If you bought a new PC or upgraded it, this guide will show you how to get the Windows 10 Product key and use your computer or laptop the same as you did before.
There are two ways to get Microsoft’s Windows 10. One way is if you owned a genuine version of Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 7, accept Microsoft’s kind offer and update directly from your system, preserving all the important data, programs or games. Another way is to purchase a new license for your own PC from a computer shop or online. If you recently had to reinstall Windows 10 or upgrade your hardware components, read on to find out how to get the Windows 10 Product Key and activate your system again.
How to get Windows 10 Product Key: Windows 10 free upgrade
If you are one of those people who happily embraced the opportunity to upgrade your system from Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 7, your license will be bound to your hardware, instead of your Microsoft account. That also means that you won’t get any product key. If you want to get your product key, you can use special software which does that, for example, ProduKey or The Ultimate PID Checker.
If you ever feel that you need to start from the beginning and install Windows 10 from scratch on your computer which already used a genuine version of the Windows 10, you can do that by downloading an ISO file, which further on gets transferred into a bootable USB drive and the installation is performed from there. At the end of the installation, once Windows asks you for a product key, skip that step and naturally complete the installation. When the installation is finalized, the copy of Windows will activate automatically, as soon as your computer or laptop is connected to the internet.
If you go to Settings and navigate to Activation, which is located within the Update & Security section, you can see it for yourself. Another way to check this is to go to Control Panel, click System and Security and go to System.
If you still own your old product keys from Windows 7 or 8, you can activate your Windows in case you upgraded your hardware or bought a new PC. However, this won’t work if you didn’t update your copy of Windows 10 after November 2015. That being said, if this was the case, or you couldn’t find your product key, make sure to call Microsoft and inform them that you want to get your Windows activated on new hardware.
How to get Windows 10 Product Key: Retail Version
In case you purchased your copy of Windows 10 in a retail store or bought it directly from Microsoft, MSDN, DreamSpark or other, you will be provided with your own product key. When you are installing Windows, you will be prompted to insert your product key.
Unfortunately, there is one issue with this method. In case you change your PC or upgrade some component, you will likely have a problem because these keys are not bound to your hardware. That being said, you need to be extra-careful if you end up selling your PC.
Fortunately, after Windows 10’s Anniversary Update, you are able to link the retail and digital licenses of Windows 10 to your Microsoft account. That way, when you buy a new PC, all you have to do is sign in using your Microsoft account and activate Windows 10.
That’s pretty much about how to get a Windows 10 product key. Have you linked your Windows 10 with your Microsoft account yet? Make sure to do it before you upgrade your PC!
