Most users know that you can download and install Windows operating system without paying the license. However, if you want to make use of all the features you need to pay and receive assistance and full access. In 2026 Microsoft won’t allow users to activate Windows 11 without Internet connection, and that’s a great change for Windows.
Recently, Microsoft eliminated the possibility of Windows activation using KMS non-official methods. This was a shortcut to activate Windows 11 without connecting to the Internet. The official methods to activate Windows 11 used the mobile phone, but in 2026 they won’t be available anymore.
Microsoft slowly erases Windows 11 activation without Internet
Little by little, Microsoft is eliminating all kinds of methods to activate Windows 11 without Internet connection. Recently, users have discovered that they can’t activate the system if they are not online. There are several claims and reports in Microsoft forums.
By reading the official community forum of Windows 11 in Microsoft Learn, you will find direct references to this issue. Official support agents indicate that phone activation is available, but in fact it has been failing in recent dates.
In case you want to try, you should follow these steps:
- Open the activation menu in Settings app.
- Go to System – Activation and then select Activate Windows now.
- Choose Activate with mobile phone.
If you can’t, then you are among the users already blocked for this feature. According to the community, the process is not working for any of the Windows 11 versions.
The phone support assistance for Product Activation plays an automatic message indicating that only through Internet you can activate Windows 11 now. In order to activate the software you need to visit the following activation website.https://visualsupport.microsoft.com
Once there, you access the Microsoft Product Activation Portal and follow the indications to activate your Windows 11. The main reasons for Microsoft to eliminate non Internet activation are related to piracy. This way they can avoid security problems and piracy and they also boost the Always connected environmental politics of the company. There’s also an economic reason because Microsoft can save money by generating online resources and procedures. It seems that finally 2026 will be the year when you won’t be able to activate any Windows 11 version without first connecting to the Internet. The main objective of having all the users connected all the time, seems getting near.