Some users report that they receive the “your Windows license will expire soon” message on Windows 11 after upgrading from Windows 10 to 11. You try to ignore the message, but it appears on the screen every time you reboot the PC. This post from MiniTool helps you remove the message.

Your Windows License Will Expire Soon on Windows 11

Have you ever encountered the alarming “your Windows license will expire soon on Windows 11” error message? Some users say that they receive the message after updating Windows 10 to 11.

Note:
In general, Windows 10 license will not expire if you upgrade to Windows 11. As long as your computer's hardware specifications meet the Windows 11 minimum requirements, you can use the same product key to activate Windows 11.

The following are the possible reasons for the issue:

  • Windows license is invalid
  • Hardware changes
  • Connectivity issues
  • Corrupted activation token files
  • The current Insider Build is about to expire
  • Network issues
  • …
Tips:
If you receive the message on Windows 10, you can refer to this post - Fix “Your Windows License Will Expire Soon” for Windows 10.

What Will Happen If the Windows License Expires

When your license is about to expire (2 weeks in advance), you will periodically see a message: Your Windows license is about to expire. You need to activate Windows in Settings.

Once the expiration date is exceeded, Windows will automatically restart every three hours and any unsaved data will be lost. This will continue for two weeks before reaching the stage where Windows won’t boot.

Thus, you should back up the important data immediately when you receive “your Windows license will expire soon” in Windows 11. There is a piece of free backup software for you – MiniTool ShadowMaker. You can use it to perform data backup and move Windows to another drive. Download it to have a try!

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

How to Fix Your Windows License Will Expire Soon on Windows 11

This part is about how to fix Windows 11 your Windows license will expire soon.

Fix 1: Restart File Explorer

1. Right-click the Start menu to choose Task Manager to open it.

2. Go to the Processes tab. Find Windows Explorer and right-click it to choose Restart.

disable Windows License Manager Service
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Fix 2: Manually Enter the Product Key

1. Press the Windows + I keys together to open Settings.

2. Go to System > Activation.

3. Click the Change button that is located next to the Change product key.

click Change

4. Then, enter your product key and click Next.

Fix 3: Re-Activate the VLK License

1. Type Command Prompt in the Search box and choose Run as administrator.

2. Type the following command and press Enter:

slmgr –rearm

3. Restart your PC and run Command Prompt as administrator again.

4. Type the following command and press Enter:

slmgr /upk

5. After the command is processed successfully, reboot your PC and see if the problem is now fixed.

Fix 4: Rebuild the Tokens.dat File

1. Type Command Prompt in the Search box and choose Run as administrator.

2. Type the following command one by one and press Enter:

  • net stop sppsvc
  • cd %windir%\system32\spp\store\2.0
  • ren tokens.dat tokens.bar
  • net start sppsvc
  • cscript.exe %windir%\system32\slmgr.vbs /rilc

Fix 5: Disable Windows License Manager Service

1. Press the Windows + R keys together to open Run. Type services.msc in it and click OK.

2. Find Windows License Manager Service and right-click it to choose Properties 

3. Go to the General and change the Startup type drop-down menu to Disabled. Then, click Stop and click Apply.

restart Windows Explorer

Final Words

To sum up, now you know how to fix the “your Windows license will expire soon on Windows 11” issue. If you want to fix the issue, you can take the above solutions.

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About The Author

Daisy
Daisy

Position: Columnist

Having been an editor at MiniTool since graduating college as an English major, Daisy specializes in writing about data backups, disk cloning, and file syncing as well as general computer knowledge and issues. In her free time, Daisy enjoys running and going with friends to the amusement park.