MAS Activation Methods: A Comparative Overview

Understanding the various activation methods offered by Microsoft Activation Scripts is crucial for effective system management. This detailed comparison breaks down each option, allowing users to quickly identify the best fit for their specific needs. From basic functionality to persistence and comprehensive software support, we cover the key distinctions to guide your choice.

Below is a comparison of activation methods offered by Microsoft Activation Scripts.

Basics

	HWID	Ohook	Online KMS	ZeroCID¹	StaticCID¹	KMS4k¹
Works offline	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌	✅
Activation is permanent	✅	✅	✅²	✅	✅	✅³
Does not leave any files in the system to maintain activation status	✅	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅

Persistence

	HWID	Ohook	Online KMS	ZeroCID¹	StaticCID¹	KMS4k¹
Persists between hardware changes	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
Persists between clean installations on the same hardware	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
Persists between Windows 10 / 11 feature upgrades	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌

Support

	HWID	Ohook	Online KMS	ZeroCID¹	StaticCID¹	KMS4k¹
Windows Vista / 7	❌	❌	✅⁴	✅	❌	✅⁴
Windows 8 / 8.1	❌	❌	✅⁴	✅	✅	✅⁴
Windows 10 / 11	✅	❌	✅⁴	✅	✅	✅⁴
Windows 11 (26100.4188 and later)	✅	❌	✅⁴	❌	✅	✅⁴
Windows Server 2008 / 2008 R2	❌	❌	✅	✅	❌	✅
Windows Server 2012 / 2012 R2	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅
Windows Server 2016 and later	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅
Office 2010	❌	✅	✅⁴	❌	❌	❌
Office 2013 and later	❌	✅	✅⁴	✅⁵	✅⁵	✅⁴ ⁵
Windows / Office KMS Host	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅	❌
Windows Extended Security Updates	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅	❌
OCUR / RP / APPXLOB addons	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅	❌

Footnotes

Provided by TSforge. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9
Valid for 180 days by default. Permanent with renewal task installed. ↩
Valid for 4083 years. ↩
Volume activation capable editions only. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11
Supported only on Windows 8 and later; subscription editions are not supported. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

Activation Methods Chart

Basics

Persistence

Support

Footnotes

Download Microsoft Activation Scripts