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SL_E_STORE_UPGRADE_TOKEN_NOT_PRS_SIGNED
What the licensing code means
The actionable meaning of SL_E_STORE_UPGRADE_TOKEN_NOT_PRS_SIGNED is tied to Store upgrade licensing. At authorization of a Store-delivered edition upgrade against the installed Windows edition, active product identity, version and signing level, Windows determined that the upgrade token does not satisfy the signing level expected by the installed Windows image.
Telemetry should retain 0xC004E02C, this result, and the affected Activation ID. The same computer can expose several licensing products, and a state read from the wrong instance can contradict the operation that actually failed.
Data that identifies the actual cause
Record OS build/channel and signing state, token signature metadata, image provenance, servicing history and edition. Before changing the system, add the following context:
- Product identity: current Windows edition and build.
- Activation context: activation state and partial product key.
- State at failure: Store account/entitlement correlation without credentials.
- Correlation evidence: upgrade token issue time and target edition/version.
- Change history: edition servicing and Software Protection events.
Do not infer the cause of this result from the activation UI alone. This is signature-level compatibility, not merely wrong Product ID or wrong edition. Keep the exact HRESULT in user-facing diagnostics instead of collapsing it into a generic activation failure.
How to correct the producing condition
Resolve this code at its producing layer: return the system to a supported signed Windows image and obtain the authorized token through the Store path. A successful command is not enough by itself; verify the stored licensing state and any renewal, validity, or binding data affected by the operation.
Representative failure: An upgrade token from a normal release is applied to an image with an incompatible signing level.
Choose recovery by the producing stage
| Result | Different condition |
|---|---|
SL_E_STORE_UPGRADE_TOKEN_WRONG_PID | Relative to this result: the Store upgrade token is bound to a Product ID that does not match the currently active base license. |
SL_E_STORE_UPGRADE_TOKEN_WRONG_VERSION | Different condition: the Store upgrade token authorizes a Windows version different from the currently installed version. |
SL_E_STORE_UPGRADE_TOKEN_NOT_AUTHORIZED | Different condition: the Store entitlement could not be authorized for the current account, device or license context. |
Actions that usually make this harder to diagnose
- Avoid reinstalling the same token without checking the base edition and Product ID.
- Avoid changing edition packages before preserving the original activation and entitlement state.
Verification after the change
A useful test records the before/after values for the exact Activation ID. It should prove that the correction removes “the upgrade token does not satisfy the signing level expected by the installed Windows image” without replacing it with a different key, KMS, certificate, OEM, Store, or validity failure.
Technical references
- Activate Windows — diagnostic and operational context.
- Windows subscription activation — supported tools and state fields used to verify the resulting state.
- Microsoft activation error-code troubleshooting — Microsoft guidance for the activation mechanism represented by this HRESULT.
- SoftwareLicensingProduct WMI class — platform behavior relevant to this HRESULT.
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