Microsoft confirms it just killed a unique and useful way to activate Windows

Microsoft has officially confirmed that an old Windows activation method is now gone. Back in the day, it was possible to activate a Windows copy via phone, all without having an active internet connection. In December 2025, users noticed that the service went down, and now, one month later, Microsoft finally acknowledged that it is no longer possible to activate a Windows copy through a phone.

A Microsoft spokesperson said that the company killed the ability to activate Windows via phone on December 3, 2025. Before that, it served as a convenient and useful way to activate Windows on so-called "air-gapped" systems that have no access to the internet or a legal tool for activating long-unsupported Windows versions.

Now, however, all of that is history, and any attempt to call the offline activation line results in the robot reading the following message: "Support for product activation has moved online. For the fastest and most convenient way to activate your product, please visit our online product activation portal at aka.ms/aoh."

Fortunately, it is still possible to activate Windows 11 in offline mode or without a Microsoft Account. If you only want to activate a Windows copy with a local account, you can go to Settings > Activation and just enter your license key.

For those who want to activate an offline copy, things are a bit more challenging but still possible. Microsoft says that offline activation remains available, but users need a second device with an active internet connection to log into the online activation portal and follow its instructions to get the job done. Sadly, this means that official activation of old Windows versions for whatever reason you have is now virtually impossible.

Source: The Verge

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Posted Friday 9 January 2026 at 5:50 am AEST (my time).

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