This post shows how to find Windows 11/10 Product Key using Command Prompt or PowerShell, from BIOS, UEFI or Registry. It works for Retail, OEM, etc, licenses. It is to be noted that a Retail product license is tied to the person whereas the OEM product key is tied to the machine.
When you enter, register, and activate your copy of Windows, using a Retail key, the information is stored in the Windows Registry. Users of OEM computers may have noticed that, for a couple of years, the manufacturers have stopped pasting their COA or Certificate of Authenticity sticker, which displayed the Windows product key to the machine anymore. Now this key is embedded in the BIOS/UEFI.
It is to be noted that a Retail product license is tied to the person whereas the OEM product key is tied to the machine, as per Microsoft Windows Desktop licensing terms. In this post, we will see how to find the original firmware-embeded Windows Product Key using Command Prompt or PowerShell, from BIOS or Registry. It works for Retail & OEM licenses too.
How to find Windows 11/10 Product Key using Command Prompt
From the WinX Menu in Windows 11/10, open an elevated command prompt window, type the following command and hit Enter:
wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey
Your Windows product key will be displayed.
Get Windows 11/10 License Key using PowerShell
To find your Windows 10 Product Key, open a PowerShell window with administrative privileges, type the following command and hit Enter:
powershell "(Get-WmiObject -query ‘select * from SoftwareLicensingService’).OA3xOriginalProductKey"
Your Windows license key will appear! This will work on Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista.
Running this will allow you to retrieve more information about the Windows product license:
Get-CimInstance -query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService'
In Windows 11/10, the product key will probably be encrypted, tied to your Microsoft Account and stored by Microsoft in the cloud too.
You can also find Windows product key using VB Script.
If you are looking for an easier way, you can also use some free Software Key Finders to recover and save, not just Windows, but even Office, Software, Games serials and license keys.
This post will help you if you want to uninstall the Windows Product Key.
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