Which MAS method should you actually use?
Microsoft Activation Scripts (MAS) is not a single activator — it is a collection of five distinct techniques, each solving a different licensing problem. Picking the wrong one is the most common reason people end up on the troubleshooting page. Here is the complete 2026 breakdown.
Quick comparison table
| Method | Activates | Lasts | Internet needed | Survives reinstall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HWID | Windows 10 / 11 | Permanent (digital license) | Yes, once | Yes |
| Ohook | Office 2013–2024, 365 | Permanent | No | No (re-run after Office reinstall) |
| TSforge | Windows, ESU, Server, Office perpetual | Permanent | No | No |
| KMS38 | Windows 10 / 11 / Server | Until 2038 | No | No |
| Online KMS | Windows + Office | 180 days, auto-renews | Yes | No |
HWID — the default choice for Windows
HWID generates a genuine digital license bound to your motherboard's hardware ID and registers it on Microsoft's activation servers. Once it is done, the license is stored on Microsoft's side, not on your disk. That means you can wipe the drive, reinstall Windows 11 with the same hardware, connect to the internet, and it activates itself with no script at all.
Requirements: Windows 10 or 11 (any edition except a few N/Enterprise LTSC variants), one internet connection at activation time, and the licensing services running. If HWID fails, it is almost always 0xC004F074 (service can't reach the server) or a broken WPA registry key.
Ohook — the only sane way to activate Office
Ohook does not touch KMS at all. It hooks the Office licensing library so Office reports itself as licensed locally. Because nothing talks to a server, it works fully offline, forever, and does not expire.
The tradeoff: it leaves a small file on disk that some antivirus engines flag as a false positive, and it is incompatible with Smart App Control and Code Integrity Guard. If either of those is enforced on your machine, use Online KMS for Office instead.
TSforge — the universal fallback
TSforge works directly against the Software Protection Platform, writing licensing data straight into the token store. That makes it the widest-reaching method in MAS: it can activate Windows editions HWID refuses, Windows 10 ESU (extended security updates), Windows Server, and perpetual Office suites — all completely offline.
Use TSforge when HWID reports your edition as unsupported, when you have no internet on the target machine, or when you need ESU on a Windows 10 install past end of life.
KMS38 — activation until the year 2038
KMS38 manipulates the gatherosstate process to set the activation expiry to January 19, 2038. It is not a digital license and it will not follow a reinstall, but it needs no renewal task, no server, and no internet. It is the best pick for offline machines, VMs, and images that should not phone home.
Online KMS — 180 days, renewed automatically
This is classic KMS emulation: MAS installs a generic volume key, points the machine at a public KMS host, and creates a scheduled task that renews activation every few days. Activation is valid 180 days at a time and renews indefinitely as long as the task survives.
It is the right choice when Smart App Control blocks Ohook, when you need Office activated on a locked-down machine, or on Server editions where nothing else applies.
Decision shortcut
- Windows 11 desktop, has internet → HWID
- Windows, no internet, or unsupported edition → TSforge, otherwise KMS38
- Office, normal machine → Ohook
- Office with Smart App Control / strict AV → Online KMS
- Windows 10 past end of life, need updates → TSforge (ESU)
Running MAS
Open Terminal (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin) — not CMD — and run:
irm https://get.activated.win | iex
A menu appears; pick the number matching the method above. If you prefer the offline route, download the archive and run MAS_AIO.cmd as administrator.
Verify Windows afterwards with slmgr /xpr and Office with the Ohook check option inside the script. If anything fails, the error code is the fastest path to a fix — see the troubleshooting guide and the error decoder.