Updated November 11,2018: Microsoft says it has now fixed the issue with its activation servers and anyone who encountered problems should see them automatically resolve within 24 hours. Alternatively, you can manually resolve the problem by heading to the Start menu and selecting Settings > Update & security > Activation. From there, you can click Troubleshoot to run the Activation Troubleshooter, which should return things to normal. The original story follows.
Many users booting into their Windows 10 PCs this morning are being met with a deactivated machine as Microsoft's activation servers struggle with an ongoing issue. Users on Reddit have noticed that those affected are being asked to install Windows 10 Home instead, as their Pro license no longer works.
According to the Microsoft Answers, Microsoft support says that this is an issue caused by its activation servers, and that the problem will be resolved soon. It appears those affected are users who upgraded using older Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 product keys. Devices that shipped with Windows 10 Pro appear to be unaffected at this time.
Although it looks like it, Microsoft is not forcing users to downgrade from Windows 10 Pro to Windows 10 Home. The bug is causing Windows 10 to think those who installed Windows 10 Pro have installed the wrong SKU, and is asking the user to install Windows 10 Home instead to rectify the issue. You don't need to do this.
Microsoft support says the issue will be fixed in the next couple of days, so it shouldn't be too long before PCs are back to a normal activated state. We've requested comment from Microsoft, but in the meantime has your Windows 10 PC hit this deactivation bug?
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