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This article will show you how to Fix ‘Your Windows License Will Expire Soon’ Error. The error message “Your Windows license will expire soon” appears when the digital license you use to activate Windows is about to run out. At first, you may only get this error sometimes, but it can cause your computer to restart at odd times. This error can also happen if your digital license is up-to-date or permanent. Most of the time, it’s because your license check has bugs or other problems. Most of the time, it happens after you update your Windows version. If Microsoft can’t confirm that your Windows license is still valid or if it’s about to run out, you’ll get constant reminders to activate Windows. On a Windows PC, this might be one of the worst kinds of interruptions you can get.
You may also get activation reminders if your Windows license isn’t real or if you have a version of Windows on your PC that isn’t compatible. Let’s say that your PC came with Windows Home already installed. When you upgrade to Windows Pro, you might get messages like “Your Windows license will expire soon.” If you are using an uncertified version of Windows and are having this problem, the only way to fix it is to buy a valid digital license from Microsoft. We’ve put together a list of ways that real Windows users can try to Fix ‘Your Windows License Will Expire Soon’ Error.
Activate Windows Using Command Prompt
If you can’t get Windows to work through the Settings app, you can try using the Command Prompt. Make sure your computer is connected to the internet, then follow these steps:
- To get to the search menu, click the magnifying glass on the taskbar.
- In the box, type cmd, and then click Run as administrator.
- When the User Account Control (UAC) message comes up, choose “Yes.”
- In the console, type slmgr /ato and press Enter.
Find Your Product Key and Activate Windows
Another way to fix this error is to use the ShowKeyPlus app to find your product key and then try to activate Windows again. Several people in the forums said that this method fixed the error. You can try it out, too.
- From the Microsoft Store, you can get the ShowKeyPlus app.
- Use the search menu to open the ShowKeyPlus app.
- On the Home tab, write down the OEM key.
- To open the Settings app, press Win + I.
- Click on Activation in the System tab.
- Click the button next to “Change product key” that says “Change.”
- Enter the OEM key that was shown earlier, and then click Next.
- To make sure, click the “Activate” button.
Rebuild the Tokens.dat File
Tokens.dat is a system file that is used to license and activate Windows. If this file gets messed up in some way, Windows might not be able to check that your license is real and might give you the “Your Windows license will expire soon” error. You can try to fix the error by rebuilding the Tokens.dat file on your PC. Here’s how to do the same thing.
- To open the Power User menu, right-click on the Start button or press Win+X on the keyboard.
- From the list, choose Terminal (Admin).
- Type each of the following commands and hit Enter after each one.
- net stop sppsvc
- cd %windir%\system32\spp\store\2.0
- ren tokens.dat tokens.bar
- net start sppsvc
- cscript.exe %windir%\system32\slmgr.vbs /rilc
- After running the above commands, restart your computer and see if the “Your Windows license will expire soon” error still shows up.
Run the Activation Troubleshooter
Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 have troubleshooters that can be used to fix common system problems. In this case, you can use the Windows Activation troubleshooter to fix any problems that may have caused the “Your Windows license will expire soon” error on your PC. Follow these steps to run the Activation troubleshooter:
- To open the Settings app, press Win + I.
- Go to the System > Activation menu.
- Click the button that says Troubleshooter.
Reset the Licensing Status
There is a way to get rid of the “Your Windows license will expire soon” message even if your Windows license is not real. For this workaround, you need to use Command Prompt to reset the activation period and hide the “Activate Windows” watermark. Here are some steps to take.
- Open the Command Prompt as an administrator.
- In the console, type slmgr /rearm and press Enter.
- After running the command, restart your computer.
Causes of the Error
The main reason for this error is that the license for Windows 7/9/8.1/10 has run out. Some people get this error even when they buy a new device that already has Windows OS on it. This can happen if the license key is wrong or if the system doesn’t accept the key. The BIOS is built around this key. In this case, you need to call customer service, which will help you out. The error could also happen if the OS was bought from a sketchy site. There are a lot of sites that sell Windows OS products, but they are not officially partnered with Microsoft. These products are fake and a waste of money 90% of the time.
What will happen if the Windows license expires?
You will usually see a message that says “Your Windows license will expire soon” about two weeks before the license runs out. You need to go to Settings and turn on Windows. Once the date has passed, Windows will restart itself every three hours, and any data that hasn’t been saved will be lost. This will go on for two weeks before Windows won’t start up anymore. After Windows won’t start, the only thing you can do is reinstall the OS. And you’d need a different tool for that. When you see the “Your Windows license will expire soon” message for the first time, we suggest making a bootable USB drive so that reinstalling and activating the OS is easy. If you want to know more information about this visit official Microsoft support site.