What is a Windows Product Key?
A product key is a 25-character code used to activate Windows and helps verify that Windows hasn’t been used on more PCs than the Microsoft Software License Terms allow. Microsoft’s way to ensure that the copy of Windows being used is genuine. The key is provided to Microsoft when Windows 11 is activated, and Microsoft checks the key against its records.
Windows will not be activated if the key is invalid. When you purchase a prebuilt computer or laptop, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) installs Windows on the device for you. That kind of key is called an OEM key, an OEM product key, or an OEM license. Alternatively, retail licenses are available for enthusiasts who build their PCs or purchase different versions of Windows 11.
This risewindows article will guide you on finding the product (activation) keys from installed Windows 11/10 computers using command prompt and Powershell.
How to Find Windows 11/10 Product Key using Command Prompt?
You can find the Windows 11/10 product key by running the command prompt as administrator. To do that, do the following steps:-
Step 1. Firstly, click on the
Step 2. Now, right-click on the Command Prompt in the search results and select Run as administrator in the pop-up menu.
Step 3. Then Command Prompt opens with administrative rights. In the elevated command prompt window, type the following and hit
powershell “(Get-WmiObject -query ‘select * from SoftwareLicensingService’).OA3xOriginalProductKey”
If the above command does not work, you can try the following:-
wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey
That’s it.
How to Find Windows 11/10 Product Key via PowerShell?
To view Windows 11/10 product key using PowerShell, use the following:-
Step 1. As usual, open Windows PowerShell with administrative privileges.
Step 2. Now, in the elevated PowerShell prompt, type the following and press the
PowerShell “(Get-WmiObject -query ‘select * from SoftwareLicensingService’).OA3xOriginalProductKey"
Or,
Get-Wmiobject SoftwareLicensingService | Select OA3xOriginalProductKey
How to View Windows 11 product key using Registry Editor?
It is also possible to retrieve the Windows product key from Registry entries. To do that, use the following steps:-
Step 1. First, open the Registry Editor.
Step 2. Now, navigate to the following path in the left sidebar:-
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform
Step 3. Finally, besides the
There are some methods to find out your Windows product keys.
That’s it for the article.
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