How to change your product key in Windows 10

[JamieKavanagh]

The relationship between Windows 10 and its product key is slightly different than in previous versions. Rather than being the controlling factor in whether your OS could be activated or not, it is now a bit of an irrelevance aside from the initial upgrade or install. Microsoft now uses ‘digital entitlements’ rather than product keys. However, there is still a product key and you can still change it. Here’s how to change your product key in Windows 10.

Change your product key in Windows 10
There are a couple of ways to change the product key of Windows 10.

1. Navigate to Settings, Update & security and Activation.
2. Click ‘Change product key’.
3. Enter your new product key (should be 25 digits).
4. Click Next and wait for Windows to accept and activate the key.

Or:

1. Type or paste ‘changepk.exe’ into the Search Windows box.
2. Enter your new product key.
3. Click Next and wait for Windows to accept and activate the key.

Or:

1. Open a CMD window as an administrator.
2. Type or paste ‘slmgr /ipk NEWPRODUCTKEY’. For example you would paste something like ‘slmgr /ipk VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T’ into the window to change the key.
3. You should then see a small Windows Script Host window saying ‘Installed product key VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T successfully’.

Ensure your Windows 10 product key has been activated
Once you have changed your Windows 10 product key, we need to make sure it is activated.

1. Navigate to Settings, Update & security and Activation.
2. Check under Activation in the right pane. It should read ‘Windows is activated’.

That’s all there is to it!

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