Check Windows activation status on a workstation

Check activation via Windows Settings

1. On the target workstation, press Win + I to open Settings.
2. Navigate to: Settings → System → Activation (Windows 11) or Settings → Update & Security → Activation (Windows 10).
3. Review the Activation state field. Expected values:
   • Active — Windows is licensed and activated.
   • Not active — Activation failed; an error code (e.g., 0xC004F074) will be shown.
4. Expand the Activation state tile to view the edition (e.g., Windows 11 Pro) and the activation method (Digital license, Product key, or Organization's activation service).

Quick check via Run dialog

1. Press Win + R, type slmgr.vbs /xpr, and press Enter.
2. A dialog will report one of:
   • The machine is permanently activated.
   • Will expire on [date] — typical for KMS-activated devices (180-day renewal).
   • Notification mode — activation has failed or grace period has ended.

Not applicable for this recipe. Windows activation status is a local licensing state exposed through WMI/slmgr on each device; there is no Microsoft cloud REST API that reports per-device Windows activation. If you manage devices via Intune, you can view the Windows edition and license type under Intune → Devices → [device] → Hardware, but the authoritative activation state is retrieved on-device using the PowerShell approach below.

Local check (one-liner)

Run an elevated PowerShell session on the target workstation:

# Human-readable activation status
slmgr.vbs /xpr

# Detailed license info: channel, partial key, expiration
slmgr.vbs /dli

# Full license info (all installed SKUs)
slmgr.vbs /dlv

Structured query via CIM/WMI

For scripting and reporting, query the SoftwareLicensingProduct class and filter to the installed Windows SKU:

Get-CimInstance -ClassName SoftwareLicensingProduct |
  Where-Object { $_.PartialProductKey -and $_.Name -like 'Windows*' } |
  Select-Object Name, Description, LicenseStatus, PartialProductKey, GracePeriodRemaining

LicenseStatus values:

• 0 — Unlicensed
• 1 — Licensed (activated)
• 2 — Out-of-Box Grace
• 3 — Out-of-Tolerance Grace
• 4 — Non-Genuine Grace
• 5 — Notification
• 6 — Extended Grace

Remote check

To check a remote workstation, wrap the query in Invoke-Command:

Invoke-Command -ComputerName 'WKSTN-01' -ScriptBlock {
  Get-CimInstance SoftwareLicensingProduct |
    Where-Object { $_.PartialProductKey -and $_.Name -like 'Windows*' } |
    Select-Object PSComputerName, Name, LicenseStatus, PartialProductKey
}

The downloadable script below wraps these checks, decodes LicenseStatus, and supports multiple remote targets.