offered a simple and discreet way to activate Windows and Office without the internet: phone activation. That option is now gone. Since late December 2025, ...

Open PowerShell (Not CMD). To do that, right-click on the Windows start menu and select PowerShell or Terminal. Copy and paste the code below and press enter The IRM command in PowerShell downloads a ...