Activation error

0xC004C020

The Multiple Activation Key has exceeded its limit

The activation server reported that the Multiple Activation Key (MAK) has exceeded its activation limit. Every MAK ships with a fixed number of activations; once consumed — including by OS reinstalls on the same machine — further activations are refused until the limit is raised or a new key is issued.

Symptoms

Error text: "The activation server reported that the Multiple Activation Key has exceeded its limit"
Reinstalling the OS on the same hardware and re-activating fails
Windows or Windows Server deployed from volume media reports the key is exhausted

Causes

All activations on the MAK are consumed
Repeated OS reinstalls each consumed another activation from the same MAK
The MAK was shared across more devices than the agreement covers

How to fix it

Confirm the license type

Run slmgr.vbs /dli to see the license type (Retail, OEM, Volume). This tells you whether a MAK is in play and what the Product Key Channel is.

Re-enter the MAK

Microsoft documents re-entering the MAK as the first check — a typo produces a related failure, and re-entry forces a fresh count check against the server.

Request more activations

Contact the Microsoft Licensing Activation Centers to request additional activations for the MAK or a new key. Provide your licensing agreement details; this is the documented resolution for a genuinely exhausted MAK.

Consider AVMA for Hyper-V guests

On Windows Server with Hyper-V, Automatic Virtual Machine Activation (AVMA) activates guests against an activated Datacenter host and does not consume MAK activations.

Still need help?

If error 0xC004C020 keeps blocking activation after these steps, our support team can check your key and license channel directly.

Contact support

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