Official message
Microsoft original
The product key you entered did not work. Check the product key and try again, or enter a different one.What this means
The system cannot finish activation with this product key. The key may be wrong, or it may no longer be valid.
Common causes
- The product key was typed incorrectly.
- The product key does not match the version.
- The product key is no longer valid.
Do this first
Check that the product key corresponds to the system version.
What to do next
- 1Enter it again, or contact whoever provided the product key.
Continue diagnosis from this code
Take what you know into the Windows activation diagnosis. It will ask a few more questions to narrow this down.
Sources
Related articles
About this data
The meaning and the original message come from the documents listed above. The same error code can have more than one cause. This site gives an order of checks. It does not decide your exact situation from the code alone.