The Hyper-V host must be running Windows Server 2025 Datacenter edition. Windows Server 2025 Standard edition does not support AVMA for guest activation.
✅ Hyper-V on Windows Server 2025 Datacenter ✅ Isolated/air-gapped networks ✅ Automated VM provisioning (DevOps, VMM, SCVMM)
: Run the following command using the generic AVMA key that matches your guest OS version: slmgr /ipk windows server 2025 avma
: Within the guest VM, open PowerShell or a Command Prompt with administrative privileges.
: The host server must be fully activated using a valid product key. The Hyper-V host must be running Windows Server
AVMA uses a combination of technologies, including the Windows Server 2025 host's activation status and the VM's unique identifier, to automatically activate VMs. This process is transparent to the administrator and requires minimal configuration.
Your Hyper-V host should already be activated with a retail/volume key. AVMA does replace host activation. However, to enable AVMA for guests, install the host’s own AVMA key (optional but good practice): : The host server must be fully activated
Once your host is ready, follow these steps to activate a guest VM:
: The physical Hyper-V host must be running Windows Server 2025 Datacenter . Standard edition does not support hosting AVMA for guest VMs.
On each Windows Server 2025 VM, install the corresponding for its edition: