How To Remove The “Activate Windows” Watermark On Windows 10 & 11

The “Activate Windows” watermark is a message situated in the bottom-right corner of the screen, indicating that your operating system is not yet verified with a legitimate serial number.

Needless to say, the watermark can be unpleasant to see, and even a bit embarrassing and unprofessional when others see it during your screen-share sessions and video calls.

This guide is meant to help you permanently remove activate windows watermark, so without further ado, let’s get into it.

1. Remove Activate Windows Watermark Using Notepad

Thanks to Batch Scripting, Windows users can automate and execute many tasks on their machines by using batch files.

One of the easiest ways to remove the Windows Watermark is by using a simple batch (.bat) file that you can create within notepad in just under a minute.

Eager to learn how it’s done?

Simply follow the steps below and you’ll get rid of activate windows in no time.

1. Right-click on an empty area anywhere on your desktop, hover over New, then select Text Document from the list of options.
   
2. Open the file you just created, then copy and paste the following text (script) into it: @echo off
taskkill /F /IM explorer.exe
explorer.exe
exit
3. In the top-left corner of the open Notepad window, click on File, then choose Save As from the list of options.
   
4. Choose where to store your file. Then, name it however you want, but include the “.bat” extension at the end. Lastly, expand the “Save as type:” menu and choose All Files from the list of options. Finalize the process by clicking Save.
   
5. The final step is to run the .bat file you just created. We recommend running it as Administrator, and you can do that by right-clicking the file with your mouse, then choosing Run as Administrator, as shown in the image below.
   

The script will perform its task and the final thing you need to do is restart your computer for the alterations to take effect.

Now, you won’t see the Windows 10 watermark anymore when using your computer.

If the watermark re-appears, which could happen after a recent Windows update or after some time in general, simply use the file you created as instructed in the steps above, and it will once again clear the watermark for you.

Note: Although this is an easy and helpful bypass for the Windows 10 watermark, we advise purchasing and activating the software with a legitimate license, as the methods in this guide are strictly of educational and informational character.

2. Get Rid Of The Activate Windows 10 Watermark Using PowerShell

If you’re looking for another way to get rid of activate windows, you can use the Windows PowerShell task automation program to accomplish that quickly and efficiently.

We made a simple guide on how to do it step-by-step, so don’t fret if you’ve never used PowerShell because we can help you.

Follow the steps below:

1. Press Windows + S on your keyboard simultaneously and type in Windows PowerShell.
   
2. Right-click the first result and choose Run as Administrator.
   
3. Within the PowerShell window, type in slmgr /renew and press Enter on your keyboard to initiate the command.
   
4. Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.

Now you should no longer see the Windows watermark when using your computer.

If the watermark re-appears after some time, you can repeat the same steps to remove it or choose any other method in this guide that may be more convenient for you.

3. Remove The Windows 10 Watermark Using The Registry Editor

The Windows Registry Editor is useful for many things, but in this specific case, we’ll be using it to disable the Windows watermark.

Modifying your system’s registry may sound daunting at first, but don’t worry, it’s much simpler than you think.

If you’re willing to learn how to get rid of the activate windows watermark using RegEdit, follow the steps below:

1. Press Windows + R simultaneously on your keyboard to open the Run panel.
2. Type RegEdit and press Enter on your keyboard.
   
3. Inside the Registry Editor window, expand the HKEY_CURRENT_USER and Control Panel folders, then search for the Desktop folder and click on it, but don’t expand it as you did with the previous two.
   
4. Now with the Desktop folder selected, search for PaintDesktopVersion on the right side, and then double-click it with your mouse once you find it.
   
5. Change the number from 1 to 0 in the Value Data field, and confirm the change by clicking the OK button at the bottom side of the window.  
   

Now you need to restart your computer to ensure the changes are applied, and you will no longer have the Activate Windows watermark on your screen while using your PC.

4. Removing Activate Windows Watermark From Notifications & Actions Tab

If you wish to discover how to eliminate the activate windows watermark through another effortless approach, we suggest examining the instructions below.

This method is probably the most user-friendly but doesn’t always work for everyone, which is why we decided to put it at the end of the list. The other methods listed above have a much higher success chance.

It’s worth trying it, though.

1. Right-click on an empty area anywhere on your desktop, then choose Display Settings from the list of options.
   
2. Select Notifications & Actions from the left-side menu.
3. Scroll down, and under the Notifications category, “untick” the “Show me the Windows welcome experience after updates and occasionally when I sign in to highlight what’s new and suggested” option.
4. Restart your computer.

Some users confirmed this method as working, specifically in this Reddit thread, but we’re not sure if it’s hundred percent effective in all situations.  

We hope it’s the answer to your how to get rid of the activate windows 10 watermark question, but if it isn’t, we’re confident that the other methods listed in this guide will solve your problem.

Should I Use A Windows 10 Watermark Remover?

Every time the question of removing the windows 10 watermark is brought up, users rely on automatic Windows 10 watermark removers to get the job done.

However, we’re too fond of these as they’re always created by third-party developers with little or no information about their background, and are also rarely open-source, meaning the code could contain something malicious that would harm your system.

If you only need to remove the Windows 10 watermark from your screen, we recommend the methods listed in this guide as they’re much safer and more transparent compared to using an automated activator.

Conclusion

That is all there is to learn about the various methods to erase the Windows watermark on both Windows 10 and 11.

Hopefully, this solves your problem and helps you avoid the annoying and sometimes embarrassing presence of the Windows activation watermark.