Editor’s Notice: Microsoft now not sells Home windows 10, and its assist will finish on Oct. 14, 2025. Nevertheless, you possibly can nonetheless purchase Home windows 10 from some third-party retailers.

Discovering your Home windows 10 product key can really feel like a treasure hunt. It’s typically tucked away on a hard-to-reach sticker in your pc {hardware} or hidden within the packaging of a bodily copy — assuming you haven’t already tossed the field.

Nevertheless, earlier than you go crawling right into a closet or behind your desk in search of a 25-digit alphanumeric code in nice print on the bottom of your PC, there are much less strenuous methods to trace down your Home windows 10 product key.

This tutorial exhibits you how you can discover your Home windows 10 product key utilizing the ability of the working system. We have now additionally printed recommendations on how you can discover your product key in Home windows 11.

Find out how to discover your Home windows 10 product key

The success of any of those strategies largely relies on how your PC was activated. For those who activated Home windows 10 by upgrading from a sound Home windows 7 or 8 set up or with the pc’s latest buy, you’ll possible discover the product key with most of those strategies. Nevertheless, in case your PC was activated as a part of a company’s licensing settlement, discovering a product key could also be extra problematic.

1. Command immediate

Probably the most direct technique for locating your Home windows 10 product key’s from the command line.

1. Sort cmd into the Home windows 10 desktop search field.
2. Then, right-click the command line end result.
3. Choose run as administrator from the context menu.
4. Sort this command on the immediate:

wmic path softwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey

As proven within the picture beneath, the command will show your present Home windows 10 product key.

2. PowerShell

If you’re utilizing Home windows 10 PowerShell, the method is analogous:

1. Proper-click the Begin Menu button.
2. Choose Home windows PowerShell (Admin) from the context menu.
3. Sort this command on the immediate to disclose the product key.

powershell "(Get-WmiObject -query 'choose * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey"

3. Registry File

The product key’s saved within the Home windows 10 Registry File, so it’s potential to seek out the code there if you already know the suitable key. To take action:

1. Sort regedit into the Home windows 10 desktop search, and choose the suitable merchandise within the outcomes.
2. Navigate to this key:

ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionSoftwareProtectionPlatform

As you possibly can see beneath, the BackupProductKeyDefault key will reveal a sound Home windows 10 product key.

Notice: In my case, the Home windows 10 product key displayed by each the command immediate and PowerShell strategies are the identical; within the registry instance, the product key’s totally different. The perfect clarification I can counsel is that as a result of I upgraded from Residence to Professional on the instance PC, the product key displayed is for the improve to Professional or vice versa. When you have a greater resolution, please tell us.

SEE: Home windows 10 and 11 in S Mode: What Is It, and Ought to You Use It?

Different methods to seek out your Home windows 10 product key

Third-party distributors provide purposes that may additionally find and show your Home windows 10 product key. These purposes primarily do the identical factor we did right here, however they introduce another person’s programming and potential safety points.

As well as, in case you purchased Home windows 10 from the Microsoft Retailer, the product key info is accessible in your account order historical past.

Is the Home windows 10 product key tied to my {hardware}?

For those who bought a tool with an OEM key, akin to a Dell or Lenovo laptop computer, the Home windows 10 product key could also be tied to your {hardware}. Nevertheless, in case you purchased a digital copy of Home windows, you possibly can switch the license to a different pc.

What ought to I do if I lose my product key after buying Home windows 10?

In response to Microsoft, if not one of the strategies listed right here work, you could possibly contact your machine’s producer to seek out the product key. Nevertheless, it will possible solely be potential in case your machine continues to be below guarantee. You might have to buy a brand new retail license if all else fails.

Can I switch my Home windows 10 license to a different pc?

Sure. Simply observe that Home windows 10 licenses are meant to be used on one pc at a time.