How to Activate Windows 10 for Free [HWID]

Activating Windows might be mess until you find this article. Because this articles describes how to activate Windows 10 with a single click and no need to disable your antivirus. It is really the most easiest and secure way to activate Windows and works with every version of Windows including XP, Vista, 8, 8.1 and 10.

[Update – A new tool to Activate Windows and Office – MAS]

There is a new tool/script that includes this HWID activation and previous KMS activation (like KMSPico) which can be used to activate both, Windows and Microsoft Office and also supports Windows 11. You should give it a try. – https://sangams.com.np/easiest-way-to-activate-microsoft-windows-and-office-for-free-using-microsoft-activation-scripts/. This does not mean HWIDGen is outdated it works great as before. The new tool is only collection of various tools in a single script and is super simple.

One famous tool to activate Windows in KMS-Pico but you need to disable antivirus and it is needed to patch again after 3 months. Also there are a lot of fake KMS tools that may result in virus and malware attack. One real case is a friend of mine downloaded Ransomware and got all files encrypted. So always be careful when downloading any cracking apps. I have written about KMS-Pico if it is safe to use or not and how to download legit KMS-Pico in this article.

But here we will see another activation tool, HWIDGen the most trusted tool for activating digital license. HWIDGen provides permanent activation and does not need antivirus to be disabled*. Here permanent means lifetime activation of Windows 10. It is only needed to use this tool once and the activation remains also after clean install of Windows 10 like original license. This creates digital license by slightly abusing the way the upgrade Win 7/8.1 to Win 10 creates it. HWIDGen is way more powerful and flexible than other tools.

*Windows Defender does not detect HWIDGen as virus but other antivirus may detect. HWIDGen needs some special permission to get license so antivirus may detect it as virus. In that case you need to disable realtime scan. After activation you do not need HWIDGen again and set antivirus as normal.

How to activate Windows with HWIDGen?

  • Download HWIDGen from the download link given at the end.
  • Extract the contents of the archive.
  • It needs internet connection to activate (HWID).
  • Open the executable (.exe) file.
  • Click on the Work Mode dropdown in the top right.
  • Select HWID from the dropdown. If you are running Windows 10 LTSC 2019 v1809, or any server edition of Windows 10, select KMS38. (You can see the supported SKUs below)
  • Click on the Start button.
  • Wait for the process to finish – you can check the status in the log window.
  • Close the HWIDGEN application window. You do not need to restart your computer.
  • Go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation to check windows is activated.

Screenshots

Supported Windows 10 editions (SKUs)

  • Core (Home) (N) (HWID/KMS38)
  • Core Single Language (N) (HWID/KMS38)
  • Professional (N) (HWID/KMS38)
  • Professional Education (N) (HWID/KMS38)
  • Professional Workstation (N) (HWID/KMS38)
  • Education (N) (HWID/KMS38)
  • Enterprise (N) (HWID/KMS38)
  • Enterprise S (N) 2015(HWID)
  • Enterprise S (N) 2016 (HWID/KMS38)
  • Enterprise S (N) 2019 (KMS38)
  • Server Standard (Core) (N) (KMS38)
  • Server Datacenter (Core) (N) (KMS38)
  • Server Solution (Core) (N) (KMS38)

Useful links

Downloads

https://drive.google.com/open?id=11kK_GagBkDSSX7fnSrHbDu73MHL6zEby
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xjkqhVVsBsRQOte9OKXWOYwgKuaDn-8u
Password is 123.

This Post Has 134 Comments

  1. mr_moon

    Thank you! : )

  2. Anp

    Hi Sangam,
    Any idea whether it works in Fresh Windows 11 installation?

  3. Sangam

    Yes you can use it no problem at all. It will add the license to your account and will automatically activate Windows when you log in to new install as well.

  4. Tapioca

    Hi sangam. I’m here because my windows suddenly asked me to activate it and troubleshooting does not help, I never got the watermark before and now after over a year of using my computer it’s suddenly here. Can I still use hwid despite my case not being a clean install? thank you

  5. Bill

    Easy to follow instructions, It works!
    thanks you so much.

  6. Gab

    It works! thanks

  7. sapa aja

    Finally, it works and really easy thank you very much.
    for my case, I used KMS38 for activated pro ver.
    Long-life for this website!

  8. Fay

    Thank you so much kind Sir! 〒▽〒 〒▽〒 o(^▽^)o b( ̄▽ ̄)d I’m so glad I stumbled upon this article of yours, huhu. Ive been searching for days and almost gave up in activating Win10 on my new used pc (its WinXP originally, my father’s gonna use this and all he will do is just browse the net, thats all! and its only Windows he’s familiar with) because I’m doubtful of what I found on browsing of whether it threatens the safety and security on the pc, and the key expires also. So I’m really glad I came here and I bet on this one. I’m so grateful! Thank you so much!

  9. Athan

    Please notice this.
    Can I use HWID to activate windows 10 from KMSpico in windows 7?
    Thanks.

    1. Sangam

      Yes you can use and it is completely safe.

  10. tariq bashir

    Great content, But I think you should provide its product keys too. Anyway If someone like me don’t have, Windows or office product key can be bought from MS site or its official store but I searched and just bought office 2019 pro plus cheap product key from http://xyzkeys.com
    It worked perfectly and now all features of my OS are working. I’m so excited to share my experience here.
    Their customer service is 1st class and I will definitely be recommending the site and I will be using the site again

    1. Sangam

      Key does not always work. Keys can be banned and may become invalid. And I don’t suggest buying keys from third party site since user can be spammed easily. If you want to buy then buy from Microsoft. If you can’t afford or unable to buy use this HWID Gen tool.
      And you should not spam comments to promote your site.

  11. Jeddi

    I used it for ReviOS activation, and it works smoothly.

    1. Sangam

      I hadn’t heard about it. But users says it is light weight and fast but you will not get Windows update and layout is not that good. Anyway it is good for lowend PCs and who don’t care about updates.

  12. Shiva

    After this, Can i register with a new microsoft account safely so as to link activation code with this account in case i change hardware? Does this activation affects if i register a new microsoft account

    1. Sangam

      Yes you can register. Your Windows will be automatically activated once your sign in your account. And you can always reuse it if your Windows does not activate automatically.

  13. Shiva

    Hi Sangam
    Thanks for the guide.
    How do i check if it is activated permanently?
    It just says activated and licensed(retail) when checked by winver or slmgr -dli.

    1. Fay

      slmgr -xpr

  14. Shiva

    Hi Sangam
    Thanks for the guide, how do i check that it has been activated forever?
    Running winver or slmgr -dli just says it is activated and licensed(retail)

    1. Sangam

      You don’t need to check. This tool is made to activate Windows for the life time or this tool may not be better than KMS Pico. Honestly I don’t know how to check, so you should google for it.

  15. ASHOK

    Dear Sangam,
    If I format my C Drive (OS Drive) and reinstall windows 10, or reinstall from a image which is not activated, will it remain activated?

  16. ASHOK

    WHERE DOES THE BIN FOLDER GO?

      1. Ashok

        Dear Sir,
        I meant does the BIN folder have to be copied to C:\ or anywhere. Kindly ignore the query. I am not so computer savvy.

  17. Jagdeep Singh

    Hi Sangam.. I did a clean install of Win 10 Pro and started getting prompts for activating my windows.. I used HWID and it got activated ..This is simply awesome.. But please guide me how to go ahead from this point on..Now I can’t find MS Office on my PC … Please help .. Its urgent. Thanks and regards.

  18. Kim

    Windows Defender still detects it as a virus.

    1. Sangam

      Disable realtime scan in Windows Defender.

  19. Dheeraj

    I have original key prembeded into laptop’s motherboard.
    If i use hwid to activate windows will it overwrite on my original key or will remove it?
    If yes how can i backup my original key and delete hwid key just in case.
    I’m thinking of dual booting.
    Please share your views

    1. Sangam

      The question is why you will use it when you already have genuine license.

      1. Dheeraj

        Coz i need to install Oracle 18c XE which supports 10 pro, edu, enterprise editions.
        So i installed 10 pro. That’s why i wanna know if i use hwid will it overwrite my oem key?

        1. Sangam

          I am not creator of this tool and as I know it uses hardware id to generate a ticket which is sent to Microsoft server for verification. Hardware id is generated each time Windows boots by using id/field given in motherboard, WiFi card etc.
          https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/install/specifying-hardware-ids-for-a-computer
          So your hardware id is not going to change at all unless you change you laptop’s hardware. The process for the ticket creation/verification is quite basic and easy to fool. And I don’t know how Microsoft manages their keys and tickets. Also you should not be worry about your genuine key if you need to use HWIDGen tool because it is exact way how Microsoft activates Windows and no one going to detect that you used HWID Gen tool.

  20. BassineDeVinaigre

    Hi SanGam, it does not work for me, my previous activation was with MSTookKit, but it expired, and I wan’t to activate Windows with HWIDGen, but I have those messages when I open it (it is one of both, randomly).
    freeimage.host/i/capture1.21Fs7S
    freeimage.host/i/capture2.21FQp9
    Thank You

    1. Sangam

      Did u run this as administrator?

  21. John

    How would I go about disabling this? Thank you.

    1. Sangam

      As said it is permanent activation so you can’t disable it.

  22. George

    Hey man! So if it have a virus (i don t say it really have) but to make sure,if i activate it and format all ssd hdd etc,i will be complety safe and i will still windows activated?
    Thank you

    1. mekokya

      You could totally do that, but there is no need to do it that way though. I trusted the sources which are given in this blog and have not faced any problems so far and don’t expect any. So you can actually jus go ahead and use it, but anyway if you are still unsure, that method will work.

  23. mekokya

    How to find out if Windows 10 is officially activated or activated using HWIDgen? People advertise their second handed computers with “Windows 10 Pro Pre-installed”, so how to tell the difference and not get fooled?

    1. Arun Arya

      Just find the licence key used to activate Windows inside the system using command or any other methods.

  24. sherlock23

    Hello! My laptop runs on a Windows 10 Home Single Language Edition. I tried using HWID Gen but it prompts ‘Failed to determine licensing status. Please check if your system has any product key installed.’
    I do not have any product key installed according to my activation status. Any help would be very much appreciated.
    Thank you.

    1. Sangam

      Do you have working internet connection?

      1. Jeremy

        failed to activate server rdsh please check hwid.log file for details

    2. p1legendary

      Use this command in cmd with admin priveleges: slmgr /ipk PKEY , where PKEY refers to appropriate product key for your edition. Google the generic license keys for win10 home. After that Windows script Host will tell you Product Key installed sucessfully. Then Try HWIDGEN With Any kind of security turned off. It must work.

    3. jeremy

      failed to activate server rdsh please check hwid.log file for details

  25. mekokya

    Works like a charm! Thx. 😀

  26. Nancy

    Does it still work for Windows 10 bro?
    What about Office 2010?
    Can the same activate the Office as well as Win10?

    1. Sangam

      It only activates Windows but not Microsoft products like office.

      1. juvi

        hi! I did the whole process and I tried checking the expiration date of my windows 10 by running the command prompt and inputting slmgr /xpr and its still saying the same expiry date. how do I know if it worked for me bec I don’t want to reformat my laptop just bec of expiring os

        1. Sangam

          You should try after you it is expired.

      2. Ujjal

        Bro, l have uninstalled thr the Windows 10 product key from my system but after formatting and clean install and after connecting to the internet it automatically gets activated. My PC didn’t come with Windows 10. I had activated the windows 10 using HWID Activator. How can I stop this automatic activation permanently? Kindly guide me

  27. Katiria24

    Thanks! This is so much better than activating with KMSpico every 180 or so days.

  28. Arun Arya

    KMSPico activates windows only for 180 days. I have activated windows 10 with KMSPico earlier this year and now its saying windows 10 licence will expire soon. I checked using command prompt to see the remaining days and there’s only 19 days left.
    So my question is do HWID activates windows permanently and will it get regular cumulative updates?

    1. Sangam

      Yes you will updates after using HWID Gen and it activates Windows permanently.

  29. Avyaa Anand

    It does not activate windows with a digital licence on windows 10 pro, it activates with a organisations activation server which is unsafe. Can you please tell me the solution to this?

    1. Sangam

      Why activating using organization is not safe?

  30. rijoxo

    thank you for this activator but can you pls answer my questions…
    i have kmspico installed and it activated my win10 but the msoffice 2016 isn’t activated. why is that?
    also if i use this, do i need to uninstall the kmspico?

    1. Sangam

      HWID Gen does not activate MS Office products. You need KMS Pico to activate them. You can use both KMS Pico and HWID Gen at the same time.

  31. John

    Failed to determine licensing status.

    1. Sangam

      You need active internet connection.

      1. Gangsu

        So when activating windows, should I need internet connection throughout the process?
        Second, This will work on current 2004 version of windows?

  32. sarge

    Cant install hwid.kms38…. windows cannot access the specified device

    1. Sangam

      Turn off Windows Defender and try again.

      1. agavavba

        ahahva

  33. 7Core

    Indeed, the easy way to activate Win10. NO errors, works like expected.

  34. Frodo

    Can this program activate Windows 7 ?

  35. reys

    thanks it work for me

  36. Sam

    Thank you sooo much… worked for me

  37. sergio

    Hi Sangam,
    I don’t see dates of comments, so I don’t know does this still works?
    So I can download win10 frim microsoft site and use hwid for activation?
    Thanks a lot

    1. Sangam

      Sorry for dates in comment, but it works fine.

  38. Michael

    Do you need to turn of the internet

  39. Bruno

    “Windows Defender does not detect HWIDGen as virus” – detect when you extract the .exe file. Thanks for the article.

    1. Sangam

      Yes the executable files detects as virus.

  40. mynameisjeff

    test comment it works

  41. Gaurav

    does this method work for windows 10, home edition too?

  42. Shivam

    Does it refrain you to use the windows defender also? I am not able to use it as it says “Your virus and threat protection is managed by your organisation”.

    1. Sangam

      Windows defender is turned off by antivirus if you have one. If you don’t have antivirus installed then defender is turned off by some malware. Please google how to solve this.. In some cases you may need to reinstall windows.

      1. idder

        please check if your system has any product key installed

        1. Sangam

          It does not matter if product key is installed or not. No product key was installed before using HWID Gen in my PC.

  43. Jeth

    Wow it really worked. Thanks for sharing, was afraid actually of the KMSpico. Thank you!

  44. Peter Stretch

    Fresh install Win 10. ran hwid. error msg “failed to determine licencing status. Please check if your system has any product key installed.’ mmmm

  45. Tandy

    I was sold a used windows 10 (64 bit, pro) computer, windows version 1903. The seller did not tell me that my activation was via a KMS activation key, which will expire in 180 days. The seller did not share the KMS tool he used, or even tell me which one, so I have no way of knowing if it was KMSPico, or some other tool. I usually clone my system hard drive before trying anything new, so I can “go back” and have a fresh start. I don’t understand how to use the KMSPico, but I know other KMS activators work. My question is” 1) If I want to try your HWID tool, do I have to first remove the existing KMS? If so, I’m not sure how, because I don’t know which one it is. 2) If I try your tool and it doesn’t work, can I go “back” to one of my clones? I ask because your instructions mention that the process is “IRREVERSIBLE”. Is that because your tool is writing data to the motherboard bios? I just want to make sure I can “go back” if it doesn’t work, and the word “IRREVERSIBLE” is scary!

    1. Sangam

      There is nothing scary activating Windows. You need to uninstall KMSPico from control panel then use HWID Generator from here. It will definitely work for common Windows versions like Home, Pro, etc. Only thing you need is an active internet connection.
      For second question if you can use KMSPico again if HWID Gen does not work is yes. You can always use KMSPico if HWID will not work for your Windows. Actually you can also use both at the same time.
      If you have further question regarding activating Windows please ask again.

  46. manish sharma

    not working please help me

    1. Sangam

      You should try again carefully. And need internet connection.

  47. Muhammad

    Thank you for sharing the easiest way to activate Windows.

  48. trmtmrb ymtnr

    Hi
    Is HWIDGen a tool that violates any law?
    What are the dangers of using HWIDGen? 

    1. Sangam

      It won’t violate any rules and there is no any harm of using it unless HWIDGen is downloaded from trusted site.

  49. Elke

    Hello, everyone who has concerns .. a short note from an uninvolved one: It doesn’t matter if it’s a virus or not. Although I can understand the concerns. I myself would also be unsure and would do the hell and grant access and rights to such software.
    But, there is a very simple and harmless solution for it, in which case it doesn’t matter whether it is a virus or not, malware or not.
    Remove hard drive (s), install another hard drive, reinstall Windows 10 there (it only takes a few minutes), activate Windows with the tool and you’re done. Then remove the hard drive, reinsert the old one and activate it. If I understand that correctly, the digital license should make it work without having to use the tool again, etc.
    And no one has to worry that the tool pulls in a virus or something like that. Or am I wrong? 🙂
    @Sangam: Thank you very much for the CF Worker articles, especially the one about caching !!! A wonderful solution that I have been looking for for a long time. This makes many things much easier and more pleasant!
    Kind regards, Elke

    1. Sangam

      You are right, when using crack solutions in Windows we are unsure about viruses. And thank you for this clean solution for those who want their PC 100% safe. I was also looking for CF Worker solution and finally found one and tried. It was working great for this little blog so shared it. I am glad it helped you also.

    1. Sangam

      Sorry, you can’t expect an app that changes Windows core component does not detect as virus. Virus changes component to do wrong thing while cracking app does for good thing.
      That does not mean all cracking apps are harmless. Always try to not using cracking apps.

      1. dupont

        thnx . Still it is puzzling since you wrote about this HWIDGen app : “There is another better Windows activator (HWID) that does not detect as virus. It is totally clean ”
        https://sangams.com.np/is-kmspico-safe-to-use-how-to-download-real-kmspico/
        So why do these Google Drive versions of HWIDGen are not clean and detect as malwares ? mind boggling … It is not about questioning your files here but that quite often it is said that most of available copies of HWIDGen are not clean copies of the original source , and the later is almost impossible to find !

        1. Sangam

          I said that because when I used HWIDGen, I didn’t need to disable defender. Maybe latest defender can detect HWID as virus. Also HWID is way better that KMS Pico;
          -KMSPico uses server to activate license which runs regularly where as HWID is one time activation and no server is needed.
          -In KMSPico you need to whitelist antivirus for forever.
          And if you want to download from official site, this post already contains official forum link in the download section. Create a account there and download HWID. But that will also detect as virus.
          I want to share one more thing to you. Do you know why many cracking software are password protected as archive (.zip, .rar etc) ? I was worried why google drive is not allowing to download this HWID when I first shared in this post. But I had downloaded from Reddit shared in google drive. Later I found I was not encrypting archive with password thats why drive detected it as virus. After protecting with password drive allowed to download because no virus detected.
          I did online scan and was amazed since only few (2 or 3) antivirus found encrypted archive as virus while archive without password detected as virus by all antivirus.
          So be aware with password protected archive.

          1. GAurav

            my windows defender is reporting this file malicious.
            and also when i am running exe file , it is giving me errors.
            Error:
            system can’t find the specified path.(lot more written)

          2. Sangam

            That is because Windows defender is deleting that file so it cause “system can’t find the specified path”. Turn off Windows defender real-time scanning to install.

          3. superuserjjp

            @ Gaurav It can’t find the specified item because Win Defender already pulled it from your file system. It does so as soon as you unzip the download file and if said file was not a zip file to begin with, that sucker is gonna be toast as soon as it touches down on your hard drive. You can disable W Defender smart screen and go ahead and restore and add an exception for the keygen. Of course remember to re-enable it. Good luck.

          4. GAurav

            @superuserjjp and @Sangam , it is still showing errors.
            i have disabled everything , firewall , app and browser control , and virus and threat protection.
            ‘pop-up window showing following is displayed’
            Error: Failed attempt to launch program or document.
            Action:”C:\Users\hp\AppData\Local\Temp\svvcheck.txt>
            Params:
            Specifically :The system cannot find the file specified.
            Line#
            —> 091:Return
            The current thread will exit.

          5. Sangam

            Can you explain what you did after downloading ‘thk.003mk6_pw.zip’ file? Did you extract it with password ‘123’. Is the file ‘hwid.kms38.gen.mk6.exe’ there? Try copying this .exe file to another location and run again.
            You are having completely different problem than described above for unable to find file problem.

          6. GAurav

            @superuserjjp and @Sangam , it is still showing errors.
            i have disabled everything , firewall , app and browser control , and virus and threat protection.
            ‘pop-up window showing following is displayed’
            Error: Failed attempt to launch program or document.
            Action: ”C:\Users\hp\AppData\Local\Temp\svvcheck.txt>
            Params:
            Specifically :The system cannot find the file specified.
            Line#
            —> 091:Return
            The current thread will exit

          7. GAurav

            while commenting whatever i am writing inside angular brackets is not getting posted after hitting enter.

          8. GAurav

            yeah, i extracted it with 123 . then i just opened .exe .
            it is giving me errors.
            i am replacing angular brackets with *.
            Error: Failed attempt to launch program or document.
            Action:* /C wmic service where name =’wuauserv’ get started,state/value* “C:\Users\hp\AppData\Local\Temp\svvcheck.txt>
            Params: * *
            Specifically :The system cannot find the file specified.
            Line#
            —> 091:Return
            The current thread will exit

          9. Sangam

            Upload the screenshot here – https://imgbb.com/
            Have you tried ‘Right click’ >> ‘Run as Admin’?

          10. GAurav

            i have tried that too.

          11. GAurav

            i have tried that too.
            Image uploaded.
            Am i required to sign up to upload image. (ie how will you get the img)

          12. Sangam

            Where is the link? You are supposed to upload image and share with me.

          13. GAurav

            hi

  50. StalkerZ

    It worked for me, thanks alot! you are the best!

  51. Hoang

    Thank you!!!!
    My KMspico suddenly stop working and it made the “Window will expire soon” keep appearing on the screen and the laptop suddenly turn off.
    I cannot reuse KMspico after that for some unknown reasons.
    And this method save me.

  52. Linus

    Does this work with the 1909 version of win10?

  53. riezs

    can use to activate ms office as well?

    1. Sangam

      It is only for Windows itself.

  54. Hamdi

    Can I link it with MS Account after activation?
    Thanks for the useful information. I will try that.

    1. Sangam

      Yes you can. You can also activate Windows if it is already linked to MS.

  55. Lucille

    I’m so grateful to you… you made my day! THANKS!

    1. Sangam

      Thank you.

  56. Seleman Hemed

    Thank buddy… So far this is the best method of activating windows OS..

    1. Sangam

      Yes, this is permanent Windows Activation solution.

  57. ash

    My windows detected it as a virus when I tried to run the exe file. then my computer deleted it. Any other solutions to activate windows 10?

    1. Sangam

      HWIDGen needs some special permission to get license so antivirus may detect it as virus. In this case you need to disable realtime scan. After activation you do not need HWIDGen again and set antivirus as normal.

  58. Nobody

    Thanks bud

    1. Amit

      Not able to download google says it detected it as a virus and only the owner can download it.

  59. Brain

    Thank u …

  60. Jhon

    Thank you for sharing the easiest way to activate Windows.

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