To activate the Windows Server, it may be necessary to enter the activation key via the command line / CMD with administrator rights. The first step is to check whether the correct server version is already installed on the device:
If the “Standard Evaluation” or a version other than the key is installed, as shown in the following image, you must first perform a version change.
You can switch between versions by entering the following commands via the command line / CMD with administrator rights:
| Server version | Command with generic activation key |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials | dism /online /set-edition:serverEssentials /productkey:K2XGM-NMBT3-2R6Q8-WF2FK-P36R2 /accepteula |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard | dism /online /set-edition:serverStandard /productkey:DBGBW-NPF86-BJVTX-K3WKJ-MTB6V /accepteula |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter | dism /online /set-edition:serverDatacenter /productkey:Y4TGP-NPTV9-HTC2H-7MGQ3-DV4TW /accepteula |
| Windows Server 2016 Essentials | dism /online /set-edition:serverEssentials /productkey:JCKRF-N37P4-C2D82-9YXRT-4M63B /accepteula |
| Windows Server 2016 Standard | dism /online /set-edition:serverStandard /productkey:WC2BQ-8NRM3-FDDYY-2BFGV-KHKQY /accepteula |
| Windows Server 2016 Datacenter | dism /online /set-edition:serverDatacenter /productkey:CB7KF-BWN84-R7R2Y-793K2-8XDDG /accepteula |
| Windows Server 2019 Essentials | dism /online /set-edition:serverEssentials /productkey:WVDHN-86M7X-466P6-VHXV7-YY726 /accepteula |
| Windows Server 2019 Standard | dism /online /set-edition:serverStandard /productkey:N69G4-B89J2-4G8F4-WWYCC-J464C /accepteula |
| Windows Server 2019 Datacenter | dism /online /set-edition:serverDatacenter /productkey:WMDGN-G9PQG-XVVXX-R3X43-63DFG /accepteula |
| Windows Server 2022 Standard | dism /online /set-edition:serverStandard /productkey:VDYBN-27WPP-V4HQT-9VMD4-VMK7H /accepteula |
| Windows Server 2022 Datacenter | dism /online /set-edition:serverDatacenter /productkey:WX4NM-KYWYW-QJJR4-XV3QB-6VM33 /accepteula |
| Windows Server 2025 Standard | dism /online /set-edition:serverStandard /productkey:TVRH6-WHNXV-R9WG3-9XRFY-MY832 /accepteula |
| Windows Server 2025 Datacenter | dism /online /set-edition:serverDatacenter /productkey:D764K-2NDRG-47T6Q-P8T8W-YP6DF /accepteula |
After switching to a different version, you should check for updates, have them installed and restart the server once.
Once you have the desired target version on the server.
Activate the server by entering the following command via the command line / CMD with administrator rights. Please note that the character string AAAAA-BBBBB-CCCCC-DDDDD-DDD-EEEEE must be replaced by the key you received from us:
slmgr /ipk AAAAA-BBBBB-CCCCC-DDDDD-EEEEE
This would read as follows for the key “HJ1HG-HU44Z-68HJP-V79W4-1R2R4”:
slmgr /ipk HJ1HG-HU44Z-68HJP-V79W4-1R2R4
Activation of the key can be forced by entering a second command:
slmgr /ato
If you have any questions or problems with activation, please contact us.
