How to change the product key on Windows 10

Windows 10 requires activation to verify you’re running a genuine copy; a unique product key is used to ensure the a single licensed copy of Windows isn’t being used on more than are allowed.

Occasionally, you may have to change the product key. If you’re getting Windows 10 for the first time and a product key wasn’t provided during the installation, or a generic key was used to upgrade, you’ll need a new valid product key to activate the operating system.

In this Windows 10 guide, you’ll learn five ways to bring up the Windows activation tool to change the product key on your computer.

How to change Windows 10’s product key using Settings

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Update & security.
3. Click on Activation.

Click the Change product key link.

Click Next to complete the process.

If the activation process completes successfully, you’ll get the «Windows is activated» message.

How to change Windows 10’s product key using Control Panel

Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut to open the Power User menu and select System.

Click the Change product key link under the Windows activation section.

Click Next to complete the process.

Similar to the Settings app, if the activation process completes successfully, you’ll get the «Windows is activated» message.

How to change Windows 10’s product key using Command Prompt

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Search for Command Prompt.
3. Right-click the result and select Run as administrator.

Type the following command using your 25-digit product key and press Enter:

If you typed the product key correctly and the process completes successfully, you’ll see a dialog box reading «Installed product key YOURP-RODUC-TKEYX-XXXXX-XXXXX successfully.»

How to change Windows 10’s product key using SLUI 3

1. Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command.
2. Type slui.exe 3 and click OK to open the Windows activation client.

Type the 25-digit product key for the version of Windows 10 you want.

Click Next to complete the task.

If the activation process completes successfully, you’ll get the «Windows is activated» message.

How to change Windows 10’s product key using CHANGEPK

1. Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command.
2. Type changepk.exe and click OK to open the Windows activation client.

Enter the 25-digit product key for the version of Windows 10 you want.

Click Next to complete the task.

If the activation process completes successfully, you’ll get the «Windows is activated» message.

Alternatively, you can use change the product key using changepk.exe using the Command Prompt as well. Here’s how:

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Search for Command Prompt.
3. Right-click the result and select Run as administrator.

Type the following command using your 25-digit product key and press Enter:

Wrapping things up

While for the most part, you’ll be using the Settings app to change the product key on Windows 10, if the option isn’t available or if you’re looking to create a script to change the product key on your computer, it’s good to have different alternatives.

If you’re trying to upgrade the operating system by purchasing a new license from the Windows Store, everything regarding the product key will be handled automatically for you.

Also, remember that you must be signed in with an administrator account to change your system’s product key, and you’ll need an internet connection to complete the activation.

In the case, you recently made significant hardware changes to your PC, and Windows 10 won’t activate, you can use the Activation Troubleshooter to re-activate your copy of Windows 10.

Although this guide is specific to Windows 10, the Control Panel, slui.exe, and slmgr.vbs methods that we’re showing you here will work to change the product key on Windows 8.1 or Windows 7.

More Windows 10 resources

For more help articles, coverage, and answers on Windows 10, you can visit the following resources:

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How do I disable or change the keyboard Windows key?

Below are recommended steps for disabling the Windows key on your keyboard in Windows. The availability of these steps depend on the keyboard you have and the software that’s installed.

Keyboard key designed to disable the Windows key

Some keyboards (e.g., gaming keyboards), have a key designed to disable and enable the Windows key. Check your keyboard for a key with a lock, crossed out Windows logo, or a Fn key combination that disables the Windows key.

Users with Microsoft keyboards

Users of keyboards designed by Microsoft, who have keyboard software installed, can disable or alter the function of their Windows Key by following the steps below.

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel, double-click the Keyboard icon.
3. In the Keyboard Properties window, under the Key Settings, you’ll be able to adjust the Windows Key functionality.

If you are using a non-Microsoft brand keyboard or did not install the included software, you will not have the Key Settings section in the Keyboard Properties window.

All users

It is possible to change or disable the functionality of the Windows keys through the Windows registry. However, we highly recommend using KeyTweak, a free utility that allows you to re-map and disable any key on the keyboard. This utility also can correct any improper re-maps that are made.

A download for this utility is available on Tucows website.

Once downloaded and installed, run the program and re-map or disable the Windows keys. In this program, they are keys 59 and 63. Once changes are made, you’ll need to restart the computer for them to take effect.

Change your Office product key

This article applies to Office Home & Business, Office Professional, and individually purchased Office apps.

If you bought multiple copies of Office and used the same Install button to install Office on multiple PCs, activation fails on the other PCs. This happens because each Install button is associated with a unique product key that can only be installed on one PC. To fix this, you can change the product key for the other PCs where you installed Office.

Note: After you change your product key, we recommend that you create a list to manage the product keys that you’ve installed. To learn how, see Manage multiple one-time-purchase Office installs that use the same Microsoft account.

Select your Office version below.

On the device where you want to change the key, open any Office app, select the File menu and then select Account near the bottom of the menu.

Under Product Information, select the Change License button.

If there is no Change License button, you may need to install Office updates.

Do one of the following:

If you’re signed in, select Use a different account, and then select Enter product key instead.

If you’re not signed in, select Enter product key instead.

Enter your Office 2019 or Office 2016 product key, and then select Install this product instead.

If your product key is new, follow the prompts to complete the redemption process.

Office begins the update process. Close all Office apps to finish the process.

Uninstall Office from the PC where activation is failing. To do this, see Uninstall from a PC.

On the PC where you uninstalled Office, sign in to your Services & subscriptions page with the email and password associated with the Microsoft account that was used to install Office.

Reinstall Office by selecting Install Office for a one-time purchase that hasn’t been activated. For help with installing Office, see Install Office on your PC or Mac.

To switch an Office install to or from Microsoft 365, see Switch your Office license.

Sign in to your Services & subscriptions page with the email and password associated with the Microsoft account that was used to install Office.

After you sign in, you should see a list of Office products that are associated with your Microsoft account.

For the first product that’s listed on the page, select View product key. Copy or write down the product key. This is likely the product key that was used multiple times to install Office.

Select View product key for the remaining Office products and copy or write them down. These are likely the keys that you’ll use to replace the key that was used multiple times.

On a PC where Office activation is failing, open the Command Prompt as described below:

Windows 10 and Windows 8.1

Select the Start button (lower-left corner).

Type Command Prompt.

Right-click the Command Prompt icon, and select Run as administrator.

Select the Start button (lower-left corner).

Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

From the drop-down list below, select your Office version and Windows version (32-bit or 64-bit) and run the commands as described.

• Select your Office and Windows version
• Office 2019 or 2016: 32-bit Office and 32-bit Windows
• Office 2019 or 2016: 32-bit Office and 64-bit Windows
• Office 2019 or 2016: 64-bit Office and 64-bit Windows
• Office 2013: 32-bit Office and 32-bit Windows
• Office 2013: 32-bit Office and 64-bit Windows
• Office 2013: 64-bit Office and 64-bit Windows

Tip: If you get an Input Error: Can not find script file. message, it means that you used the wrong command. Don’t worry, running the wrong command won’t hurt anything. Double-check your Office and Windows versions and try a different command.

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and then press Enter.

cscript «C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS» /dstatus

The command prompt displays the last five characters of the product key that was used to install Office on the PC. Our example below uses XXXXX to represent these characters.

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and replace XXXXX with the last 5 digits of the product key that was shown in the previous step. Press Enter to remove the product key.

cscript «C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS» /unpkey:XXXXX

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and replace XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX with an unused product key from your list. Press Enter to change the key.

cscript «C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS» /inpkey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Tip: If you get an Input Error: Can not find script file. message, it means that you used the wrong command. Don’t worry, running the wrong command won’t hurt anything. Double-check your Office and Windows versions and try a different command.

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and then press Enter.

cscript «C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS» /dstatus

The command prompt displays the last five characters of the product key that was used to install Office on the PC. Our example below uses XXXXX to represent these characters.

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and replace XXXXX with the last 5 digits of the product key that was shown in the previous step. Press Enter to remove the product key.

cscript «C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS» /unpkey:XXXXX

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and replace XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX with an unused product key from your list. Press Enter to change the key.

cscript «C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS» /inpkey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Tip: If you get an Input Error: Can not find script file. message, it means that you used the wrong command. Don’t worry, running the wrong command won’t hurt anything. Double-check your Office and Windows versions and try a different command.

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and then press Enter.

cscript «C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS» /dstatus

The command prompt displays the last five characters of the product key that was used to install Office on the PC. Our example below uses XXXXX to represent these characters.

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and replace XXXXX with the last 5 digits of the product key that was shown in the previous step. Press Enter to remove the product key.

cscript «C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS» /unpkey:XXXXX

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and replace XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX with an unused product key from your list. Press Enter to change the key.

cscript «C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS» /inpkey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Tip: If you get an Input Error: Can not find script file. message, it means that you used the wrong command. Don’t worry, running the wrong command won’t hurt anything. Double-check your Office and Windows versions and try a different command.

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and then press Enter.

cscript «C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS» /dstatus

The command prompt displays the last five characters of the product key that was used to install Office on the PC. Our example below uses XXXXX to represent these characters.

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and replace XXXXX with the last 5 digits of the product key that was shown in the previous step. Press Enter to remove the product key.

cscript «C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS» /unpkey:XXXXX

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and replace XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX with an unused product key from your list. Press Enter to change the key.

cscript «C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS» /inpkey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Tip: If you get an Input Error: Can not find script file. message, it means that you used the wrong command. Don’t worry, running the wrong command won’t hurt anything. Double-check your Office and Windows versions and try a different command.

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and then press Enter.

cscript «C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS» /dstatus

The command prompt displays the last five characters of the product key that was used to install Office on the PC. Our example below uses XXXXX to represent these characters.

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and replace XXXXX with the last 5 digits of the product key that was shown in the previous step. Press Enter to remove the product key.

cscript «C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS» /unpkey:XXXXX

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and replace XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX with an unused product key from your list. Press Enter to change the key.

cscript «C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS» /inpkey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Tip: If you get an Input Error: Can not find script file. message, it means that you used the wrong command. Don’t worry, running the wrong command won’t hurt anything. Double-check your Office and Windows versions and try a different command.

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and then press Enter.

cscript «C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS» /dstatus

The command prompt displays the last five characters of the product key that was used to install Office on the PC. Our example below uses XXXXX to represent these characters.

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and replace XXXXX with the last 5 digits of the product key that was shown in the previous step. Press Enter to remove the product key.

cscript «C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS» /unpkey:XXXXX

Copy the following command, paste the command into the Command Prompt window, and replace XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX with an unused product key from your list. Press Enter to change the key.

cscript «C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS» /inpkey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

The default installation for Office is 32-bit but if your PC has more than 4 GB of RAM, you probably have 64-bit Windows.

If you don’t know which Office version is installed, see What version of Office am I using? To check whether Windows is installed as 32 or 64 bits, see Which Windows operating system am I running?

Now start an Office app, such as Word, and select Next to activate Office over the Internet.

Repeat this process for each PC where activation is failing.