This is one of those annoying situations you may face when using the Windows 10 OS. On a day when all seems well with your computer, you may all of a sudden see a message flash at the bottom-right of your desktop saying “Your Windows license will expire soon.”
This could throw one in a frenzied state of confusion. In this article I will walk you through a list of options and steps to take to fix the “Windows license will expire soon” problem.
Also read: Windows Start Menu Search Not Working? Here Are 14 Fixes
How to check Windows’ activation status
This is a good place to start. You have to really be sure you have an active license. If not, your option would be to buy a genuine Windows license.
To check your status:
1. Open File Explorer.
2. On the left pane, right-click on “This-PC” or your computer name if you have one customized. This brings up some others options. Select the “Properties” option.
Alternatively, you could open up your Control Panel and navigate to “System and Security -> System.”
3. At the bottom of the System control panel applet, under Windows activation, the activation status is displayed. If you have an activated system and have encountered the “Windows will expire soon” issue, then you should try these solutions.
Solution 1: Restart Windows Explorer process
Right-click on any empty area in your desktop taskbar, and select the “Task manager” option. Navigate to the processes tab at the top of the Window.
Under the Processes tab, search for Windows Explorer, right-click on it and select the “Restart” option. Alternatively, select Windows Explorer, and click “Restart” by the bottom-right corner of the Window.
Also read: How to Recover Your Windows 10 Product Key
Solution 2: Input a product key
For this process, you need to know the license key. To find the license key, open the Command Prompt with admin privileges. Enter the command:
wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey
Copy your product key displayed under “OA3xOriginalProductKey.” Open the System Control Panel applet like you did while trying to check your activation status. Click on the option to “Change product key.” It is located at the bottom-right corner.
In the pop-up that appears, enter the product key you have copied from your command prompt, and click “OK.” You may need to restart your computer afterward.
Solution 3: Reset licensing status
Most of the time resetting the licensing status should fix this issue. The process for a reset is pretty straightforward.
1. Open the command prompt with admin privileges. Type the command:
slmgr -rearmOnce this is done, go ahead and restart the computer. Hopefully, this should resolve the problem.
Conclusion
These processes are quite basic and do not require much computer experience. They should help fix your “Windows will expire soon” issue. But if none of the above solutions work for your computer, you may consider contacting the vendor or taking your computer to a qualified technician to troubleshoot for you.
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