How to find windows 10 product key in windows

In brief For the longest time Windows PCs came with a product key sticker that was placed outside of the machine or with your computer’s manuals. But in recent years manufacturers started storing this license within the machine’s UEFI/BIOS and the information is automatically retrieved and applied when reinstalling the operating system. Certainly a better approach overall. In other instances, for example if you built and installed your OS, your key is associated with your Microsoft account, so there is no way to «lose it» anymore. Read on for more details.

Microsoft has been changing and improving the way it handles Windows licenses. We’ll cover all you need to know in this article, from old school ways to retrieve keys, to the more modern approaches to make good use of your licenses and what restrictions may apply depending on your type of license.

Windows 10 introduced a «Digital Entitlement» element to Microsoft’s license which links your Windows key to an ID generated based on your PC’s hardware. But because your hardware can significantly change if you upgrade your hardware, this entitlement was expanded to become a «Digital License» when 2016’s Anniversary Update (1607) arrived.

This means your Windows 10 license now ties Windows keys to Microsoft accounts, letting you activate a copy of the operating system simply by logging in with valid online credentials. So, if you have a newer Windows PC or you already log in using your Microsoft account, you generally shouldn’t have to search for your original Windows 10 key. We will explain that in better detail in a minute.

There may be other scenarios where you may still want to manually find a Windows key stored in your UEFI/BIOS, or prevent this key from automatically being applied during installation. Not to mention that different conditions apply for non-OEM retail keys, as well as those given to people who upgraded to Windows 10 for free. And in a worst case scenario, you might be trying to find the license for a copy of Windows that no longer boots.

Editor’s Note: This feature was originally published on December 2018. It’s just as relevant today, so we’ve bumped it as part of our #ThrowbackThursday initiative.

Windows OEM keys vs. retail vs. free upgrade

There are many types of Windows licenses with varying terms of use. As a general rule of thumb:

• OEM keys are shipped with a specific computer and can’t be transferred to another machine. Again, these should be auto-applied from your UEFI/BIOS when reinstalling Windows on a modern boxed PC, but you can also retrieve them manually.
• Retail keys are purchased directly from Microsoft, Amazon etc. — these can be transferred to another machine and that process should happen automatically for a digital license, though you can also «uninstall» a Windows key from a given PC.
• Those who upgraded to Windows 10 for free from Windows 7 and 8 don’t have a unique Windows 10 key. This can only be transferred to one other machine (not if you upgraded from an OEM key). Free upgrade licenses are a digital entitlement.

Do I have a digital license?

The Windows 10 Settings app has a page for displaying your activation information, including whether you have a digital license, though your key isn’t shown here:

Go to: Settings > Update & Security > Activation

If you have a digital license, you should see «Windows is activated with a digital license» or «Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account.»

You can also link a Microsoft account to a Windows license by clicking «add a Microsoft Account» on the bottom of the same page and providing your login information.

Find your key from inside Windows

Entering the following lines into an admin Command Prompt or PowerShell worked to display the OEM key embedded in our system’s UEFI/BIOS. However, these commands didn’t return any keys on other two machines we used for testing despite Windows 10 being activated.

wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey

or

powershell «(Get-WmiObject -query ‘select * from SoftwareLicensingService’).OA3xOriginalProductKey»

There’s also a commonly cited Visual Basic script that retrieves registry-based Windows keys (not those stored in the UEFI/BIOS). You can download the script here. Copy this text and paste it into Notepad, saving it as a .vbs file. Then double-click to launch the file.

We downloaded a variety of utilities that can retrieve retail keys from the Windows registry as well as those that are UEFI/BIOS-bound. In testing, some of the applications found both the registry and UEFI/BIOS keys, while others only worked for one or the other:

Nirsoft ProduKey — Found both the embedded OEM key as well as the retail key from our currently running copy of Windows. Also includes keys for many other applications such as Microsoft Office and Adobe products (strangely, Internet Explorer was also included in our results, though no key was provided). As with some of the other tools on this list, ProduKey can load Windows keys from external sources/drives.

ShowKey Plus — This utility also found both our retail and OEM keys, and can load the SOFTWARE hive file from another Windows installation.

Windows 10 Product Key Tool — Made by the developer of EasyBCD, this tool located our UEFI OEM key but didn’t find the retail license on our Windows To Go drive.

Winkeyfinder — Found our retail key but Dell’s UEFI OEM key wasn’t displayed.

Magical Jelly Bean KeyFinder — Returned the retail key but not the UEFI OEM key. This software can also load registry keys from Windows installations on other drives (tools > Load Hive). Listed our Windows 10 Pro install as Enterprise.

Find your key from outside Windows

If you can’t boot into Windows and want to retrieve that key, you can still access this data from an external environment such as a Windows To Go drive, or by attaching your non-booting Windows drive to another machine.

Note that if you’re recovering the key from a Windows To Go workspace, the non-booting drive with your Windows key is offline by default and will have to be enabled in Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc). Right-click the drive and set it as «online.» As mentioned above, several of the third-party tools that we already listed will let you load the registry hive file from another Windows installation.

You can also navigate to your license directly from the Windows registry (regedit via Start) though the key is not in plain text. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersion and look for «DigitalProductId» in the right panel.

This registry hive is stored in a file on your OS drive at WindowsSystem32Config — look for the file named SOFTWARE.

In testing, both ProduKey and ShowKey Plus loaded the SOFTWARE hive file and displayed the key for an external Windows installation via Windows To Go. Also note that ProduKey can search for Windows keys on computers at remote domains among other locations, and that the Windows Registry Editor can load hive files from other installations:

• Open the Windows Registry Editor (enter regedit via Start)
• Click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE so it’s selected
• Click File > Load Hive and navigate to the SOFTWARE file in WindowsSystem32Config on your other drive
• Enter a name for this external hive file
• The hive should appear as a sub-entry in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
• To unload the hive, select the name you chose and go to File > Unload Hive

Retrieving the UEFI/BIOS-bound Windows key via Linux was as simple as entering the following line in a terminal, though we couldn’t find any GUI applications like ProduKey or ShowKey Plus that would retrieve the license from a registry hive file:

sudo strings /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM | tail -1

The command-line tool Chntpw can be installed on Linux and is able to load Windows registry files. This software didn’t return a valid key when decoding the product ID within the tool, though if you had to you could extract the hex data and decode that elsewhere.

If you have a boot disc around, Chntpw (also known as Offline NT Password & Registry Editor) is part of many all-in-one recovery solutions such as Ultimate Boot CD and Hiren’s Boot CD.

Here’s how to load a Windows registry file in Chntpw from a Linux terminal and then display the hex value for the key in that hive (use dpi instead of hex to decode the key within chntpw, though again, this didn’t give us a valid key):

chntpw -e YourDrive/Windows/System32/config/SOFTWARE

hex MicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionDigitalProductId

Additional resources

Although it’s convenient to have your Windows key automatically detected from the UEFI/BIOS, you’ll have to tweak the Windows installation media if you want to use another license.

Open the installation media in File Explorer, browse to the Sources folder and create a new text file named PID.txt in the Sources folder. In PID.txt, you want the following text, where the Xs correspond to your license key.

[PID]
Value=XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Uninstalling a retail key from a given machine is also possible and while this doesn’t automatically update the information on Microsoft’s servers, it will prevent future conflicts from multiple machines using the same key.

Enter the following line in an administrator Command Prompt to uninstall the currently active product license and clear that key from the Windows registry (here are more slmgr commands):

slmgr.vbs /upk

slmgr /cpky

As a final anecdote from testing, when we uninstalled and cleared the key from our Windows installation, we were able to reactivate that copy of Windows simply by clicking «Troubleshoot» on the activation page.

One click and that wizard retrieved our digital license, despite not being linked to a Microsoft account. And again, this was for a retail key that was originally used on a desktop which was cloned as a Windows To Go drive and plugged into another machine with a different hardware profile. In other words, with luck, Microsoft’s activation is forgiving enough and you should have no issues validating your OS license on a new machine or after several hardware changes.

Keep Reading. Software at TechSpot

• Ways to Free Up Storage Space on Windows
• Windows To Go: How to Install and Run Windows 10 from a USB Drive
• «Run as Administrator»: What Does It Mean?
• A Compilation of Command Prompt Tips, Tricks & Cool Things You Can Do

Used to activate new installations of Microsoft’s OS, the Windows product key is something you probably don’t think about . . . until you really need it. Whether you’re about to do a clean install of Windows 11 or 10 on your existing PC or you need to move the license to a new computer, you’ll probably need this 25-character, alphanumeric code.

As we’ve noted elsewhere, the best way to get Windows 10 or 11 for free is to reuse a Windows product key you have either on the current computer or another you own and aren’t using anymore (note that «OEM» keys may not let you reuse them on different hardware). But unless you bought a copy of the OS at retail and have it written down somewhere handy, you may not know the code. Fortunately, there are several ways to find your Windows 10 or 11 product key and they’re all easy.

Method 1: Use Magical Jelly Bean KeyFinder to Find Windows 10 / 11 Product Keys

One of the easiest — and my favorite — way to find a Windows 10 or 11 product key is by using a free utility called Magical JellyBean KeyFinder. The company behind it makes a paid version that will also give you product keys from your system for tools such as Microsoft Office or Photoshop Elements. However, the base version which grabs your Windows product key is a totally free download. Here’s how to use it.

1. Download Magical JellyBean KeyFinder, the free version.

2. Extract keyfinder.exe from the zip file to a folder on your PC. You can skip the other files in the zip archive.

3. Launch keyfinder.exe.

4. Click Yes if prompted by user account control.

You will a see a list of information about your current install of Windows.

5. Copy the code after «CD Key.» That’s your Windows 10 or 11 product key. It’s not the number after «Product ID.»

You will also notice there that Magical Jelly Bean describes your installation as either «Installed from ‘Full Packaged Product’ media» or «Installed from ‘OEM’ media.» If your key is marked as coming from OEM media, it may not work if you try to use it to install Windows on a different PC. 

Method 2: Use the Command Prompt to Find Windows 10 / 11 Product Keys

You should be able to find your Windows 10 or 11 product key by entering a particular command at the command line. However, in my testing, I found on one PC that this method returned a blank key while the Magical Jelly Bean KeyFinder found the same machine’s key. 

To get your Windows product key from the command prompt:

1. Launch the command prompt. The easiest way to get there is to hit Windows + R to open the run dialog box, then type in cmd and hit Enter.

2. Paste or type in the following command and hit Enter.

wmic path softwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey

You should see the key on screen below the line that says «OA3XOriginalProductKey.» If not, this method didn’t work but you can try another one.

Method 3: Use the Registry to Find Windows 10 / 11 Product Keys

A copy of your Windows 11 or Windows 10 product key should be located in your registry. You just have to know where to look. 

1. Open the registry editor. The easiest way is to get there is to hit Windows key + R to open the run dialog box, enter «regedit» and hit Enter.

2. Click Yes if prompted by User Account Control.

3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionSoftwareProtectionPlatform.

4. Open the BackupProductKeyDefault key. 

You can copy the Windows 10 or 11 product key from there.

More Windows Tutorials

• How to Get Windows 11 or Windows 10 for Free (or Under $20)
• How to Delete the EFI System Partition in Windows 10 or 11
• How to Find Saved Wi-Fi Passwords in Windows 11 or 10
• How to Install Windows 11 22H2 Update Right Now

How to find your Windows product key using Command Prompt (CMD)

1. Type cmd in the Windows 10 search bar.

   

2. Right-click on Command Prompt, select Run as administrator, and select Yes if Windows asks you to allow access.

   

3. Type or copy and paste the following command into the Command Prompt:

   wmic path softwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey

   

4. Press Enter. Your 25-character Windows 10 product key should now be displayed (in 5-character sets).

   

That’s how to find a windows 10 product key in cmd (Command Prompt). You can find your Windows 7 product key in Command Prompt by following the same steps. To open Command Prompt in Windows 7, press the Windows key + R and type cmd into the search box.

How to find your Windows Product key using PowerShell

1. Right-click on the Start Menu.

   

2. Select Windows PowerShell (Admin). Click Yes if Windows asks you to allow access.

   

3. Type or copy and paste the following code into PowerShell:

   powershell «(Get-WmiObject -query ‘select * from SoftwareLicensingService’).OA3xOriginalProductKey»

   

4. Press Enter. Your 25-character Windows 10 product key should now be displayed (in 5-character chunks).

   

How to find your Windows Product Key in the Registry Editor

1. Type regedit in the Windows 10 search bar. Click on the Registry Editor. Select Yes if Windows asks you to allow access.

   

2. In the folder system that displays, navigate to:

   ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionSoftwareProtectionPlatform

   Each item between backslashes above corresponds to the folders you need to click to find the folder with your Windows product key: the SoftwareProtectionPlatform folder.

   Your product key is listed next to the item named BackupProductKeyDefault.

   

That’s how to find your Windows 10 product key using the Windows registry. The product key here might be different from the product key found through Command Prompt or PowerShell. That could be because you’ve upgraded or changed your version of Windows. You can find a Windows 7 product key in the registry through the same method.

Check your Windows settings

You can also check if you have an active Windows license — and whether it’s a digital license — through the Windows 10 settings.

1. Open the Start Menu and select Settings.

   

2. Click Updates & Security.

   

3. Select Activation.

   

Next to Activation, you’ll see information about your Windows 10 activation status, and whether you have a digital license. You can also change your Windows 10 product key on this screen if you need to.

Check the original packaging

With physical copies of Windows, the Windows 10 or Windows 7 activation key is often hidden behind a scratch-off inside the original box. It could also be on an official sticker located on the outside of the box.

When buying a PC or laptop with Windows 10 pre-installed, the Windows 10 product key is listed on a Certificate of Authenticity in the paperwork, or a sticker somewhere on the device itself (usually the side or back of a PC, and the underside of a laptop). If you’re wondering how to find your Windows 10 product key, it may be as simple as finding it on your computer.

Search your emails

If you purchased Windows through a retailer, searching in your email for terms such as “product key,” “Windows confirmation,” or “Microsoft activation” could bring up your product key details. If you think you purchased Windows through the Microsoft Store App, searching for “Microsoft Services Agreement” or the email address “msa@communication.microsoft.com” might help you find an email correspondence with your Windows 10 or Windows 7 product key.

If you use Gmail, you can search your inbox with specific parameters using Gmail’s search operators. You can search by email sender (from:[name]), recipient (to:[name]), or even terms in the subject line (subject:[microsoft activation key]), for example.

Try a third-party tool

Product key finders can locate keys for software that’s already installed. Using one of the methods above to find your key is safer, since giving a company access to your computer leaves you vulnerable to bloatware or even types of malware.

Only use third-party tools you trust. If a third-party tool infects your device, downloading the best free antivirus software can remove it.

Some notable Windows product key finders are MyKeyFinder and Belarc Advisor. These products have free trials but may require additional information or send you ads. Third-party tools can also recover deleted files on Windows and other, more specialized services.

Digital license vs. product key

If you bought a physical disc or retail copy of Windows 10, you have a product key located somewhere on or inside the original packaging. If you bought Windows 10 online directly from Microsoft, you have a digital license.

If you buy or upgrade Windows 10 directly from Microsoft, you don’t need a Windows 10 product key. Microsoft creates a digital license automatically and stores it on their servers in a process called digital entitlement. A digital license serves the same purpose as a product key, except it’s stored on the operating system itself — you don’t need to re-enter it if you reinstall or upgrade Windows.

Why do you need a Windows product key?

When you reinstall Windows or software such as Microsoft Office, you need your product key. It’s tough to locate files — such as documents storing your product keys — when you have folders all over your desktop. Our guide to speeding up and cleaning your PC can help you tidy up your folders and keep your computer organized.

If you have Windows 8 and are thinking of an upgrade, check out our Windows 8 vs Windows 10 comparison. If you want to upgrade Windows but aren’t sure if your PC can handle it, check out our guide to checking your computer specs just to be safe.

Upgrading to a new version of Windows will give you a new product key. Anyone can download and install Windows 10 for free, but Microsoft will keep encouraging you to activate. You can’t change your desktop theme, colors, or startup programs without activating an official license, and you won’t get all the most important Windows 10 features and updates either.

What about Windows 7?

Anyone running Windows 7 should upgrade to Windows 10. Along with being faster and smoother, Windows 10 is better at managing memory and disk space. If your hard drive is clogged or buggy, see how to use chkdsk in Windows to scan your drive and fix it. It’s possible that upgrading to Windows 10 can improve your hard drive’s health too. Upgrading to Windows 10 can even fix the Windows black screen in some cases.

With Windows 10 you can integrate Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage, and get increased security with Windows SmartScreen and Windows Defender.

If you’re wondering how to find a Windows 7 product key, you can do so using Command Prompt or the Registry Editor, as shown above. If you ever want to upgrade to Windows 10 or 11 from Windows 7, you’ll need your Windows 7 product key.

Improve your Windows experience, whatever version you have

No matter what version you have, Windows is the home of your digital life. But all that shuffling, downloading, and browsing take its toll and can clog up your system quickly. AVG TuneUp can clear out years of grime, make your browsing speedier and lighter, and keep your favorite apps updated automatically. Enjoy an optimal Windows experience with AVG TuneUp.