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I know that OEM licenses cannot be transfered to new Windows installations, but in this case I am moving existing Windows 10 installation with the SSD to a new setup.

My Microsoft-account is tied to the digital license.

From the perspective of the SSD / W10 install, it would be the same installation with major hardware changes, right?

If I need to re-activate Windows after moving the SSD, can I still do this thing?:
Troubleshoot => I recently changed hardware on this device => This is the device that I'm using at the moment

I say it again: I am not trying to re-activate inside a new installation, but the old installation that is on the SSD from the old PC setup.

EDIT:

The question here Can't activate Windows 10 Pro with license linked to Microsoft account or product key is similar but the OP tried to activate new install, instead of old install. Also the OP or others in that question never mention trying the phone activation so could that be a 50/50 solution?

OP said that he tried to change the license key and got an error, but did he get the option to call phone activation? It should appear if there is a problem with the license key.

K4R1
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  • The motherboard itself is the most important component that can't be swapped, unless it is a replacement motherboard of the same model (or nearly identical). Even in that case usually you have to call Microsoft support to get it re-activated as the automatic process still resumes you moved the HDD/SDD to a new computer. I've been in that situation a couple of times while replacing faulty motherboards. – Tonny Oct 01 '20 at 12:48
  • @Tonny How about the phone activation? If I remember correctly, the automatic voice-over robot just asks to enter the Confirmation ID on the phone keypad and after that it starts to go over a long list of numbers which is the new ID and you have to enter those values into the submit box that appears on screen and click Activate? – K4R1 Oct 01 '20 at 13:17
  • That is hit and miss in my experience. Sometimes it works, even after moving the HDD to another computer, sometimes it doesn't. You can always give it a try. Can't hurt. – Tonny Oct 01 '20 at 13:20
  • The phone activation won't be necessary, so I still believe, this to be a duplicate. Windows 10 activation (OEM) is automatic, if for some reason the system was offline, activation by phone is always applicable. Retail activation is also automatic of course, phone activation on a system that has no connection to the internet, is still of course possible. I added additional duplicate candidates that reference the digital entitlement capabilities of Windows 10. The answers were submitted in 2016, but they are still accurate, so the answers are applicable in 2020. – Ramhound Oct 01 '20 at 14:40
  • OK, I guess I just move it and leave it without activation then. It seems that you dont need activation, other than to remove a watermark and personalize the UI.... – K4R1 Oct 01 '20 at 16:10
  • @K4R1 - It will automatically activate. The only reason it wouldn't activate is if the machine is offline. If that is the case then phone activation will indeed work. OEM licenses obviously cannot be transferred to another machine. – Ramhound Oct 02 '20 at 10:28
  • @Ramhound I know now. I wonder why they never considered the possibility that the original machine might break / not exist anymore and only thing to re-use was the hard drive with the OS.... – K4R1 Oct 02 '20 at 15:47
  • @K4R1 - The cost of an OEM license is factored into the price of OEM hardware. The only reason anyone would transfer or attempt to transfer an OEM license to new hardware is if they purchased non-OEM hardware to replace it. If that happens there are solutions to transfer the installation, but it requires a new key, the key itself cannot be transferred to new hardware. – Ramhound Oct 03 '20 at 09:22

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