Recommended Posts

So I caved and bought W8P, cost me $80 after taxes.

I still hate Metro and the Start Screen, so I'll be buying Start8 so I can go directly to the desktop.

I haven't installed W8P yet because I have the following question:

I do have Internet access, but it's not currently working, so will I be able to temporarily bypass the online activation or is there a way to activate it over the phone?

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1116651-windows-8-pro-activation/
Share on other sites

I never had my internet connected and it installed fine, just didn't activate...I don't know how long you can run it like this for though, as I connected up shortly after.. but it did install, and I was using it before I hooked it back up.

I was really dubious about metro..but I now love it... makes the traditional desktop seem somewhat dull! Live tiles and apps make my start screen more interactive now...

I was really dubious about metro..but I now love it... makes the traditional desktop seem somewhat dull! Live tiles and apps make my start screen more interactive now...

Same here. It's taken me several days to get the hang of it, though.

And to the OP, you should be able to activate by phone.

I installed without internet access, and it just let me activate later when I had internet access. It does restrict you though (when you're not activated) - you cant personalize was the main thing I noticed, however you can still use your system and do most things. (Now that I think of it, not being able to personalize was the only thing I noticed xD)

Just go ahead and install and activate later.

Alternatively you can do it by phone if you cant wait until you get internet access.

No problem. Install it and use it. You can always activate it later when you have an Internet access. The ony thing you won't be able to do until your copy is activated: Changing the login screen background and the "Metro" background. Everything else will be 100% functional

Maybe it's possible to share your phone's internet via USB?

Good point, I used to turn on WiFi hotspot on my iPhone when I was stuck without a connection. It can be quite fast too if you are in good 3G reception. (Or If you are lucky enough to have 4G reception)

Maybe it's possible to share your phone's internet via USB?

I already tried, after my Internet connection went down last week, for some reason Tether refuses to work with the Galaxy Nexus. So, if I do install it, I'll wait until I have a working Internet connection again.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Ford execs say they made a mistake when they replaced human engineers with AI by David Uzondu Ford recently announced that over the last three years, it's had to rehire about 350 "gray beard" engineers to mentor younger staff and reprogram diagnostic systems and AI tools that were failing to meet up to quality expectations. The company's VP of vehicle hardware engineering, Charles **** said that leaders overlooked the deep experience of veterans who survived many product cycles. **** admitted that simply replacing them with AI was a huge mistake, and that while AI is "a fantastic tool," it remains "only as good as the information you use to train it." The rehired engineers now run mandatory meetings to troubleshoot vehicles and reprogram automated engineering software and AI tools to prevent glitches before production. These technical specialists hunt for failure points before a part ever reaches the plant floor. This hands-on process prevents the massive recalls and defects that previously cost the company billions. CEO Jim Farley noted that this return to human oversight quickly decreased warranty coverages and recall costs. The change saves the automaker hundreds of millions of dollars as it aims to cut one billion dollars in expenses this year. In last year's JD Power Quality Survey, an annual study that measures the quality of a car during the first three months of ownership, Ford finished 10th among mainstream brands and scored below the industry average. But this year, JD Power ranked the automaker as the top mainstream brand, placing it above the likes of Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ford attributed this massive improvement directly to the expertise of these returned engineers. Ford's realization that AI cannot magically design and test quality vehicles without senior human oversight is just the tip of the iceberg. When Careerminds looked at companies that conducted AI-driven layoffs, researchers found out that 35.6% of those companies had to rehire more than half of the employees they previously fired. Another 32.7% had to rehire between 25% and 50% of them. In 2024, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, proudly announced that its new chatbot was doing the work of 700 full-time customer service agents. As a result, the fintech company froze hiring and cut hundreds of positions. But by mid 2025, and into 2026, Klarna was scrambling to recruit human agents again because customer satisfaction had plummeted. It turns out, while AI is very good at answering basic questions like how to check an account balance, when faced with complex customer issues that require nuance, the thing usually resorts to the unhelpful, robotic corporate jargon we all know and love.
    • Free AI in IDEs is shifting to paid models Or you know, you could just learn to actually design and code apps, use frameworks to handle the repetitive parts and not use AI at all - and voila... free for life!
    • In a sane world US antitrust laws wouldn't even allow these companies to be in the position to be subjected to EU directives. As you say, better than oligarch nothing.
    • Apple reportedly has a second-generation iPhone Fold planned for 2027 Good grief, Apple hasn't even released a first folding phone and the Apple faithful is already obsessing over the sequel? Seriously people, go out and touch grass... because this level of obsession is borderline stalkery/neurotic.
    • I checked on the IPs associated with every login and they're all mine... And whenever I get a new prompt, there is no activity to show for it. 
  • Recent Achievements

    • Enthusiast
      Xonos went up a rank
      Enthusiast
    • Conversation Starter
      Admir earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      The_Focal_Point earned a badge
      First Post
    • Apprentice
      daryld went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • Contributor
      Carltonbar went up a rank
      Contributor
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      405
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      169
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      129
    4. 4
      neufuse
      69
    5. 5
      Xenon
      68
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!