If you have a Windows 10 computer, the first thing you should do is to go to Settings > Update & security > Activation and see if your computer has a digital license key. If it does, enter that key in the activation window on your computer. If you don’t have a digital license key, or if you lost it, you can try to find out what license key is associated with your computer by using one of the following methods: -Go to Microsoft’s website and enter your product ID (the nine-digit number that appears on the back of your computer) in the “Find my product” search box. -If you bought your computer from a store, ask an employee for help finding your product ID. -If you bought your computer online, enter the serial number or other information that was provided when you bought it into Microsoft’s website’s “Find my product” search box. ..

In addition, be sure to check out our short video on our YouTube channel that walks you through the information we have written about in this article. ..

But First, Some Things You Should Know

Your Windows 10 product key is not locked to any specific type of media. If you’ve lost your disc or flash drive with Windows 10, you can simply download a new copy and install from that. The key is simply a representation of your license.

If you make a big hardware change, or change computers entirely, then you’ll have to do a reactivation so bind your Windows 10 license to the new hardware configuration. If Microsoft thinks you are abusing your license by installing Windows 10 to multiple machines at the same time, they may be unwilling to do this. ..

You Might Not Need It

If you have a Microsoft account and have previously linked it to your Windows 10 product key, all you need to do on a new install is log in with your account details. To link your product key to your Windows 10 account, follow these steps:

  1. Log in with your Microsoft account credentials.
  2. In the Accounts pane of the left pane of the main window, click on the link next to “My Account.”
  3. In the resulting window, enter your product key in the text field and click on the link next to “Link my key.”
  4. The process of linking your product key will start automatically and will take about five minutes. After it’s finished, you’ll see a message saying that it was successful. If you don’t see this message, check out this article on how to find out if you’ve linked your key successfully.

When you switch from a “local account” to logging in with your Microsoft Account, this probably happened automatically. If you are trying to activate a copy of Windows, simply change your account from local to Microsoft and it should work.

If you upgraded to Windows 7 or 8, you would need to use your Microsoft account to log in. There is no product key involved.

Check Your Retail Box

If you bought a boxed retail Windows 10 copy, the product key is likely printed on something inside the box. ..

Get It Straight From Windows

If you have an activated copy of Windows and want to see 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 be displayed here. If you have a digital license instead, it will simply say so. ..

Check Your Computer for a Sticker

If you bought a pre-built computer or laptop which came with Windows 10, check to see if there is a sticker on the chassis that displays the Windows 10 product key. This is becoming less common with high-end laptops such as unibody ultrabooks, but plenty of computers still display their product keys on a sticker. ..

Check The Documents That Came With Your PC

If you don’t find your product key, or if the sticker on the box is missing, it’s likely that your computer came with a certificate of authenticity that confirms that the software was installed and working properly. If you don’t have a key, or if the certificate is missing, it’s likely that your computer didn’t come with any software at all and you’ll need to buy one from a store or online.

Use a Third-Party Tool

One of the easiest ways to retrieve your product key from a running machine is to use a third-party utility. Produkey worked perfectly for us on the latest version of Windows 10. Just run the program and your product key is right there.

Some anti-malware packages may flag Produkey as a “PUP” or potentially unwanted program. It’s not a virus or anything harmful to your system, a PUP is just a tool that could be used by hackers to compromise your machine. However, this is your computer, so there’s nothing wrong with you using the tool to retrieve the key you already paid for. ..

Digital Store Records

Hit Up The OEM

If you bought a pre-built computer or laptop that came with Windows, then the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) Windows license may have been included. This means that your OEM may know the product key that goes with your computer’s serial number. ..

There’s no guarantee that they have this information on hand for you, but if you’ve come this far down the list then it might be the best option.

The Last Resort: Call Microsoft

Microsoft’s online customer service was quite good the last few times we had to deal with them. So if you do have problems activating Windows or finding your Windows 10 product key, there’s a good chance hopping on live chat with one of their service representatives will solve the issue.

Are You The Keymaster?

Microsoft is moving away from product keys in favor of a cloud-based subscription model for its software and services. This shift will likely mean that users will no longer be able to keep their keys, as they will be stored on Microsoft’s servers.

In the current Windows 10 environment, you may occasionally find yourself without a Windows key. The best way to avoid this is to take some of the tips in this article and apply them to your computer. If you have to buy a new Windows license, be sure to read the tips in this article first.