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 This does not mean HWIDGen is outdated it works great as before.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.

136 thoughts on “How to Activate Windows 10 for Free [HWID]”

  1. Sir. I do have a problem with my Microsoft office windows 10 that was blocked off and I can’t used it at the moment, I really need your help to activate the MS office windows 10. Can you guide me through this so that I can activate it and use it in my laptop. Thanks.

  2. 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.

  3. 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

  4. 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!

  5. 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!

  6. 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. 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.

    1. 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.

  7. 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. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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. 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.

  10. 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?

      1. 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.

  11. 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.

  12. 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. 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. 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.

  13. 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

  14. 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. 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.

  15. 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?

  16. 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. 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.

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

      1. 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

      2. 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

  18. 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?

  19. 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?

  20. 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. 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.

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

  21. 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

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

  23. 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. 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.

  24. 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

  25. 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. 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.

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

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

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

  27. 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.

  28. 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. 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.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top