You chose a free upgrade from an older version of Windows: No need to worry in this case Microsoft grants a digital license for the upgrade, and a product key is not required. Don’t throw anything away until you’ve found it! You bought a physical copy at a store: The product key will be on a label on the box (it should clearly say product key, and may be next to a bar code), or it will be on a separate card or label inside the box. If you purchase from a third-party seller, your copy of Windows 10 may not have been legitimate, and if the seller doesn’t provide a product key there’s not really anything you can do. Keep in mind, this refers to copies bought directly from Amazon, not third-party sellers on Amazon’s site. Find your Windows 10 purchase, and the product key should be directly below it. Look for a section called Downloads and Codes. You purchased a digital copy from Amazon: Amazon will have kept a record of your purchase under your account, in Your Digital Items.

If the email is unavailable, you can log into your account and head to your history of Microsoft purchases here, and the product key should be available upon selecting your Windows 10 purchase. You purchased directly from Microsoft’s site: Microsoft will send you a confirmation email after you purchase, and the product key should be in that email. Keep all the documents that came with your PC and don’t take off any stickers that have the product key until you’ve used it.

Typically, the product key is included on the Certificate of Authenticity, usually a sticker directly on the PC itself, or sometimes on the back of the manual. You bought a PC with Windows 10 already downloaded: This is fairly common, and in these cases the packaging and manuals are particularly important. Let’s break it down into the most common methods of purchasing Windows 10, and where you should look for the product key in each case. The issue is that this product key can come in many different forms, depending on how you bought Windows.

If you bought an authorized copy of Windows 10, you will have received documentation that included your product key.

Windows digital key