Microsoft Office product keys are encrypted inside the Windows Registry, so searching for them manually is nearly impossible. You'll find a string of numbers once you locate the correct registry key, but what you'll find is encrypted text, not a working Office product key you can enter. Once you install MS Office 365 / 2016 through Microsoft site and activate it, a digital signature corresponding to your computer gets stored in Microsoft servers. Now whenever you login to your Microsoft account, it will check whether you are trying to install on the same computer or not. It won't ask for the product key again.
Windows Product Key is embedded in the computer’s BIOS/UEFI firmware and cannot be easily seen or accessed. You will find below different methods to find Windows 10 Product Key.
Windows Product Key which is also known as Original Equipment Manufacturer or OEM Key is a 25 character long code used by Microsoft to prevent unauthorized use of its software.
The 25-character Product Key contains letters and numbers, divided into 5 groups that are separated by a hyphen “-” and written in the following format:
Windows Product Key: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
The right method to find Windows Product key depends on whether you purchased Windows 10 from Microsoft, switched to Windows 10 from an earlier version or bought a computer with pre-installed Windows 10 operating system.
In case of newer computers, Windows 10 Product Key is embedded right into the UEFI/BIOS firmware and you won’t be able to find it on the packaging or the stickers attached to the computer.
1. Right-click on the Start button and click on Run.
2. In Run Command window, type wmic path softwarelicencingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey and press the Enter key on the keyboard of your computer.
3. Once the command is executed, you will find the Product Key displayed on the Command prompt window.
While it is easy to locate the Registry entry containing the Product Key, you will need a third party software to convert the registry entries in to a 25 Digit Windows 10 Product Key.
1. Right-click on the Start button and click on Run.
2. In the Run Command window, type regedit and click on OK.
3. On the Registry Editor screen, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftNTCurrentVersion.
4. Click on CurrentVersion in the left-pane, and click on DigitalProductId entry in the right-pane to find Windows 10 Product ID.
As mentioned above, you will be needing a third part service to convert the coded registry entries in to 25 digit Windows 10 Product ID.
ShowKeyPlus is a free open source software program that can help you find the Windows Product Key on your computer.
You can download ShowKeyPlus from GitHUB directly on your computer or Run the program from the USB drive.
The ShowKeyPlus Program for Windows 10 has a very simple user interface, most users should find it easy to use this program.
You can easily save the Product Key and other information displayed by this program to a text file by just clicking on the Save button.
If you bought a digital copy of Windows 10 from Microsoft, you will find Windows 10 product key in the confirmation email received from Microsoft.
If you do not have the confirmation email, you should be able to find the Product Key by logging in to your Microsoft Account and checking your order history.
Note: Only Microsoft and Amazon are authorized to sell digital copies of Windows 10. Other retailers selling Windows 10 product keys are not legitimate or genuine.
If your computer came with Windows 7 or earlier versions of Windows operating system, Windows product key will be available on COA sticker attached to your computer.
On Laptops, the sticker is usually placed at the bottom or at the lower right corner of the keyboard.
In case of Desktop computers, the sticker is fixed on the sides, back or inside the casing.