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Phone activation for Windows has been discontinued.
You'll have to use an online portal to activate Windows.
The portal requires a Microsoft or business account.
Microsoft has typically offered a few ways to manually activate Windows for times when it won't activate automatically. One useful method had been to call Microsoft by phone, allowing a customer support rep to talk you through the process and grant the activation. That was especially handy if you couldn't get online with your PC. Alas, that method is no more.
In a recent YouTube video, a tech enthusiast named Ben Kleinberg demonstrated the loss of phone activation. After installing Windows 7 Home Premium, Kleinberg said he called the Microsoft product activation number to activate a license for the OS. Instead of getting connected to a support rep, he received a recording telling him that product activation has moved online, with no apparent way to do this by phone.
Also: Microsoft has lost its way
To confirm, I called the same Microsoft number for product activation—1-888-725-1047. I received the same message telling me that activation has moved online. Upon following a link to the portal, I first had to solve a CAPTCHA puzzle. The next screen prompted me to sign in with a Microsoft account or a school or business account. From there, I was taken to a screen where I could activate Windows, Windows Server, or Microsoft Office. I then had to enter an installation ID to attempt the activation process.
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