The product key should be printed on a card or label inside the Windows 10 packaging. How to find your product key if you bought Windows 10 in a store You're looking for a 25-character code arranged into five groups that looks like this: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. That’s harder than it sounds, because there’s no way to see your product key in Windows 10, and finding a record of your product key can vary depending upon how you acquired Windows to begin with.įoto: The Certificate of Authenticity contains the 25-character product key.sourceDave Johnson/Business Insider You might need a product key to perform major changes to your computer’s hardware configuration (such as changing the video card, sound card, and hard drive all at the same time), or if you have to reinstall Windows on a computer after a hard drive failure.įor that reason, you should keep your product key handy, or at least know where to find it.

Unfortunately, the product key isn’t disposable, as you could need it more than once. Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.Įach copy of Windows comes with a product key that is used to activate Windows on your computer.Often, when Windows asks for the product key, you can skip that step and you will not be asked to enter it later.If you only have a digital copy of Windows, the code should be automatically associated with your Microsoft account and you won’t need to enter it.In many cases, the product key will be printed on a sticker on your computer, or included in the packaging with your boxed copy of Windows.

You might need to find a product key to install Windows 10, or if you’re making significant changes to the hardware configuration of your computer.

Win 10 find product key