The device showed up correctly into my Microsoft devices list. It worked fine, and my Windows installation got activated again and got linked to my Microsoft account. So, I’ve added one of my old Windows 7 retail keys. I was asked for a product key because I could not select any of the devices registered in my Microsoft account. You would not be able to use the key again to generate another digital license, in case you’re wondering.īut I’m sure I’m wrong, because when I’ve upgraded my current desktop, I remember that I could not reactivate Windows again, because I swapped quite a few important components, namely the motherboard and CPU, so as expected, Windows got reactivated. My guess is that once you switch from a normal 25-digit product key to a digital license the latter will forget the product keya altogether. My guess? I must have switched to an online account at some point and probably Microsoft activated that computer with one of the licenses already linked to my account.

So the product key displayed by Windows when following any of the guides in this article might not be the correct key, even if the Windows Activation service believes it is. I’m sure the problem is caused by the fact locally stored keys can date back to the initial Windows version, even if you’ve upgraded to a newer version. Even if on paper, linking the 25-digit product key to your Microsoft account means the key is stored in the cloud and will be retrieved automatically via digital entitlement by running the guides above I’ve found out that two of my computers are using the same license key.

Things are rarely this easy when it comes to activating Windows. So, reactivation should be a piece of cake when reinstalling or when moving to a new computer. Normally, I would not need these keys ever again, since all the computers I’ve mentioned are using Microsoft online accounts and the keys are digitally linked. All good, or at least that’s what I thought. I wrote down in a secure place all my keys, together with the name of the computer where they were activated. I have a hunch about what’s happening, so here are my thoughts: Windows Digital Keys Linked to Your Account Can Show The Wrong Product Key

Do you know what’s funny about this picture? I’m using Windows 11, not Windows 10.

Find product key win 10