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Overview
This article describes how to change the Windows product key during the Out of Box Experience (OOBE) in order to convert a device from a consumer edition of Windows to Windows Enterprise for use with Intune and Autopilot.
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Background
When a new computer is booted, the Out of Box Experience wizard launches in the Windows Pre-boot Environment. From this environment, a command prompt can be opened to perform troubleshooting actions, gather information, or make configuration changes to the operating system before user sign-in.
One supported change during OOBE is modifying the Windows product key to change the edition of Windows that shipped with the device. This is commonly required when a system ships with Windows Home and needs to be converted to Windows Enterprise for Intune and Autopilot enrollment.
Changing the Windows Product Key During OOBE
Changing the product key requires a valid Windows Enterprise key. The UIC Microsoft site license KVM product key for Windows Enterprise can be used for this purpose. The MS site license (KVM) product key can be obtained from the UI Webstore offer Microsoft Desktop Package (Windows and Office) for UI IT Professionals License & Download - Campus Agreement.
While in the OOBE wizard, open a command prompt by holding the Shift key and pressing F10. From the command prompt, type slui and press Enter. This launches the Software Licensing User Interface and displays the dialog for entering a new product key.
Enter the appropriate Windows Enterprise product key and proceed through the prompts. After the key is accepted, the device will perform background actions and reboot.
Alternate Command Line Method
As an alternative to the graphical interface, the product key can be installed directly from the command line using the Software Licensing Management tool.
From the same command prompt opened during OOBE, run the following command:
slmgr.vbs -ipk <Windows Enterprise Product Key>
After the command completes, the device will reboot automatically.
What to Expect After the Change
Once the device boots back into the OOBE wizard you can sign in using a valid UIC NetID. At that point, assuming the device hardware hash has already been uploaded to Intune and a deployment profile is assigned, the Hybrid Join Autopilot profile will take over and enroll the device into Intune. From this stage forward, the device will begin preparing and installing applications in the background. Additional reboots may occur. When prompted, selecting Continue Anyway is expected behavior.