Then select the “Change product key” link. If you’re encountering product activation issues, once you use ShowKeyPlus to find your original product key, you can use it to update the product key values in Windows 10.Ĭopy the product key and go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation.

OEM Key OR Retail: ShowKeyPlus will check for the presence of an OEM marker that is how big-name vendors activate multiple machines at the factory running Windows.

This is the product key you want if you encounter product activation issues in Windows 10. This can be your Windows 7 or Windows 8 retail or OEM product key before upgrading.

The currently installed key is the generic product key used by Windows 10, depending on the edition installed.

Immediately, ShowKeyPlus will reveal your product key and license information such as: Find Windows 10 Product Key After UpgradeĪfter downloading it, extract the zip file, then launch ShowKeyPlus.exe. Luckily, there’s a free utility called ShowKeyPlus that will find it for you. The problem is when you upgrade to Windows 10, especially from Windows 8, and you encounter glitches with product activation, you normally don’t have a product key.

One improvement introduced with the November Update is using your Retail or OEM product key to activate Windows 10.

Regarding troubleshooting issues with product activation, this adds a bit of complication since PCs that qualify for the upgrade, in particular, retail licenses, will use a default product key used by Windows 10 Home and Pro. With build 10586, this is not as clearly defined since all November updates are automatically defined as from a retail channel. So if you upgraded from Windows 7 OEM or Retail, your free Windows 10 upgrade would inherit those channels. If you read our article on how to determine the architecture, edition, and channel of Windows currently installed, you’ll notice when you upgraded to build 10240, and Windows maintained the licensing status according to the channel.

Windows 7 pro upgrade