Seems a shame to throw it out so I open it up, discover a broken piece & replace it. Device now works.
In this case the vendor, understanding device to be non working gives refund and decides to scrap it and leaves it to the scavengers. The person who repairs it has input some expertise in reviving it and may legally claim it as it has been abandoned as worthless and now has worth. No theft.
This is not analogous to the case presented. Software requiring activation code was supplied without one, refund was issued and recipient was left with original medium supplied, this is not equivalent to having been granted access to the intellectual copyright as the original commercial transaction is no longer valid due to the refund. In order to activate it a code must be obtained, in this case a call to MS grants that code, if the person who supplied that code has had the full circumstances explained but is not authorised to supply it under the circumstances then the usage of that software continues to be illegal and the employee in breach of contract. I cannot however see Plod hot on the heels of the user as reasonable mitigation would be present.
The two are NOT analogous.
Sprogget - If you read my OP I did not accuse anyone of trying to do anything illegal, I simply offered a caveat against doing so in a later post.