When you perform a clean install of Windows 10 from USB, ISO or DVD without entering a valid product key, Windows 10 is installed in trial mode and is valid for 30-days only. The user has to either activate the install using a valid product key to continue using without any limitations (see how long can you can use Windows 10 without activation).
Once you start using the trial copy of Windows 10, Windows will display automatic activation popups at regular intervals asking you to enter the product key to activate the installation even during the trial period. As said before, the automatic activation messages start appearing in the 30-day trial period itself and don’t start after the trial period.
This is because, like previous Windows versions, Windows 10 also comes with an automatic activation feature, and this automatic activation is responsible for the frequent activation popups that appear during the trial period.
Although the automatic activation feature is useful and does nothing but reminds users to activate the copy of Windows 10, not all users like this frequent “activate Windows” popup messages.
If you don’t want to see the automatic activation popups now and then, you can turn off or disable automatic activation feature in Windows 10 by making a small change to the Registry.
Method 1 of 2
Turn off automatic activation in Windows 10 by manually editing Registry
NOTE: We recommend you create a manual system restore point before editing the Registry.
Step 1: Type Regedit in the Start menu search box and then press Enter key. Click Yes button when you see User Account Control prompt to open Registry Editor.
Step 2: In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT \CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\Activation
Step 3: Select the Activation key. On the right-side, look for the entry named Manual, and change its default value to 1 to disable the automatic activation.
Set the value of Manual back to 0 (zero) to enable automatic activation in Windows 10.
If the automatic activation message is appearing even after making the above-said change, please reboot your PC once to apply the change.
Method 2 of 2
Easy way to disable automatic activation in Windows 10
Those of you who are not familiar with the Registry can use this method to easily turn on or off the automatic activation in Windows 10.
Step 1: Click here to download AutoActivationOff.reg file.
Step 2: Right-click on the AutoActivatoinOff.reg file, click Merge and then click Yes button when you see the confirmation dialog.
Step 3: Click the OK button when you see the following dialog.
To turn on automatic activation again, download this AutoActivationOn Registry file, and follow instructions in Step 2 and Step 3 of Method 2.
Jeremy Prior says
This carefully constructed procedure is so clearly explained that I have dared to go into my registry and change the value to 1. I can’t tell yet if it has got rid of the nagging Unregistered copy message cropping up every few days but it is promising. Last December I posed this problem to a microsoft support forum and nobody had this fix shown here. I spent days on trying all kinds of remedies and none of them worked. I have high hopes that this simple registry change will have done the trick. So in advance Thank you profusely !
Raheel ahmed says
enter the product key to activate windows
AmEsh says
What a magic! You made my day!
Daniel Williams says
AS usual, none of the recommended fixes work – the keys it wants you to to modify aren’t there.
Ethan says
It may not work for this but what i did was put manual to 1 and put the rest of the stuff in activation to 0 restart it shows your windows version and stuff in the bottom left but if you go into a game or browser it isent there)
For the easy download thing that was actual a bat file. Get notepad++ then copy all the stuff when you open that link and paste it in notepad++ and click file then save as and in the file type search for batch file and do it as that and save it as that then find it and open it.
(Links that are supposed to fix windows stufff you dont want are usually batch files and owners dont double check them)
Saba Chishty says
Method 1 , works for me, after modification I just restarted my laptop.
Qylux says
Download isn’t working on the 2nd one
Htintin says
31/08/2018
This trick doesn’t works anymore.
T says
I still not manage to turn off the massage. Your windows license will expire soon
Josh says
“Windows 10 is installed in trial mode, and is valid for 30-days only” I’m on 4 months now, is this actually true?