Updated: July 16, 2020 (October 23, 2017)

  Analyst Report

Windows 10 Subscription Activation

My Atlas / Analyst Reports

1,119 wordsTime to read: 6 min
Wes Miller by
Wes Miller

Wes Miller analyzes and writes about Microsoft’s security, identity management, and systems management technologies. Before joining Directions on Microsoft, Wes... more

Windows 10 now supports Windows 10 Subscription Activation (sometimes referred to as Azure Active Directory-based activation), which enables Windows 10 Pro to immediately become Windows 10 Enterprise and offer the full range of OS features reserved for Enterprise edition, without requiring a reboot. Subscription activation is now required for customers running Windows 10 in a multitenant hosted virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environment. While the use of subscription activation will likely ease deployment complexity in the long run, there are a fair number of requirements to get an entire organization using it to activate Windows 10.

Benefits of Subscription Activation

Windows 10 Subscription Activation automatically converts Windows 10 Pro to Windows 10 Enterprise when a user who has been assigned a license signs in. In addition to upgrading the edition, Subscription Activation manages up to five licensed instances of Windows 10 Enterprise by the assigned user. This offers certain benefits to customers, and certain benefits to Microsoft:

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