Running Windows 11 on ARM64 architecture is a special case. The ARM64 Insider Preview builds are in beta form only and currently have no associated charge. Microsoft does not require activation for these builds, and they are provided as-is for testing purposes. However, this applies only to the ARM64 builds themselves. Other scenarios, such as running the preview on standard x64 hardware or in a virtual machine on an ARM64 Mac, are not officially supported.
Windows 11 Pro Insider Preview activates using the exact same licensing mechanism as the standard, retail version of Windows 11 Pro. Microsoft uses two primary methods to verify your copy: