"If you Call them They Will Fix It."
Seriously, nine times out of ten the "tech" person who answers the activation key line is not a high-end tech but is an underpaid phone operator who just wants to get the call over with. As long as you sound like you know what your talking about and tell them your motherboard died and you had to replace it they will issue you a new key. Don't make up crap and lie because they will catch it. Be honest but don't sound like a soccer Mom who only uses a PC to connect to Facebook. Only downside is every time you reinstall after that point you might have to call them again. However, if you are like me and build PC's for customers (A family member can be a customer ) explain to them that you build PC's for a living and you have to reinstall Windows multiple times a day and you don't want to have to call them and bother them every time they might give you an "unlocked" type of key like they have done for me in the past.
In regards to the comment that no one ever calls their tech support line, keep the following in mind:
When Windows 10 was still in late beta testing I ran into an issue with Cortana. I had upgraded from my OEM license of Windows 8.1
I had built the PC myself. I called Windows Tech support because Cortana refused to connect to any services.
At first they said I had to contact my OEM System Builder for support or pay a $150 per incidence fee.
However, I told them the issue was their fault and my ISP fault. To make a long story short(er) after investigating I figured out my ISP had long ago blocked a range of IP address that Microsoft was now using for Cortana integration. I told them them it was Microsoft's job to fix that problem rather than mine or my ISP because the IP ranges Cortana was using used to be used by Hotmail advertising to send basically SPAM emails and so on back in the day.
I also knew there were potentially millions of new Windows 10 users that also used my ISP (name rhymes with Sharter ) that would not understand why Cortana would not work correctly and just blame Microsoft. So at the end of the day Microsoft didn't charge me a dime, my ISP had to refund me for 7 days of downtime (Couldn't use my PC's main functions because of theirs and Microsoft's fault) and I became a sort of unknown agent who fixed millions of people's Cortana issue before they even knew it existed. Note: If you really want to know who the stupid ISP was who had blocked a range of Microsoft IP's, check my Twitter archive where you can read my discussions with Microsoft and the ISP trying to get them to understand I knew WTF I was talking about and they didn't. Just because they are a multi-billion dollar corporation doesn't mean they are smarter than you or can't make stupid mistakes.
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