How to find Windows Product Key using Command Prompt or PowerShell?

Most of us just use our devices or PC, without actually understanding the different aspects of it. For example, most of us won’t know what a product key is if the PC we have came with Windows 10.

A Product Key is basically a set of 25 characters code, which is for activating Windows. It helps verify that Windows is being on the current PC only, and is not on other devices.

Overview

How to find Windows Product Key using Command Prompt or PowerShell?

This product key is important, because it is according to the Microsoft Software License Terms. Without a product key, Windows 10 won’t be activated. In many cases, Windows uses a digital license, and doesn’t require the user to enter the Product Key manually. However, in case the Product key is required, then it comes with the purchase email that Windows sends you.

Reinstall Windows

In case a user wants to reinstall Windows, they will have to use an activation key. It could be that the person has already deleted the email that contains the Product Key; however, there is no reason to panic because it can be found in other ways.

CMD

CMD stands for Command Prompt, which you can easily find by searching in the Windows search box. When you find it, right click on it, and choose the option of “Run as administrator”.

Now, in the CMD window, you have to type a code, “wmic  path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey”. Hit enter after typing the code, and the product key will show up. It will be 25 characters, and after every 5 characters, you will see a “-“.

PowerShell

While you must have heard about cmd, it could be that you don’t know what PowerShell is. For this method, follow the steps below:

  • Go to Start in Windows
  • Click on Windows PowerShell (Admin)
  • When the PowerShell window opens, you need to type the code, “powershell “(Get-WmiObject -query ‘select * from SoftwareLicensingService’).OA3xOriginalProductKey
  • When you are done typing the code, hit Enter, and then the product key will appear on the screen

Since you might not be good at coding, you can simply copy and paste the coding mentioned above, in both cases. This coding will work for each and every user, and they won’t have to go through their emails to find the product key.

Product Key & Its Importance

Windows product key is important, because each and every key is unique. The characters of a Windows product key won’t be the same for users, and when a user has a key then it means he has legally purchased the item. Legally purchased software works well for users, and in case they face any problem, they can contact the customer representative of Windows directly.

A product key is important; because it ensures the user that a software isn’t pirated. Users should never download product keys from the internet, because they usually come with malware that can steal your data and provide a third party unauthorized access to it.

Third Party Tools

There are third party tools that can find Windows Key for you. The first tool is Nirsoft ProduKey, which can find the OEM Key and the retail key of Windows. If the user wants keys of other applications like Microsoft Office, then the user can easily find those as well.

Another tool is ShowKey Plus, which can also find OEM keys and retail keys for different software. It get sthe software hive file from Windows installation, so that the user can activate their Windows.

The developer of Easy BCD has come up with Windows 10 Product Key Tool, which can locate the UEFI OEM key. However, this third party program doesn’t have the ability to find the retail license product key of Windows.

Some other third party tools include Winkeyfinder, and Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder. It is very easy to locate the Windows Product Key, even if the user thinks that they have lost it.

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