The windows activation by phone is not working. I says to call back. That started last night and it still does not work.

Dear Randall Sam,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A.

The "call back later" message almost always means that Microsoft's activation servers are temporarily overloaded or down for maintenance. It's not a problem with the phone number itself, but with the system it connects to.

Although I cannot help you to fix the phone number directly, I will provide you step-by-step guide to contact a Microsoft live support agent:

1. Go to the official Microsoft Support contact page: https://support.microsoft.com/contactus
2. A virtual assistant will ask you to describe your problem. Type "Activate Windows" and click Get Help.
3. The page will display some recommended help articles. Scroll past these and click the "Contact Support" button at the bottom.
4. On the next screen, select your product and service:
   • Product: Choose Windows.
   • Category: Choose Activation and product key.
5. Click Confirm. You will then be presented with the option to "Chat with a support agent in your web browser."

I wish this could help. If you have any further issues, we are happy to assist.

To assist others who might have similar questions and to help us improve our support system, we kindly encourage you to "Accept the answer" if it successfully addressed your concern. Accepting an answer lets other users know that this solution worked for you, and it also helps us track the effectiveness of our support efforts.