The exact steps vary by software, but the underlying principle remains the same: the software’s licensing service unregisters the current key and registers the new one, then verifies it with a central activation server.
A local server hosts the central activation service. switch product keys
Organizations often switch from a retail key (one-time purchase) to a volume license key (for multiple machines) or a subscription-based key (e.g., Microsoft 365). The exact steps vary by software, but the