Starting in December 2025, Microsoft will cancel the phone activation system. This system was originally used for offline activation mechanism, allowing users to easily activate the system in an environment without Internet. In essence, this offline activation system is a calculator. However, it should be emphasized that Microsoft only canceled the phone activation system. The offline activation mechanism of Windows 10/11, various server systems and Microsoft Office has not disappeared, but users need to perform operations through the web page.
In the web version, Microsoft still provides a calculator-like function. The user generates the corresponding offline activation product ID in the system and pastes the product ID into the web activation portal. The activation portal will then return a dedicated activation ID for final activation.
The only change is that in the past, users could activate by making a phone call in a completely offline environment. Now they need to generate a product ID first, then use a mobile phone or other computer in a networked environment to obtain the activation ID, and then return to the offline environment to perform activation.
Microsoft has also issued an article explaining why it needs to cancel the phone activation system:
Microsoft is modernizing the activation experience for permanent licenses. The traditional telephone product activation automation process has been moved from the phone to online. The new digital workflow provides a more secure, reliable and user-friendly activation experience and helps prevent fraud.
Although the process has been updated, the offline activation function is still provided, and customers who rely on traditional offline activation methods can continue to activate and use Microsoft products without changing their environment.
The Product Activation Portal also supports activation of a variety of Microsoft permanent products and supports both connected and non-connected devices. This upgrade ensures that the activation process remains simple, flexible and reliable, while providing a modern and simple interface for all users.
The activation portal also provides a unified activation entrance:
https://visualsupport.microsoft.com/
Now, whether it is a Microsoft personal account, work account, school account, Microsoft Entra ID account, or Microsoft Azure government account, you can perform operations through the Microsoft Product Activation Portal.
Microsoft also emphasized that the account the user logs in to the activation portal is not associated with the product license, which means that even if the user logs in with a personal account, it can be used to activate enterprise products, because the login is only used for Microsoft's security verification.