How to Activate Windows 10 21H1 Build 19043 Now

For those of you on the Windows Insider program, there is a special treat for you. You can now switch early to the upcoming Windows 10 version 21H1 by performing a simple trick! This trick currently only works on the Beta and Release Preview channels as it requires a special enablement package that comes with the update KB4598291.

It is expected that the very same update will also be released for the current version on the stable channel (v20H2). If it does, it would also be possible to convert it to Windows 10 v21H1 before it is released by Microsoft.

Let us show you how you can switch your current Windows OS to the new v21H1 on either of the insider channels.

Why switch early

The latest version of Windows 10 not only brings security patches and enhancements but other cool features as well. Although you may not yet receive the full 21H1 experience, you will gradually get new features through regular updates and will still be an early bird for the upcoming version.

Also, any further updates that will be released for v20H2 or v2004 will also be applicable to the current build that you have been updated to. After updating yo v21H1, you can also verify that the version has been updated as the OS will now display it.

Enable Windows 10 v21H1

As mentioned earlier, you will need to install the update KB4598291 on Windows 10 while subscribed to either Beta or the Release Preview channels.

Once the update has been downloaded and installed, you will need to perform the steps below to enable v21H1 on your PC.

1. Launch the Command Prompt with administrative privileges.
2. Now enter the following commands, one after the other, to activate each package. Some of the commands might take a few seconds to execute:
   1. Dism /Online /Add-package:C:\Windows\servicing\Packages\microsoft-windows-product-data-21h1-ekb-package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.19041.782.mum
      
   2. Dism /Online /Add-package:C:\Windows\servicing\Packages\microsoft-windows-product-data-21h1-ekb-package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~en-US~10.0.19041.782.mum
      
   3. Dism /Online /Add-package:C:\Windows\servicing\Packages\microsoft-windows-product-data-21h1-ekb-wrapper-package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.19041.782.mum
      
   4. Dism /Online /Add-package:C:\Windows\servicing\Packages\microsoft-windows-product-data-21h1-ekb-wrapper-package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~en-US~10.0.19041.782.mum
      
   5. Dism /Online /Add-package:C:\Windows\servicing\Packages\microsoft-windows-updatetargeting-clientos-21h1-ekb-package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.19041.782.mum
      
   6. Dism /Online /Add-package:C:\Windows\servicing\Packages\microsoft-windows-updatetargeting-clientos-21h1-ekb-package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~en-US~10.0.19041.782.mum
      
   7. Dism /Online /Add-package:C:\Windows\servicing\Packages\microsoft-windows-updatetargeting-clientos-21h1-ekb-wrapper-package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.19041.782.mum
      
   8. Dism /Online /Add-package:C:\Windows\servicing\Packages\microsoft-windows-updatetargeting-clientos-21h1-ekb-wrapper-package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~en-US~10.0.19041.782.mum
      
3. Now reboot your computer to upgrade to Windows 10 v21H1.

You have now successfully activated Windows 10 v21H1 on your machine. You can verify this by typing in winver in Run.

Closing words

Since you are already subscribed to the Insider updates, it would be ideal to switch to the upcoming update earlier than usual to test it out. Windows 10 21H1 has some exciting features you can check out which we have discussed here.