A 25-character code, the product key of your Windows (also called software key) is a verification code required by the operating system for its authentication. Using a product key basically ensures that the product in use is original.
If you need to find your product key, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In what follows, we’ll go over different ways to find the Windows product key. Let’s jump right in.
1. Check your email
In almost all cases, you should be able to find the product key of your Windows 10 or Windows 11 in your email inbox. By your inbox, we’re talking about the email you used while purchasing the copy of your Windows.
So, go and check your inbox immediately, and see if you can find the product key of your Windows in there.
2. Command Prompt
The Command prompt, also called cmd or cmd.exe, is a command line interface in Windows that lets you interact with Windows using text-based inputs. An alternative to the all-familiar GUI we use today, it purports to give you more control and accessibility over your computer.
Interestingly, you can also use it to find out the product key for Windows 10 or Windows 11. To open the Command prompt, follow the steps below:
- Go to the Start menu search bar, type in ‘cmd’ in there, and run the Command prompt as an administrator.
- In the Command prompt, type in the following command and hit Enter:
wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey
Your Windows product key will be shown.
3. Windows Registry
The Windows Registry is a huge, hierarchical database of information about your Windows operating system and other lower-level settings. Moreover, it also lets you on the information on your Windows operating system. Here’s how you can set out to find the product key with its help:
- Go to the Start menu search bar, type in ‘regedit,’ and select the Best match.
- Navigate to this using the address bar from above:
ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionSoftwareProtectionPlatform
Your product key will be visible, as illustrated by the example below.
4. Third-party programs
If you’ve had no luck with the manual methods we’ve covered so far, then it’s better to give professional, third-party methods a try. There are a host of good options out there. We’ve gone with ShowKeyPlus in this example; you can choose any app of your liking.
ShowKeyPlus is a free app, and is also available in Microsoft Store, from where you can download it. Follow the steps below to get started:
- Go to the Microsoft Store and install the ShowKeyPlus app.
- Launch the app, and you will be shown the product key on your PC.
If you’d like, you can also save this information in a separate text file through the app.
Finding the product key in Windows 10 or Windows 11
That’s it, folks. These are some straightforward ways to figure out the product keys in Windows. For almost all cases, these methods would suffice. Also, if you bought a physical Windows copy, then don’t forget to check out the card box in which your Windows came!
