Finding your Windows product key: how it works on Windows 11 and 10

Before a clean installation or after a hardware change, the question often arises as to which key is actually on the PC. You can find your Windows product key on Windows 11 and 10 using built-in tools, although not always in full. This guide shows which method works when and why sometimes no key appears at all.

Key points at a glance

• A short PowerShell command displays the manufacturer's key stored in the UEFI.
• The command using wmic that was common in the past no longer works on current versions of Windows 11.
• For a manually entered key, Windows only shows the last five characters.
• Many PCs are activated with a digital licence and do not need a key at all for a clean installation.

Look first: where the key might be

Before entering any commands, it is worth checking your paperwork. The most reliable place to find the full key is where you received it:

• Purchase email or invoice: For an online purchase, the 25-character key is usually included in the order or delivery confirmation.
• Seller's customer account: Many shops also store purchased keys in your customer account.
• Sticker on the device: Some older PCs and laptops still have a sticker with the key.
• PC firmware: On many pre-built PCs and laptops, the manufacturer has stored the key in the UEFI. You can read this out.

Checking the activation status in Settings

Often, it is enough to know whether and how Windows is activated. On Windows 11, open Settings → System → Activation; on Windows 10, Settings → Update & Security → Activation.

If it says that Windows is activated with a digital licence, Microsoft stores the entitlement for your hardware. If you reinstall the same edition on the same PC, Windows then generally activates automatically as soon as an internet connection is available. If the licence is also linked to your Microsoft account, this helps with reactivation later after a hardware change.

Finding your Windows product key via PowerShell

This method works equally on Windows 11 and Windows 10 and reads out the key that the manufacturer stored in the UEFI.

1. Right-click the Start icon and select “Terminal (Admin)” or, on Windows 10, “Windows PowerShell (Admin)”.
2. Enter the following command and confirm with the Enter key.

(Get-CimInstance -Query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey

If a 25-character code appears, this is the key stored by the manufacturer. It belongs to the edition the PC was supplied with, usually Home.

If the output is empty, no key is stored in the UEFI. This is perfectly normal for self-built PCs, older devices and computers activated with a separately purchased key.

Displaying the last five characters with slmgr

If you activated Windows with a purchased key, Windows does not store it in plain text. With the licensing tool slmgr, however, you can at least check which key is installed. To do so, open Command Prompt and enter:

slmgr /dli

After a few seconds, a window opens showing the edition, licence channel, activation status and the partial product key, i.e. the last five characters. This allows you, for example, to check which of several purchased keys was used on a PC. The following command provides more detailed information:

slmgr /dlv

Both commands only display information and do not change anything about your licence.

Why wmic no longer works

Many older guides recommend a command using the wmic tool. Microsoft deprecated this command-line tool years ago. On Windows 11 version 24H2 it is disabled by default, and with version 25H2 Microsoft says it is removing it completely.

On Windows 10, wmic is still present but delivers the same result as the PowerShell command above. So use the PowerShell variant on all systems.

Why the full key often cannot be read out

Windows only stores a manually entered key in encrypted form. Third-party programs promise to display it anyway. However, the result is often a generic installation key that Windows enters for upgrades or digital licences and that is not suitable for activation.

If you still want to use such a program, only download it from a trustworthy source. Malware is repeatedly distributed under the names of key-viewer programs. For most purposes, the built-in tools described in this article are entirely sufficient.

When a key you have found is useful

A key you have found is mainly useful for a clean installation on the same device. Our guide Reinstalling Windows 11 or Reinstalling Windows 10 describes the process. Bear two points in mind:

• Edition: A Home key only activates Home, a Pro key only Pro. Select the matching edition during installation.
• Tied to the device: Licences pre-installed by the manufacturer are tied to the PC they were supplied with and cannot be transferred to another computer. You can read more about this in our article Licence types explained simply.

You enter the key during installation or later under Settings → System → Activation → “Change product key”. If activation does not work, you will find solutions in our guide Activating Windows.

If you cannot find a valid key or the licence belongs to another device, you need a new product key for the matching edition.