This has not been true for some time. You can continue to use un-activated Win10 installs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Product_Activation#After_grac

This has not been true for some time. You can continue to use un-activated Win10 installs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Product_Activation#After_grace_period https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Product_Activation#A... You just can't change the wallpaper away from black, and there is a notice displayed on it.