W10 Activation Key

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I tried the method provided in the 17.42.0 – 2020-10-26 issue of the newsletter to retrieve my W10 activation key.

Open an admin-level command window (i.e., type cmd into the Windows search box and select the Run as administrator option when offered). Next, type or cut-and-paste the following command:

wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey

Press Enter, and you’ll see your product key displayed. It’s as simple as that!

What I received back as a response was “OA3xOriginalProductKey”, no actual activation key.

What did I do incorrectly?

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Ray,

Same for me; I posted a note on Langa.com (which recently seems to do little except promote new issues of AskWoody Plus Newsletter), and was informed that it was a long line which needed to wraparound. I wrote back that this was not the case – only the short line you also got – but have not had a reply.

Zig

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I’ve tried it on my Win 10 Pro 20H2 machine running PowerShell as Admin, CMD as Admin, CMD as logged in user. It worked for all. The key is displayed on a separate line beneath the text.

--Joe

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I tried it on my home built W10 Pro 1909 18363.1082 and got the same as the OP.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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I tried it on my Widows 10 1909 Pro and got the key.

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[NaNoNyMouse]

On my laptop (2004, Home) I successfully get the Key

On my desktop (2004, Pro) I get the same as the OP

• This reply was modified 4 years, 4 months ago by NaNoNyMouse.

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After searching around what I’ve been able to find is that if the command does not display a key you have digital activation which does not require a key. If a key is displayed it is from the BIOS. If you have an OEM machine that was upgraded to Win 10, you may have an original BIOS key and a digital activation.

--Joe

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Joe,

My rig is a homebuilt one upgraded from Win 8 retail to Win 10.

Zig

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According to what I’ve read, that means you have a digital activation of Win 10. You do not have a key in the BIOS.

--Joe

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Joe,

Mine is home built and originally started with 1709 W10 Pro with a Retail W10 Pro key that I bought (not an upgrade from previous version OS). Basically, that key should be stored somewhere on my computer as an original install.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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When you look at Settings | Update & Security | Activation and it says you have a digital license your key may not be stored on your system. The command used by the OP reads a key stored in the BIOS. There are other utilities available as mentioned in this thread which provide alternate methods to display keys.

--Joe

1 user thanked author for this post.

CADesertRat

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My machine was custom built, originally with Win 7 Home, subsequently upgraded to Win 10 Home, and later again to Win 10 Pro.  The command gives me the same result as for the OP.  Under “Software Licenses”, Belarc shows me a 25 character alphanumeric key, in groups of five, which it calls “Windows 10 Professional (x64)”.  Is this the same as the activation key, or is it something different?

Windows 10 Pro 64 bit 20H2

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This post has an alternative method of finding the key via the NirSoft utility.

cheers, Paul

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Makes sense on the digital license, which mine is. I installed with an actual key for WIN10 and apparently MS converted that to a digital license.

However the article states:

Win10 offers a built-in method to reveal any PC’s license key — no third-party software needed!

Which is not entirely true (emphasis mine). The author should have been more specific in the statement. Stating that key retrieval only works for non-digital license PCs.

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