Forum Discussion
Server 2022 KMS host key bug; Can't activate Win10 Enterprise LTSB/LTSC
We recently dropped our new Server 2022 KMS host key onto our KMS server. After the necessary update to accept the 2022 key and activating the new 2022 host key, we were able to activate our most common OS types in a quick test afterward -- Win10 Education 21H1, Server 2022, Server 2019, etc.
In the next few days, and even more today, we've been getting reports that Win10 Enterprise LTSB/LTSC across some signage devices and laboratory machines stopped activating. Sure enough, I could reproduce the issue from a known good network.
Just this morning I spun up entirely fresh VMs and verified all the above is still reproducible with the following results:
Windows Server 2022 = Successfully activated
Windows Server 2019 = Successfully activated
Windows Server 2016 = Successfully activated
Windows 10 Education 21H1 = Successfully activated
Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 = FAILED ACTIVATION (0xC004F074: License server reported that the computer could not be activated.)
Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019 = FAILED ACTIVATION (0xC004F074: License server reported that the computer could not be activated.)
Windows 10 Enterprise 2016 LTSB = FAILED ACTIVATION (0xC004F074: License server reported that the computer could not be activated.)
Windows 10 Enterprise 2015 LTSB = Successfully activated (odd, after the previous two)
Windows 8.1 Enterprise = Successfully activated
Windows 7 Enterprise = Successfully activated
Anyone else seeing this or could possibly test and confirm? I feel like this **has** to be a bug with 2022 host keys, but it's so new that I can't find anyone else in the same boat. I have a Premier ticket open for this.
- Well well... Server 2022 KMS Key bug strikes again.
The Server 2019 February 2022 Updates fixed the problem. UNFORTUNATELY, the Server 2019 March 2022 Updates broke KMS again. I was hoping that the April updates would fix that, nope.
Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019, 2021 and Windows 10 Enterprise 2016 LTSB cannot activate again. Other versions activate just fine.
Should I upgrade my KMS Server to Server 2022 and expect the problem to go away?
Anyone experiencing the same problem again?- It's not just you, ours is doing the exact same thing.
Issue was fixed after KB5010427 back in February, and I never looked back at it. Now that I see your comment, I tried activating a test Win10 10 Ent. LTSC 2019 VM, and nope. Failed to activate, back to square one all over again.
Good God, Microsoft...- ajc, I suggest you try flushing the DNS on your KMS server (ipconfig /flushdns) and then run on the KMS slmgr.vbs /ato. Then try again the activation on your Windows 10 LTSC.
TBH what threw me off is that the GUI said that KMS was successfully activated, but via the CLI it wasn't.
Running the 2 steps above fixed my problem.
I am wondering if the march updates messed up something on the dns cache on KMS.
Armando_Rivera with the myriad of issues KMS are stunning.
Mind that KMS, and so also ADBA are out of door. CSP (New Commerce Experience) licensing won't give you any KMS keys anymore which is a pity IMHO. KMS will reside for classic licensing models and big customers having EA(S). Also notice that service providers don't want to give you KMS keys anymore.
So you must go down the route with MAK Keys and VAMT 3 from the lastet ADK to have centralized and easy management.
Also Domain Join is going out the door as Microsofts target are Azure AD joined only endpoints (not talking about Windows Server yet). VAMT can handle activation of domain joined and non-domain joined devices.
Interestingly it is not pushed in the docs. My recent PR on docs on KMS has been closed after sitting for months.
Armando, can you confirm that the devices you try to activate are domain joined?
kwester-ebbinghaus-business
Thanks for your reply.
We handle thousands of Windows computers, unfortunately because our unique environment ADBA is not an option, so KMS fits the bill. Regarding your question, yes the clients that are trying to register are domain joined, also non domain joined.As I previously commented above, the issue with the Server 2022 Key is that it broke the activation of Windows 10 LTSC and LTSB activations, while other versions of Windows activated just fine. Reverting to the Server 2019 key fixes the problem, but then Server 2022 and Windows 11 clients won't be able to activate. This KMS problem was fixed with the release of the February 2022 Windows Server 2019 updates. Unfortunately the happiness lasted only one month, because the March 2022 update broke KMS again, as in unable to activate Windows 10 LTSC and LTSB clients again. I was hoping that the April 2022 updates brought the fix back, that did not happen.
This is not the first time Microsoft has reintroduced a bug in Windows, to be then fixed at a later time. Whoever is tracking code changes being published to the right branch is doing a very bad job. It is very frustrating.
- Just installed KB5010427 on our KMS host (Server 2019) and re-inserted our 2022 host key. We are now back to normal. 2016 LTSB, LTSC 2019, and LTSC 2021 are all activating fine. The few Server 2022 clients I had to put on MAK keys, I put back on KMS and they activated fine as well.
On one hand I'm happy this is fixed; On the other hand, this has been an ongoing bug since August. Seems like it was not highly prioritized, and we never did get a pre-release workaround/fix last year as offered by Premier. 😕- Same here. Just applied B5010427 on our KMS host (Server 2019) and everything's working. Clearly they must have been off a month on their documentation, or forgot to commit that code. Either way, a surprising mess. Maybe they have too many OSs and code branches in flight to keep track of.
- Had a feeling it wasn't going to be fixed. Just the way MS is.
Dear Mary Hoffman may I ask you to check with the team, if the fix for the Windows Server 2022 is on the way? From what I read it is not fixed for Windows Server 2022 but only Windows Server 2019, where is was also a known issue. For Windows Server 2022 it does not seem to be a known issue.
Addresses a known issue that affects versions of Windows Server that are in use as a Key Management Services (KMS) host. Client devices running Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019 might not activate. This issue only occurs when using a new Customer Support Volume License Key (CSVLK) and after installing updates released April 22, 2021 or later.
source: January 25, 2022—KB5009616 (OS Build 17763.2510) Preview (microsoft.com)
compare with: January 25, 2022—KB5009608 (OS Build 20348.502) Preview (microsoft.com)A fully updated Windows Server 2022 does not recognize the KMS key. Knows it as Volume_KMS_WS19 and does not activate clients.
- Hi all,
anything new about this topic and the open premier tickets?
We have the same issues with activating Windows 10 LTSC / LTSB and KMS Server installed on Windows Server 2022.rkiesewetter We're just being told in our case to be patient and wait until February/March 2022 for the patch. We also verified this issue affects the Server 2022 KMS Host OS + Server 2022 KMS Host Key setup, though the Microsoft engineer in the case also had said this setup was affected and wouldn't work either.
We didn't have any Server 2022 servers enter production yet, so we followed the support engineer's guidance to revert back to the Server 2019 KMS Host key to get these LTSB/C builds of Windows 10 activating again. ADBA was the only other recommended workaround.
- Is he saying that ADBA works with 2022 KMS key on LTSB/C builds? That is a while to wait for a fix.
- Hi as written in the thread it will be fixed next year.
One workaround for us:
1. Installed Windows Server 2019 Datacenter Edition.
2. Installed all current Windows Updates (11/2021).
3. Installed KMS host key for Windows Server 2019 Datacenter per
cscript.exe C:\Windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk KMS-HOST-KEY
4. Activated KMS host key for Windows Server 2019 Datacenter per
cscript.exe C:\Windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ato
5. Installed KMS host key for Windows Server 2022 Datacenter per
cscript.exe C:\Windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk KMS-HOST-KEY
6. Activated KMS host key for Windows Server 2022 Datacenter per
cscript.exe C:\Windows\system32\slmgr.vbs /ato
7. NEVER REBOOT!JMaletzky what it the reason for not using AD Based Activation and managing / deploying via VAMT 3?
Using ADBA or not does not negate the fact that this is an active bug with KMS, so not sure why that is relevant.
I can say for our org, it's a moot point because devices using LTSC that are affected by this issue are not domain computers. They are on very locked down VLANs with only enough access to what they need, KMS host included. Think kiosks, signage, smart devices, computers operating other sensitive medical/scientific equipment, etc.
Update as of today contained two points:
1) Fix will be release for Server 2016 in week 2 of March 2022, and Server 2019 in week 3 of February 2022.
2) Microsoft has no reports of this behavior on a Server 2022 KMS host + 2022 key. (So either no one has spun up a new enough host to report this yet on anything other than a downlevel OS, or perhaps Server 2022 isn't affected)
I think I'm at the point where I'm going to snapshot my KMS host, upgrade to Server 2022, and see what happens.I can confirm the same problem with KMS on Windows Server 2022 😞
Hope MS gets a fix for this soon. My team doesn't want to move forward till MS has a fix, to get 2022/Win11 in our environment.
- Thanks for the update. I am definitely interested in the outcome of the OS upgrade as I'd likely do the same. I can't believe this issue won't be resolved for 2019 hosts until February!
i can confirm this also affects Server 2022, too.
We inplace upgraded our KMS-Server to 2022, since then it's not able to activate LTSC/LTSB Versions of Windows 10 any more.
- Hi everybody,
What are your cons for not using ADBA and VAMT (where necessary) instead, like ESU etc? - Appreciate the confirmation from you guys. For what it's worth, I also have confirmation of the bug from Microsoft, they stated they could reproduce the issue on their end. Currently awaiting resolution.
ajc196 Same issue here. If you could post when the official update has been published that would be greatly appreciated!
- I was never given any reference number to the bug, unfortunately.
I was updated yesterday though that the devs identified a working fix, and that they are completing final testing to make sure it doesn't break anything. They were not sure of an ETA or the ship vehicle for said fix. (That was the response when I asked for an ETA and if if this would be rolled into a cumulative update that would be installed on KMS hosts, or if something is changing in Microsoft's end with activation servers where we'd need to reinsert a host key)
Same here, after re-applying KMS Host Key for Server 2019 (Hosted on Server 2019), everything went back to normal, Even Windows 10 LTSB 2016 was activated again. Must be a BUG in Server 2022 KMS Host Key...
- We are having this issue as well. We have a large fleet of LTSC endpoints and are seeing the 0xC004F074 error message on both the client and the KMS host logs for LTSC and LTSB enpoints. All other OS and Office activations are processing normally. The LTSC endpoints are even activating their Office install successfully, proving that communication with the KMS is successful.
