I recently set up two Lenovo LOQ laptops equipped with RTX 5070s for some 3D modelers. They originally came with Windows 11 Home, but I reinstalled them using a Windows 11 Pro image. My plan was to set them up almost entirely before switching the primary user to the actual user accounts in Intune. However, after logging in with my account and checking for updates, I noticed that the operating system shows as Windows 11 Enterprise but won't activate. I'm wondering if this is due to having activated too many devices with my account or if there's something else going on. Will activation likely work when I hand the laptops over to the users?
4 Answers
I was caught off guard too when I found out there’s no direct upgrade path from Home to Pro. You’d have to clean install with Windows 11 Pro to get it activated properly.
To upgrade to Windows 11 Enterprise with Microsoft 365 E3, you usually need a valid Pro license on the device first. If you didn't input a proper Pro key when upgrading, it could cause activation issues with Enterprise. Just check that you followed the upgrade path correctly!
I think he might have used a generic Pro key. If that's the case, it should theoretically enable him to activate Enterprise later, but sometimes it can get tricky.
Unfortunately, it seems like you might need to buy a couple of Pro upgrade keys now. It’s a hassle, but that’s the fix. In the future, make sure not to buy devices with Home pre-installed for business use—it'll save you a lot of trouble!
Yeah, it’s frustrating! Just keep in mind that changing keys on Home usually just leads to the upgrade without a complete reinstall, but it’s not meant for the E3 to Enterprise direct upgrade.
You can't upgrade from Home directly to Enterprise; the OEM base licenses must be Pro or higher. If the laptops have Home installed, that's likely why you're seeing activation issues.
Actually, on Home, you can just switch to a Pro key and it does the magic behind the scenes. It works most of the time with just a restart!