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211962

October 2nd, 2018 08:00

Where is my windows product key?

I got this laptop with windows 10 already installed in it now i dont know what is its product key.

can anyone help me?

Community Manager

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3.4K Posts

October 4th, 2022 11:00

The license keys are customer-centric information, and we do not have access to them.

The product keys are embedded on the motherboard and sometimes associated with your Microsoft account (if logged in with your Microsoft account).

So, in case you need to reinstall windows, it will get automatically licensed.

In cases where you need to type your Product Key, you can either find it by using:

 

Cmd command

1. Press Windows + R key to open the run dialog box, then type in cmd and hit Enter. 

2.  Paste or type in the following command wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey and hit Enter.

You should see the key on screen below the line that says "OA3XOriginalProductKey.

Useful link: How to Find Your Windows 10 Product Key Using the Command Prompt

or

Third Party Apps (Nirsoft Product Key Finder)

PS: The 3rd part apps not recommended by Dell and be used at your own risk.

 

Helpful Video:

Moderator

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17.8K Posts

October 2nd, 2018 10:00

shareef33,

If the Windows 10 version was installed from Dell the Windows 10 key is injected into the bios chip on the motherboard.

Windows Product Key Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) 

 

 

 

9 Legend

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14K Posts

October 3rd, 2018 05:00

Actually in most cases there isn’t even a firmware key anymore; that happened mostly with Windows 8. Instead, Windows 10 gets activated with a digital license, where basically Microsoft has your system’s hardware “fingerprint” on file and automatically knows that it’s got a Windows 10 license if you ever need to reinstall it. You can confirm this by going to Settings > System > Activation and seeing the license type you have.

9 Legend

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16.1K Posts

October 4th, 2018 20:00

Windows 10 Installation Media should automatically pick up your product key from your UEFI BIOS during installation.

November 3rd, 2019 05:00

Hi, I have one Inspiron 7348 2-in-1, bought in 2016 with Windows 10 Home. I had to expand its memory, by swaping the HD to a SSD-SD250. After that my Windows keeps asking for the key product. If the key product is in the bios chip in the motherboard, how can I read it or make the windows finally read it?

4 Operator

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5.6K Posts

November 3rd, 2019 06:00

Define "swaping" .  I am not familiar with that process.

9 Legend

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14K Posts

November 3rd, 2019 07:00

@Samuel Fabrone  fyi "memory" actually refers to RAM, not storage.  It sounds like you expanded the latter.  Anyway, your system might not have an embedded firmware key.  Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Activation.  At the top of that information pane, does it say it was activated with a digital license?  If so, then you don't have an embedded key; instead, your system's hardware fingerprint was registered with Microsoft when it was first manufactured as being licensed for Win10 Home, so you have no key.  That said, swapping your storage shouldn't have caused Windows to fall out of activation unless maybe you'd already made a bunch of other hardware changes since original activation.  I've replaced memory, storage, and WiFi cards all at the same time and have never had a problem with my system maintaining its activation.

9 Legend

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14K Posts

November 3rd, 2019 10:00

@Samuel Fabroneyou have a Windows 10 Home system that says it's activated by "your organization's activation service"??  I'll provide the details below, but the short answer is that it sounds like whoever sold you that system put a hacked/pirated copy of Windows 10 on it.  My guess is that if you went to support.dell.com, entered your Service Tag, and looked up the Original System Configuration, you will find that it originally shipped with Linux or a previous version of Windows and therefore isn't licensed for Windows 10.

In terms of why I think that, the organizational activation service is called KMS (Key Management System) activation.  Basically, the way it works is that large corporations have the option activating Windows in a way that doesn't involve using product keys at all.  Instead, they deploy their own internal activation server, called a KMS server, and then they configure their deployed Windows systems to check in with that activation server in order to activate.  When a Windows system configured to be a KMS client checks in with the configured KMS server, it receives a temporary license to run Windows on that system for 180 days.  As long as the system continues to renew that license by checking in with the organization's activation server periodically, everything runs normally.  If the system stops being able to do that, perhaps because that system is no longer being used within that company, then Windows falls out of activation.  The benefit of KMS activation for organizations is that they don't need to use or track product keys on individual systems when they deploy or retire them.  Instead, they just need to maintain a licensing server, and if Microsoft ever audits that organization's licensing usage, they can just check the company's KMS server.

However, KMS activation is only supposed to be used for Pro, Enterprise, Education, and Server versions of Windows, because organizations don't use Windows 10 Home -- and it can only be used in companies that have at least 25 systems.  The reasons I think your copy is hacked/pirated are that a) you shouldn't be seeing this on Windows 10 Home, b) it sounds like you're not using a system provided by an organization, so there's no legitimate reason your Windows system should be a KMS client even if it was running Pro, and c) there are some Windows activation cracking utilities that involve running a KMS server emulator on the system itself and configuring Windows to check in with that emulator, because in theory that would allow the system to remain activated forever without ever needing a product key or having to check in with a real KMS server.

It's possible that a recent Windows update has caused Windows to detect whatever KMS emulator your system has been using and no longer trust it, and now your system's temporary Windows license is reaching the end of its 180-day period and can't be renewed because there isn't a real KMS server available.

In terms of a fix, you can try talking to whoever sold you the system, but ultimately someone will need to purchase a real Windows 10 Home license.  At that point, you'll be able to reactivate Windows using the product key that you'll receive when you purchase the license.  Or if you associate your newly purchased license with your Microsoft account, you would have the option of linking that system to your Microsoft account and it will then activate without you needing a key.

November 3rd, 2019 10:00

Thanks for the reply. I followed the commands and verified that the Windows is enabled with "your organization's activation service".

Let me explain it better. Since I bought the laptop, I haven't made any hardware changes. Recently, I paid for the purchase of SSD (Solid State Drive 240GB) memory and its installation in place of the hard disk, which I keep now as an external device. Since then, I receive the following Windows message: "your license expires soon, you need to activate Windows in settings".
I doubt if the first license that was purchased with the Inspiron ever expires (got it in July, 2016). Maybe my original Windows 10 Home was replaced by other Windows 10 during the memory expanding process that I purchased. In that case, how do I get my original Windows 10 Home back? 

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