Forum Discussion
Where do I find Windows 10 Pro product key?
Hi community,
I made a completely reinstall of Windows 10 Pro on his old PC. After installation, Windows 10 Pro asks to activate Windows 10 and there is a watermark appearing on the desktop all the times. I bought the key from someone and no way to find the person now.
My question is that where do I find Windows 10 pro product key? Is the product key bound to the motherboard? Much appreciated if you could help me retrieve Windows 10 product key without paying again.
Thank you
16 Replies
Hi Smanthanp,
If Windows 10 Pro is activated with a digital license, you won’t have a traditional product key. To check:
Go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation.
If it shows "Windows is activated with a digital license," it means it's linked to your Microsoft account.
For more information, you can explore this similar topic on finding your product key.
Login the Microsoft account and you will find the associated product key from there. If not, try the Dr.Key app, one of best product key finder tools for Windows 10/11.
Steps: https://www.techmodos.com/find-windows-10-product-key
Sir please i purchased windows 10 OEM but while scratching the product key some of the code leat with the thing they used to cote the code. I have contacted the people i bought it from that are telling me that i need to buy another one but i don't have the money. The park the gave me has a back end code please advise me on how to get the pilled part. With the back end code.
With the introduction of Windows 10, Microsoft uses digital licenses (also referred to as digital entitlements) whereby the operating system is activated without needing a product key.
If you upgrade to Windows 10 from a genuine copy of Windows 7 or 8.1, or if you purchase Windows 10 from the Microsoft Store, it may be linked to your Microsoft account. The digital license validates your installation automatically.
By default, you can find the Windows 10 Pro product key by logging the associated Microsoft account.
Alright, let’s chat about diving into the Windows Registry to find Windows 10 Pro product key. While it might sound like a cool techy thing to do, there are definitely some downsides to this approach. Trust me, I’ve been down this road, and it can get a bit messy.
When you’re in the Registry Editor, you have access to a ton of system settings. If you accidentally modify or delete a key, it could impact your system stability or cause software issues. I’ve seen friends lose their minds over little mistakes made in there, leading to unwanted blue screens or performance issues.If you bought Windows 10 Pro from someone, the product key should be linked to the hardware (motherboard) if it was a digital license. If it's a retail key, it should have been provided to you, either in an email or a physical card.
You can try using a key retrieval tool like ProduKey or check the Windows registry to find your key, though these methods may not always work for digital licenses. If it's linked to your Microsoft account, logging in might activate it automatically. If these don't work, you may need to contact Microsoft support for assistance.
Where do I find Windows 10 Pro product key? | Microsoft Community HubYour answer is not helpful.
Observations: The OP is almost certainly re-installing over the old disk. They are not experts and may not have another computer. It is extremely advanced to read the registry of a disk from another computer.
What they needed to do (and it is too late now).- Before the reinstall, get the key using the command line method. This might mean attempting a repair from installation media and dropping to X: (edit: good luck with this) Most people doing this are stuck in boot loops and have no chance in hell of using regedit.
- Use a NEW disk for the re-install.
- Find the original media, in many cases this is a Windows 7 product key.-
- Above all else, have a full disk or at least full partition backup less than a month old.
- Not everybody has a Microsoft account, they are a lot of trouble. It is July 2025 and the 2FA mess at the moment does not bear thinking about. I have over 20 Microsoft accounts and I would prefer to have none.
At the point of having written over you previous install, you can elect to declare you are re-installing. This may or may not work, and may or may not be possible.
Smanthanp The Windows 10 product key can often be found in the Windows Registry, although it is stored in an encoded format. You can access the Registry Editor to view it, but the product key may not be readable in plain text without some additional steps. Here's how to find Windows 10 product key in the Registry.
Step 1: Press Win + R to open the Run dialog. Type regedit and press Enter. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click Yes.
Step 2: Browse to the following path (you can copy and paste it in the Registry Editor's address bar):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersionStep 3: Look for the entry called DigitalProductId. The product key isn't directly displayed as a string. Instead, it's stored in a binary format.
Since the product key is not in plain text, you will need to use a script or software to decode it.
Matopias Below is a simple method using a PowerShell script to decode the Windows 10 Pro product key.
Press Win + X and select Windows PowerShell (Admin) or Windows Terminal (Admin). Run the Following Command:
(Get-WmiObject -query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKeyPress Enter. If a product key is available, it will be displayed in plain text. This is a free way to help you find Windows 10 product key via regedit.
Smanthanp There are loads of “free” tools online claiming to find Windows 10 pro product key. Be careful! Some could have malware or just not work at all. Stick to what's legit. If you linked your Windows copy to a Microsoft account, log into the account associated with your purchase on the Microsoft website. There’s a chance the key could be listed there.
- Windows 10 product keys come in several different types, each associated with specific purchasing and licensing options. And you have to use the different methods to find Windows 10 Pro product via command prompt, registry or microsoft account.
When purchasing or using Windows 10, it's important to understand which type of product key you have as it will dictate the terms of use, transferability, and support associated with that key. Retail and OEM keys are the most common for individual users, while Volume License Keys are tailored for organizations with multiple systems to manage. How to find Windows 10 Pro product key using CMD? Here's what i know:
1. Using Command Prompt:
- Hit the Windows key, type cmd, right-click on Command Prompt, and run it as admin.
- Type this command and hit Enter:
wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey - If you’re lucky, it’ll spit out your product key right there!
2. Via Settings:
- Go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation. Sometimes, you can see your activation status and the option to change or view your product key if it's tied to your Microsoft account.
3. Using a Powershell Command:
- Similar to Command Prompt, you can open Windows PowerShell and run:
(Get-WmiObject -query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey
About finding Windows 10 pro product key. A lot of folks think the product key is just chilling somewhere on their computer (like in the settings or a notepad file). It’s not that simple. Sometimes it’s hidden, so don't waste your time hunting for it everywhere on your OS.
Actually smart people record them in just such files. along with bitlocker recovery keys.
The people that *need* the product key *don't* have an OS.Treat them as cash, reserve bookshelf space for the media.
Maybe also put them in Google Drive or an AWS S3 bucket, just to be sure.
Getting into your Microsoft Account might be an issue if you can't.
