We all are have the idea that Windows needs a license key to activate and this key is generally provided when you install Windows. Once you have completed with the installation, Windows will connect to internet and activate your copy by checking the license keys. But sometimes even if you have entered the correct keys, there might be issues activating the license.
One such error you see while activating Windows 8.1 is the Error 0xc004f074 which says “No Key management Service (KMS) could be contacted. Unless you activate Windows 8.1 you cannot use all the features and some customization options will not be available as they are disabled. So how to fix the Error 0xc004f074 in Windows 8.1.
If you keep getting this error, thy the following work around to activate Windows 8.1
Method 1
- First of all, on your Windows 8 device open an elevated Command Prompt Window – you can do it by going to your Start Screen from where you need to press “Wind” keyboard key; then on the search box type “cmd” and right click on the result; from there choose “run as administrator”.
- On the CMD Window enter “slmgr.vbs –ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx (x should be replaced by your 25 digit product key)”.
- Then press enter.
- Up next on the same cmd window type “slmgr.vbs –ato” and hit enter.
- Finally close the cmd window as you are done.
- Go to Start and Open RUN Command (Press Windows + R)
- Type Slui 3 and Enter your Product Key
- Click on Activate That’s it and you are done
If both of the above method fails then there are likely chances that there is something wrong with your windows either while installation process or files are corrupted which is very rare to happen so to check this follow the below given instructions
- The issue might be with corrupt system files. Run an SFC scan.
- Open command prompt(with admin rights).
- Type sfc /scannow
Try activating, once the scan is complete. If the scan produced errors,this might be a problem with corrupted system files that needs to be taken care of.
Method 4 - The product key has exceeded its unlock limit
Trying to activate too many times can lead to a server error “the product key has exceeded its unlock limit”. Once you get this message, there are only 2 things to do.
- Dial the automated system and try to activate product by phone.
- If that failed, talk to a Microsoft technician. Be prepared with details of your purchase of product as the technician is sure to ask questions to confirm if the product is genuine. Once confirmed, they will reset the product key on their server and you wont have any more problems in activating.
- At present there are lot of reported issues related to activation. I will be updating this article on a regular basis on steps that could be used to fix this problem.
You can fix the Windows 8 KMS activator issue by using a third party app. With the software you will have to perform a scan which will fix your problem automatically. So, just download the tool from here and install the same on your Windows 8 / Windows 8.1 device. Then run the app and follow the on screen prompts and you are done. There you have it; that’s how you can easily fix your Windows 8 KMS activator problem. Use the comments field from if you have questions or if you need other details related to this topic; we will assist you as soon as possible.