How to remove windows activation watermark

3 Ways to Remove Activate Windows Watermark on Windows 10

Are you seeing the “Activate Windows; Go to Settings to activate Windows” watermark on your computer’s homescreen? Well, do not worry, we’ve got your back. Here are the top three ways to permanently remove the Activate Windows watermark on Windows 10 PC.

Remove ‘Activate Windows’ Watermark from Windows 10

Why Do You See Activate Windows Watermark?

The ‘Activate Windows’ watermark indicates that the copy of the Windows on your computer hasn’t been activated yet or its license has expired. If you have a valid Windows 10 product key, you can activate and remove the Activate Windows watermark.

However, you can’t just use the keys available online which have already been used by others. Instead, you’ll have to buy the key from Microsoft Official Store, Amazon, or any authorized sales channel. Some third-party sellers sell keys for cheap, but it isn’t something that we recommend.

Another reason for the watermark could be a different Windows version. For instance, you bought the product key for Windows 10 Professional but installed Windows 10 Home Edition instead. So, make sure this isn’t the reason in your case.

Activated vs. Unactivated Windows

There aren’t any major differences between activated and unactivated versions of Windows. That said, apart from the watermark and “Activate Windows” notifications, you get limited personalization options, including wallpapers and themes.

Furthermore, the unactivated version will only download critical updates. Stuff like optional updates, extra services, and apps from Microsoft usually bundled with an activated copy will be blocked. Other than that, the system will run just fine.

Ways to Remove Activate Windows Watermark Permanently

If you don’t have a product key and want the watermark to disappear, it can be done using a couple of methods stated below.

Method 1: Using Registry Editor

Method 2: Kill the Process to Remove Watermark

If the Regedit method above doesn’t work for you, you can use the notepad method, as follows:

Once you execute the batch file, the activation message will be gone from your screen. However, note that it’ll re-appear once you restart your computer. In that case, you can keep the batch file on your homescreen and tap it once every time you turn on your PC.

Method 3: Using Command Prompt

Wrapping Up

I hope that you’re now able to remove the Activate Windows watermark on your Windows 10 PC. The registry editor method should work well for most of the users. Yet, do let me know which method worked for you. Feel free to reach out via comments in case of any related doubts or queries.

How to remove activate windows watermark (100% working tricks)

Are you getting “Activate Windows – Go to Settings to activate windows” at the bottom right the corner of your desktop? And do you want to remove activate windows watermark?

It is because your windows license key has expired. If you are on a counterfeit version of windows, it might give you a 180-days trial pack, but after that period a beautiful watermark comes.

Okay, it’s not beautiful, it’s annoying. Don’t be panic, We are here to help you to remove that annoying activate Windows watermark permanently.

What is windows activation?

Windows Activation is an anti-piracy method of Microsoft. It is to make sure that every Windows OS copy that installed on your computer is genuine and not installed on any other device.

The Windows product key is a 25-character code that use to activate Windows. It looks like this

You won’t get the “Activate Windows” watermark if you have updated your Windows OS (the previous version of windows should be activated). If you are getting windows watermark, then you can activate windows by inserting the previous version of the windows license key.

Why you need to activate windows or remove watermark?

Windows 10 displays “Activate Windows” watermark at the bottom right corner when you are running on an unlicensed copy of Windows 10. It always disturbs when you are doing any task on your computer.

The main drawback of using unlicensed Windows 10 copy is unable to personalize your desktop. You won’t be able to personalize desktop background, task bar, theme, start color, windows title bar, lock screen, and customize start.

All other services will work correctly as they always do. So this is the only change you might notice when using unlicensed or pirated Windows OS copy.

Note: Running a non-genuine (Pirated) version of Windows can put you at more significant virus risks and other security threats. So I strongly recommend you to use only licensed or genuine Windows OS.

Check your windows activation status on your pc

Before any further process, you may need to check your activation status. If you want to know why you are getting the “Activate Windows 10” message, go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation.

You will see the status of your computer and what you can do to activate Windows 10 to remove windows watermark. So let’s start one by one method just to do it:

Best working methods to remove activate windows 10 watermark:

Insert a legitimate Product key

As you can see above screenshot, Windows is not activated because the previous version of Windows was not activated. So this is the reason for showing the ” Activate Windows” watermark.

If you installed a fresh version of Windows 10 without inserting the Product key during installation, You’ll also get this error.

You can enter the product key by Change the product key option if you have one. Luckily, you can also enter your previous windows product key if you have. Windows 10 support valid Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 product key.

So Windows 10 should accept your product key if you enter the valid product key which has not been used many times before.

A key for Windows 10 Home might not activate Windows 10 Pro. Moreover, Microsoft confines the number of times you can use one product key to activate Windows. If you’ve used the key a lot in the past, you may have exhausted it

Check Enterprise Activation

This method is only applicable to those computers whose Windows is activated from the Enterprise server. Sometimes Windows loses contact with that server so windows will show “Activate Windows” watermark.

To remove it, Go to Settings > Activation. You will notice a message as “We can’t activate Windows on this device because we can’t connect to your organization’s activation server.”

To resolve this problem, you need to reconnect your computer to the company’s network and reactivate it. You can try using a company VPN to make this if you can’t physically connect it.

Run the Activation Troubleshooter

If you had upgraded or changed any hardware component in your computer such as replacing the motherboard, then it Windows can’t recognize that it’s your computer and it will show you “Activate Windows” watermark.

If you have this issue then just follow this tip and it will remove activate windows watermark permanently.

Note: If you have not connected your digital license to your Microsoft account before the hardware change, this won’t work. You can contact to Windows Support for any query to get it sort.

Buy a new Product Key

If you don’t have a valid product key and never connected your digital license to Microsoft account, then you have only one last genuine method is left to buy a new Windows 10 which comes with a new product key. This will give you the latest version of Windows 10 and with the latest security patch updates.

Once you buy a new product key and installed in your computer, head back to the activation menu and link your activation to Microsoft account so you can easily reactivate it in the future if needed.

If you don’t want to waste your money to buy a new product key, then there are several methods to remove Windows 10 activation watermark using some tricks. It will remove watermark but no guarantee for its re-appearance. But “Half of Loaf is better than none.”

Remove Watermark Using Registry Editor

This is the best method to remove windows watermark if you don’t want to buy a new product key. It will take just only 1 to 2 minutes. To do so, follow the given steps.

We have disabled the value of the windows activation watermark. On the next boot, you won’t find the windows activation watermark on your desktop.

If this method doesn’t work for you, we have other ways to remove activate Windows 10 watermark.

Remove Watermark using Universal Watermark Disabler

Using Universal Watermark Disabler software is a good option for you to remove the windows activation watermark if you don’t want to do it manually.

Universal Watermark Disabler is a free app that can remove any kinds of watermarks in Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1.

It will work on any build starting from Windows 8 to the latest Windows 10 versions. The updated version holds some bug fixes and joins support for the latest Windows 10 build 10031.

Features:

All you need to do is:

Activate Windows or Microsoft Office using KMSpico for free

KMSPico is being used to validate the pirated version of Microsoft Windows. Furthermore, this KMS technology is launched by Microsoft for mutual gain, without getting exposed by Microsoft. So you can say that the same team publishes these keys for public use.

KMSPico is the software of those such technologies which does not violate the rules of Microsoft. It’s just like a local server which let every machine use the KMS Technology. The good thing about it is it can activate Windows and also Microsoft Office.

This software uses KMS (Key Management Service) technology, which is introduced by Microsoft for big and small companies.

So Companies don’t need to activate Windows separately on every computer. Instead, they go through the KMS server, and this server enables their Microsoft products.

To Activate Windows using KMSpico, follow the instructions:

Supported Windows:

Supported Microsoft office:

The Key features of KMSpico:

Activate Windows using Microsoft Toolkit 2.6.4

Microsoft Toolkit is an alternative of KMSpico. It works exactly as KMSpico. It can also activate Windows and Microsoft office both. Microsoft toolkit is a mixture of all activators.

Auto KMS and EZ activator modules are built in to give a perfect activation algorithm. Microsoft Toolkit also supports the manual call activation system.

To use it, you will need to click the phone button, generate a 12 digit code and call Microsoft through Skype To remove Windows watermark, follow the instructions:

Supported Versions:

Key Features of Microsoft toolkit 2.6.4:

Remove Activate Windows 10 Watermark using a batch file

It is an easy trick to remove Watermark from your desktop. This method does not require any third-party software. It just takes 1 to 2 minutes only.

To remove Windows 10 activation watermark,

10. Remove Activation Watermark using Code

This method is similar to the above one. To do this follow these steps

Conclusion on remove activate windows 10 watermark

I have discussed all working methods to remove activate windows watermark. Some of the methods might not work for you, and some do.

If you don’t want to compromise with your computer’s security, then I strongly recommend you purchase a valid license key from the official Microsoft Store.

Third-party software might consist of Trojan and virus, which can damage your computer and puts you in trouble if you face any problem regarding the activation process, comment below. I would like to answer you.

How To Get Rid of the Activate Windows Watermark in Windows 10

We’ve all been there, whether you obtained Windows legally, or applied some tricks to install it on your computer without paying a penny. The notorious “ Activate Windows ” watermark has made many people’s experience with their computers rather unpleasant. It may block your view, embarrass you when trying to record your screen, or distract you when watching movies or playing video games.

Today, we’re going to show you how to remove the “ Activate Windows ” watermark on Windows 10.

What Is the “Activate Windows” Watermark?

Microsoft, just like any other company, doesn’t like it when its hard work gets pirated, exploited, and re-distributed for free. In an attempt to stop the piracy of their newest operating system, Windows 10, they came up with the idea of placing a watermark in the corner until the user legally activates Windows.

This might not seem like a huge issue, as the watermark doesn’t really get in your way. Instead, it sits on top of every window, app, and even your cursor.

While it’s not a ground-breaking method of stopping piracy, it was enough to drive you here and look up how you can get rid of it. Don’t worry — other than telling you the obvious solution, we’ve compiled some methods to help those who don’t want to spend money to remove the watermark.

With that clarified, let’s get to work and remove the “ Activate Windows ” watermark on your Windows 10 system.

How To Remove the “Activate Windows” Watermark Permanently

Let’s take a look at how you can get rid of the pesky watermark in the corner of your screen in a few easy steps!

Do the Notepad Trick

One of the easiest and most recognized ways of removing the pesky little watermark in the corner of your screen is doing a simple trick with the pre-installed Notepad app. Yes, the Notepad app you use on a daily.

Modify Your Registry

The registry is something casual Windows users generally don’t meddle with unless it’s instructed in an online guide like this one! It’s a powerful way to customize your Windows 10 experience on a deeper level, allowing you to meddle with system configuration and application settings.

If this approach suits your style more, follow the next simple steps to remove the “ Activate Windows ” watermark using registry edits.

Change Ease of Access Settings

Did you know that changing a simple setting in your Windows 10 will immediately get rid of the watermark? If you answered no, you’re not alone. By simply disabling background images with Ease of Access, you can also remove the watermark that comes with Windows 10.

Use a Windows 10 Watermark Remover

Many applications are available online that quickly remove the Windows 10 watermark for you. These applications are often shady and come from all corners of the internet — make sure you download with caution when searching on your own.

Tip : Universal Watermark Disabler works for earlier versions of Windows as well. Make sure to give it a recommendation to your fellow tech-gurus who use an older OS.

Activate Your OS

Yes, it’d be unprofessional to not include the true, best way of getting rid of the “Activate Windows” watermark — activating Windows. If you already have a way to validate your copy of the operating system, rejoice! You can activate your system, remove limitations, and never see “Activate Windows” ever again.

Here’s how you can actually activate Windows 10.

1. Activate Using a Product Key

2. Activate Using a Digital License

Summary: How To Remove Activate Windows 10 Watermark

In this article you’ve learned:

Final Words

We believe this guide was able to help you successfully remove the “Activate Windows” watermark from your system. Please note that it’s possible for this watermark to periodically reappear — in this case, just come back and repeat any of these processes. Now, check out our help center for more guides, articles, and troubleshooting ticks and tricks for your better Window user experience. For more articles and help, subscribe to our newsletter. You will be the first to get a hold of our updated articles, discounts, coupons, and more. Subscribe below.

How To Remove the Activate Windows 10 Watermark

Have you forgotten to enter your Windows 10 product key? Or do you not own a Windows license? If you have non-activated Windows 10, a watermark in the bottom right corner of your screen will display just that. The “Activate Windows, Go to Settings to activate Windows” watermark is overlayed on top of any active window or apps that you launch.

While this is a minor annoyance for most users, PC gamers may find that the overlay is causing frame drops, lag, and stuttering. This can seriously hinder your gaming abilities. There are several ways to hide this watermark permanently or temporarily. Of course, the best way is to simply activate Windows 10 to get rid of it permanently.

In rare cases, the watermark doesn’t disappear even after you input your Windows 10 product key and activate the system. We have a fix for this too.

How To Temporarily Remove the Windows 10 Activation Watermark

At the time of writing, there’s 1 working method to temporarily remove the activation watermark without having to input a Windows 10 activation key. It’s a tweak performed with the Registry Editor.

We highly recommend creating a Registry backup or a restore point on your device before proceeding.

You should immediately see that the Activate Windows watermark is gone even though you never had to enter a Windows 10 key. Do keep in mind that this is not a permanent solution. The watermark will return after some period of time.

Luckily, you can keep repeating this method every time the watermark pops up again. If you want to speed this up more, download our Registry Tweak to automatically do it for you. Just save the file, double-click on it, and restart your computer.

How To Permanently Remove Activate Windows Watermark Without a Product Key

Still don’t want to buy a Windows 10 product key? We get it. If you want to continue using the operating system in its free version, but want to get rid of the annoying watermark, there’s a way. Users have discovered a simple notepad trick that removes the text from your screen without illegally activating the system.

Naturally, this method does not grant you permission to use any features that aren’t accessible without a Windows activation key. You still can’t access personalization such as background images, but at least you can get rid of the activation message. Follow these steps to permanently get rid of the watermark on Windows 10 without activating your system:

Are you looking for information other than removing or disabling the watermark without a Windows 10 product key purchase? The next section of this article is aimed towards people who have or want to have a genuine, activated Windows 10 and remove the watermark with a product key or digital license.

How To Activate Windows 10 and Remove the Activate Windows Watermark

Activating your copy of Windows 10 is the best and intended way of removing the watermark placed on top of your screen. Other than getting rid of the watermark, you can also access locked features this way, personalize your PC, and gain access to updates from Microsoft.

Depending on how you purchased Windows 10, you’ll either have a 25-character product key or a digital license. Here is a list from Microsoft’s support page to help you determine which activation method you’ll need to use:

After you determine which method needs to be used, you can follow one of these two guides to help you activate Windows 10. Please note that a product key or digital license can’t be substituted for one another.

How To Activate Windows 10 With a Digital License

A digital license is issued to your computer if you either upgrade to Windows 10 from an eligible device or purchase a genuine copy of either Windows 10 or Windows 10 Pro. You need to use this license in order to activate your operating system and remove the watermark.

After the successful activation of your preferred system version with a Windows 10 digital license, your system will unlock all previously inaccessible features. You’ll immediately notice that the Activate Windows watermark is gone as well.

Summary: Steps to activate Windows 10 with a digital license

STEP 1: While beginning activation, select the ‘I don’t have a product key option.

STEP 2: Setup and login into Windows 10 with your linked Microsoft account. Windows 10 will be automatically activated at this point.

In case you had made hardware changes follow the next steps:

STEP 3: Press the Windows key, then go to Settings > Update and Security > Activation.

STEP 4: If Windows is not activated, search and press ‘Troubleshoot’.

STEP 5: Select ‘Activate Windows’ in the new window and then Activate. Or, select ‘I changed hardware on this device recently, if applicable.

STEP 6: If you get sign-in prompts, follow them using a Microsoft account linked to your digital license.

STEP 7: Select the device you’re using and check ‘This is the device I’m using right now’ next to it.

STEP 8: Press Activate.

Your digital license should be there and your copy of Windows 10 will be activated.

How To Activate Windows 10 With a Product Key

After you locate your product key, follow the steps below to activate Windows. Keep in mind that Microsoft uses Online Activation Technology, meaning that you need an active connection to the internet at the time of activation.

Summary: Steps to activate Windows 10 with a product key

STEP 1: For installation of Windows 10, enter your product license key.

STEP 2: Press the Windows key, go to Settings > Update and Security > Activation.

STEP 3: Press the Change Product key.

STEP 4: Enter your product key into the pop-up box and press Next.

STEP 5: Press Activate.

Final Word

We hope that using our methods, you were able to remove the “Activate Windows, go to Settings to activate Windows” watermark with or without a Windows 10 activation key. If you want to buy the operating system from a trusted seller for a great price, check our genuine Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro deals.

Are you a business owner? We sell Windows 10 Enterprise for cheap to give you and your employees access to today’s best OS.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Windows activation? Do I need to do it?

Activation ensures that your copy of Windows is genuine and hasn’t been installed on more devices than permitted by the Microsoft Software License Terms.

Microsoft lets anybody download and install Windows 10 for free with no need for a product key or digital license. At the time of writing, the difference between an activated system and a non-activated instance is only some cosmetic restrictions. This will stay like that for the foreseeable future.

Q: How to activate Windows 10 for free?

If you have a genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 product key, you might be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 10. In this case, all you have to do is enter your product key and install Windows 10 for free.

There are no other completely legal ways of activating Windows 10 for free. You can attempt to use a product key from the internet, but this may get you fined if you’re caught, or during a company software audit.

Q: How to get a Windows 10 product key?

A Windows 10 product key comes with your purchase of the system. It’s either sent to you via email or included in the physical packaging. If you bought a PC or laptop with Windows 10 pre-installed, the serial number might be on a sticker.

Q: How to check if Windows 10 is activated?

Simply head to Settings → Update & Security → Activation to check your system activation status.

Final Thoughts

That wraps up our guide on how you can remove the «Activate Windows 10» watermark from your screen.

We hope you found a suitable method.

Now, we’d like to turn it to you.

Our Help Center offers hundreds of guides to assist you if you’re in need of further help.

Return to us for more informative articles, or get in touch with our experts for immediate assistance.

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Remove Activate Windows 10 watermark Permanently [Updated 2022]

Activate windows watermark keeps coming back after apply various solutions? Here we have unique methods, to remove windows 10 activation watermark permanently from your desktop

Are you getting “Activate Windows- Go to settings to activate windows” watermark on your desktop? Or Looking for the way to remove activate windows watermark permanently from your desktop? This is because your windows license has expired. If you have a product key then you can activate it directly, to remove activate Windows watermark. But if you don’t have one, here how to remove activate windows 10 watermark without a product key.

How to remove activate windows watermark?

Applied different solutions but still, activate windows watermark keeps coming back? Don’t worry here in this post we have the working ways to remove windows 10 watermark Permanently.

Remove active windows watermark with help of cmd

With a simple notepad trick, you can easily remove Activate Windows 10 Watermark from your desktop. Let’s see how to do it.

@echo off
taskkill /F /IM explorer.exe
explorer.exe
exit

A command prompt will be opened and closed itself, Now restart your laptop or desktop. That’s all there is no more “activate windows go to settings to activate windows” on your Desktop.

Registry Tweak to remove Activate windows watermark

Here is another tweak to remove activate windows 10 watermark using the windows registry editor.

Video how to remove windows water mark

In addition, refer to this video for one more registry tweak that helps remove activate the windows watermark on windows 10.

Windows watermark remover tool

Still activate windows watermark keeps coming back? Y ou can use a third-party windows watermark remover tool, “Universal Watermark Disabler 1.0.0.6” which helps remove all kinds of watermarks in Windows 10.

Disable Activate Windows Watermark by using Ease of Access

that’s all, did the above solutions help remove activate windows watermark on windows 10? Let us know in the comments below.

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