Reactivation of Windows 10 after reinstall when not using a Microsoft Account

D

dontcallmetony

Hello,


I just bought a new laptop and am planning to give my previous laptop to a family member after reinstalling Windows 10 (either by resetting and not keeping files or a clean install from USB via the Media Creation Tool).


The old laptop was purchased in early 2015 and originally came with Windows 8.1. I upgraded for free to Windows 10 and the activation information states that Windows is activated with a digital license tied to a Microsoft account.


So far, so good.


However, the family member that I am planning on giving the laptop to does not have a Microsoft account.


When I reinstall Windows 10, the nominal advice is to skip entering a product key and Windows will check and activate online. But if I am creating a local-only administrator account (for the family member) without a Microsoft account, will Windows 10 be able to be reactivated? Or do I have to create a separate user account for myself, log in with my Microsoft account, and thus activate Windows on the laptop?


If I create a local-only account for the family member at the time of reset or re-installation of Windows 10, will Windows fail to reactivate?

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