How to Remove the Activation Windows 10 Watermark For FREE

After upgrading to Windows 10 (or other Windows version), you may notice a watermark at the bottom right corner of the screen. The watermark is used to display the activation status of your Windows operating system. If you have purchased a valid product license and activated your Windows version, you should see a watermark similar to the one shown below:

However, if you are yet to activate your Windows, you may see the following watermark:

Did you know you can remove the watermark completely without purchasing a Windows product key? In this step by step tutorial, you will learn ways on how to get rid of the activation Windows 10 watermark for free.

Note: This tutorial will only help you to get rid of the watermark. However, your Windows version will remain unactivated until you purchase a valid product key.

Method #1: Manually Edit the Registry to Clear the Activation Watermark in Windows

Note: Random alterations made on the Windows Registry could potentially result in a catastrophic system failure which may cause loss of important data. You should follow all the steps on this method without fear because a certified Windows technician has prepared this tutorials.

Step 1

Double press ‘Windows Key + R’ then type and run ‘regedit’ as shown in the illustration below:

Step 2

The Windows Registry Editor will open. You now need to navigate to the path below:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > WindowsNT > CurrentVersion > SoftwareProtectionPlatform > Activation

Click on ‘Activation’ then find the entry named ‘Manual’ on the right.

Step 3

Double click on the ‘manual’ entry to edit. Change the Value data from 0 to 1 then hit ‘OK’ to save the changes.

You will need to restart for the changes to take full effect. You have successfully cleared the Windows activation watermark in Windows 10.

Method #2: Use a 3^rd party software to clear the Windows activation watermark

We will be using the  Universal Watermark Disabler(UWD).  UWD is a free software that can remove all forms of watermarks for Windows 8 and later versions.

Step 1

Head to https://winaero.com/download.php?view.1794 to download the latest version of Universal Watermark Disabler.

Step 2

You now need to unzip the downloaded file and run the ‘uwd.exe’ file. Approve the UAC prompt that appears to grant UWD the permissions it needs to clear the Windows activation watermark. Click on the ‘install’ button as shown in the illustration below:

Step 3

Click on ‘Yes’ as shown below:

UWD will automatically sign you out. Once you log in, the Windows activation watermark should have cleared.

Conclusion

You now can successfully clear any Windows 10 watermark. Share your thoughts on the comment section below.