Spoiled Windows activation keys knocking out unsuspecting Local account users by surprise

windows 11 and windows 10 logos in red

If we were to take a poll today with randomized participants, it wouldn't be hard to imagine that the majority would probably prefer Windows 7, Windows XP, or even Windows 10 over Microsoft's latest offering. This can be sort of gauged by the general behavior people exhibit on online forums, including on Neowin or elsewhere.

There is a palatable amount of buzz when we talk about when we explore concepts based on older Windows versions or instances where we cover ways to go back to an earlier Windows OS like in this example using a PowerShell script. Market share data, courtesy of Statcounter, also seems to confirm this, as a lot of people still appear reluctant to make the move over to Windows 11.

For those with old activation keys, though, who seem to have finally decided to take the leap, things have not been looking up. Back in October, Microsoft quietly announced that activation of Windows 11 builds using Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 was no longer possible, something that had been known to work before.

Despite the transition creating problems, Microsoft has stuck to this decision. Obviously, not every user out there is an enthusiast or follows Microsoft news religiously. Such users are being caught off guard by the change.

And even if you did, having a local account instead of a Microsoft Account (MSA) could prove like a bad bet now as the past Windows 10 activation information was not stored, meaning Windows 11 activation with the same key that worked previously on 10 was no longer possible.

A reader of The Register found this out, and apparently, Microsoft support wasn't too helpful about it:

Spoke to Microsoft tech support, and that was of no use – sounded like the guy was trying to get me to purchase a digital license.

The Register reached out to Microsoft and received the following statement from a company spokesperson:

We have no additional information to share beyond what has already been communicated. Customers experiencing technical difficulties should contact Microsoft customer support directly for assistance.

Hence, it looks like Microsoft has simply reiterated what was already confirmed previously. And those who used a local account may not be able to get around this even though it worked previously with Windows 10.