Every licensed copy of Windows 10 has a unique license key, and if you ever need to reinstall Windows, you might need to find your Windows 10 product key to get it working again.
The problem is, most people haven’t even seen their key since they bought a computer with Windows preinstalled. You could also lose yours or forget what you did with it. The good news is that there are many different ways to find out which license key is yours.
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But first, some things you should know
Your Windows 10 product key is not tied to any specific Windows 10 media. If you lose your Windows 10 drive or flash drive, you can simply download a fresh copy and install from it. The key is simply a representation of your license.
Your Windows 10 license is also tied to the hardware of a specific computer. If you do a major hardware change or completely change computers, you will have to reactivate, so link your license to the new hardware configuration. If Microsoft thinks you are abusing your license by installing Windows 10 on multiple computers at the same time, they might not.
You may not need it
If you have a Microsoft account and previously associated it with your Windows 10 product key, all you need to do on a fresh install is to sign in with your account information. Read this article on How to Link a Product Key to see how it works.
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When you switch from a “local account” to signing in with your Microsoft account, it probably happened automatically. If you are trying to activate your copy of Windows, just change your account from local to Microsoft and it should work.
The same applies if you upgraded a copy of Windows 7 or 8 for which you would need a Microsoft account. Just log into Windows with your account credentials, as there is no product key here either.
Check Your Retail Box
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We know this is very obvious. It should be mentioned, though, because if you bought a boxed retail copy of Windows 10, this is the easiest way to find your Windows 10 product key. It should be inside a box, printed on something.
Get it directly from Windows
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If you have an activated copy of Windows and just want to know what the product key is, all you have to do is go to Settings> Update & Security> Activation and then check the page. If you have a product key, it will show up here. If you have a digital license instead, it will simply be said.
Check the computer for a label
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If you bought a pre-built Windows 10 computer or laptop, check the case for a Windows 10 product key sticker. This is becoming less common for high-performance laptops such as unibody ultrabooks, but many computers still display product keys on stickers.
Check the documents attached to your computer
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If there is no label, there may be a Certificate of Authenticity in the package of documents that came with your computer. Assuming you haven’t thrown away all those little brochures, you might be lucky to find the product key between the offerings of antivirus packages and peripherals.
Use a third-party tool
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One of the easiest ways to get a product key on a working computer is to use a third-party utility. Produkey worked fine with the latest version of Windows 10 Just launch the program and your product key will be right here.
Note that some antivirus packages mark Produkey as “PUP” or Potentially Unwanted Program. It is not a virus or anything dangerous to your system. A PUP is simply a tool that can be used by hackers to break into your machine. However, this is your computer, so there is nothing wrong with you using a tool to obtain a key that you already paid for.
Digital Store Records
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If you bought your copy of Windows 10 from a digital store such as Amazon or Microsoft Store, they will have a record of your product key. It will either be in the email that was sent to you with your purchase confirmation, or in your order history if you deleted that email. Therefore, all you have to do is search your inbox or log into your online account.
Hit Up The OEM
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If you bought a pre-built Windows PC or laptop, then you probably have a Windows OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) license. This opens up the possibility that your OEM will know which product key corresponds to your computer’s serial number.
There is no guarantee that they will have this information at their fingertips, but if you come this far on the list, then this is not the worst option.
Last resort: Contact Microsoft
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Okay, this might not be the last resort. Even though there have been ups and downs over the years, Microsoft’s online customer service has been pretty good the last few times we’ve come across them. So if you’re having trouble activating Windows or finding your Windows 10 product key, chances are good that chatting with one of the support representatives will fix the problem.
Are you a Keymaster?
When it comes to Windows, product license keys are clearly disappearing as Microsoft begins to move to a cloud-based subscription model for its software and services.
However, at this point, we still occasionally have to face the minor hurdle of not having the Windows key at hand. In the worst case, you will be forced to buy a new Windows license, but hopefully the tips above will help you avoid this.
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