The authenticity of an operating system is linked to a product key, which we sometimes need to consult. We are going to review the options to know the Windows 10 license number easily and quickly.
The license number consists of 25 characters, including numbers and capital letters . For example, this is one of the generic Microsoft licenses that allow you to install Windows 10 without a key for temporary testing:
TX9XD-98N7V-6WMQ6-BX7FG-H8Q99
Anyone can download the Windows 10 ISOs for free , that is, the image to burn an installation DVD or USB stick. Instead, activating it to be legal and 100% functional requires purchasing a license number, which is almost always included in a new PC.
Command Prompt, the solution to view the license
Although there are programs to know the license number, in the end it is faster and safer to use “Command Prompt” in Windows 10 . It should not scare us to write commands in the window that opens, because in this case it is very simple.
- In the search box on the taskbar we write “CMD” (without the quotes):
- It will suggest us to use “Command Prompt” , so we will click on “Open” , without having to use it with administrator permissions:
- We will write the following command in the black box that opens (we can copy and paste) and then we will press “enter” on the keyboard:
wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey
- Now it will show us the 25 alphanumeric characters of the key:
- The key can be selected with the mouse for easy copy and paste.
Following these steps we will get to know the associated license number in all cases, including digital licenses, which we will detail below because they have certain peculiarities.
Other places to look for the license number
A few years ago it was normal for computers to bring the license number on a sticker , usually placed on the back, or even under the battery if it is a laptop that allows it to be removed.
If we have bought a physical copy of Windows we will have the license inside the box , on a card. Mind you, since Windows 10 was released in 2015, it has never been very common for the key number to be physically printed.
In the case of an online purchase, they have surely sent us an email with the license number . If it were directly in the Microsoft Store, apart from the email we will be able to know the password by logging in with our account:
Web: Order history in Microsoft Store
Keyless digital licenses
More and more PCs come with so-called digital licenses . They can be associated with the computer itself (recorded in the BIOS or UEFI ) if the manufacturer has installed them or a Microsoft account if we have purchased them separately.
We have already explained how to retrieve the Windows 10 license from the BIOS , which can also be found using the “Command Prompt” as we have indicated before.
If we have bought an independent license we can use it on another computer, but those from the manufacturers only work on the original PC . The same is true if we got Windows 10 for free when upgrading from Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 during the launch promotion.
How to know what is draining the battery in Windows 10
Sometimes we will have problems with the activation of Windows 10 if we change PC components such as the motherboard . In these cases, the operating system is activated with a digital license associated with the hardware, and after the change it believes that it is a different computer without the right to use it.
The solution is to link the license number to our Microsoft account (with your email and password) so that it recognizes its origin.
For this we must use Windows 10 with a Microsoft account that is the system administrator and manage it from this menu:
Settings -> Update and settings -> Activation -> Add account
Once the process is complete, we will confirm that it works by seeing the text: “Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account” in the “Activation” section.
In the end, there are quite a few options to know what the license number of our Windows 10 is , but in all cases it must come from an original source. Software piracy is becoming more and more complicated, and the key generators available on the Internet are often dangerous and problematic.