How You Can Transfer Windows 10 License

If you want to replace your old Windows 10 computer with a new one, you don’t have to buy a new Microsoft operating system. Instead, you can transfer your Windows license. Learn how to do this and what to keep in mind when transferring your license in our tutorial.

What do you need to transfer your license?

To transfer your Windows 10 license to your new computer, you need a retail key for the operating system. You usually receive one if you purchased your copy of Windows separately. Unfortunately, an OEM key won’t work – meaning you usually can’t transfer your operating system if it was pre-installed by your computer’s manufacturer.

Unfortunately, you cannot transfer your license even if you have updated your operating system from Windows 7 or Windows 8 for free.

How to transfer your Windows 10 license

If you want to transfer your retail license to your new computer, the first step is to open the command prompt by pressing the Windows key and searching for “cmd.” Right-click on cmd.exe, select “Run as administrator,” and confirm the User Account Control pop-up that appears.

If you can’t find your retail key, you can retrieve it before deactivating the license on your computer. Tools like the Windows Product Key Viewer are available for this purpose.

Next, cmd.exe opens – a black field in which you type the command “slmgr –upk”.

As soon as you confirm this command with the Enter key, the Windows license is no longer activated on this device.

You can now use your Windows retail key for other devices. You can either enter the key directly when installing the operating system on your new PC, or if you already have Windows 10 installed on your computer, you can enter the license later.

How to install Windows 10 without a product key

If you want to temporarily install Windows 10, you can do so without a product key. You’ll need a USB stick or DVD on which you ‘ve previously saved the ISO file from the Microsoft Media Creation Tool for Windows 10.

When you turn on your computer, it will now launch the Windows 10 installation menu. You can select the “I don’t have a product key” button in the “Activate Windows” step and then install Windows 10 normally.

Once Windows 10 is installed and you want to use the operating system’s full functionality, you can enter the key later. To do this, go to the “Settings” menu, select “Update & Security,” and then click “Change Product Key” on the left side of the window. Here you can enter your serial number.