Windows IoT Enterprise License for Kiosks and Dedicated Devices

Windows IoT Enterprise license: what is this edition for?

A Windows IoT Enterprise license gives you a complete Windows, the successor of the Windows Embedded range: the binaries are those of the Enterprise edition, with the same drivers and the same Win32 application compatibility. What changes is its purpose. It targets fixed-function machines: ordering and pick-up kiosks, tills, vending machines, digital signage screens, machine control panels, and medical or measuring equipment.

A kiosk running Windows IoT Enterprise boots straight into your application, ignores system shortcuts and returns to exactly the same state at every restart. Four lockdown features make this possible:

• Assigned Access: a single full-screen application, with no way out for the user.
• Shell Launcher: replaces Windows Explorer with your own application or custom shell.
• Unified Write Filter (UWF): disk writes go to RAM and disappear at restart, which protects flash storage and screens that never switch off.
• Keyboard Filter: blocks Ctrl+Alt+Del, Alt+Tab, the Windows key and other combinations.

LTSC or annual channel: which version should you choose?

Two channels coexist. The annual channel brings the new Windows features every year and suits connected kiosks whose application changes quickly. The LTSC channel freezes the interface, leaves out the Microsoft Store and the consumer apps, then delivers only security fixes for up to ten years: it is the default choice for a uniform fleet of validated or certified machines.

For a machine that must run unchanged for years, choose an LTSC version: our Windows 11 LTSC and Windows 10 LTSC pages compare their lifecycles in detail.

Do you really need IoT Enterprise?

It is worth asking before you buy. If your kiosk shows a single application (a full-screen browser, point-of-sale software, a check-in form), the Assigned Access kiosk mode of Windows 11 Pro is enough. Windows IoT Enterprise becomes truly necessary as soon as you need:

• several applications locked behind a custom shell;
• a write filter to preserve an SSD or an industrial memory card under constant load;
• an identical system image for eight to ten years, with no imposed interface change;
• keyboard filtering and a locked-down sign-in experience on a public-facing device.

Hardware requirements and deployment

Windows 11 IoT Enterprise in the annual channel follows the Windows 11 requirements: a compatible 64-bit processor, TPM 2.0, UEFI Secure Boot, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. For IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024, Microsoft publishes lighter minimum requirements designed for dedicated devices: compare them with your hardware. Many older industrial PCs meet neither, and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 then remains the reference: it runs without TPM 2.0 and is supported until January 2032.

Setting up a kiosk, step by step

1. Install Windows IoT Enterprise from the installation media, then enter your key in Settings > System > Activation.
2. Create a standard local account for the kiosk user, separate from the administrator account.
3. Configure a single-app kiosk with Assigned Access from Settings, or deploy Assigned Access and Shell Launcher through a provisioning package built with Windows Configuration Designer, or through Intune.
4. Once the image is final, add the Unified Write Filter feature, protect the system drive with the uwfmgr command and add exclusions for the folders your application must keep.
5. Restart several times to check that the device always comes back in the same state.

Each key activates one device: plan one key per kiosk, screen or controller, including spare units. For a project with many devices, send us your machine models and the number of units through our support page: we reply by email within 2 hours on average, 7 days a week. For a prototype, a supervision PC or a single unit, all our Windows licenses can be ordered online, and every key is checked before it is sent.

Genuine licenses from the European market

Our IoT Enterprise keys are genuine perpetual licenses from the European second-hand market, resold under the UsedSoft ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (case C-128/11). Your key arrives by email, usually within a few minutes of payment (48 business hours at most), with activation instructions. A VAT invoice is available in your customer account, and a faulty key is replaced for the lifetime of the license.