Why do you need to find your Office product key? Reason #1: If you're planning to transfer Microsoft Office from one laptop to another, you'll be asked to enter the activation code when running the software on the new device. Reason #2: As illustrated in the example below, Microsoft Office will ask for the key after you've installed Windows.
"A few months ago, I had to reinstall Windows 10 because of numerous issues with my old OS. Now, I want to install Microsoft Office on this new operating system... Why isn't Office free when we already pay for Windows?... How can I find the product key for MS Office from my old OS so that I can install and activate it on this new one?"
While you might be able to find your product key by some manual means, such as digging it out of package stickers or order emails, let's be honest – that's a long shot and very time-consuming. How am I supposed to find a package or email from years ago? A better bet is to use a third-party tool to extract the serial number from an installed application. In this article, we'll show you some well-reviewed Office key finders.
1. Tool KeyFinder - A Rapid Microsoft Office Product Key Finder
2. ProduKey - A Free Key Finder Tool
3. Magic Bean KeyFinder
4. Recover Keys - A Powerful Key Extractor
5. Built-in Windows Tool - Command Prompt (CMD)
The Key Finder tool is a reliable product key finder that can easily retrieve the keys for Office, Windows, and Adobe products. Once you open the software, you can see the "Product Keys" feature on the left panel. Click on the "Scan" button, and all the keys for your installed software will be listed immediately. Windows 11 is just around the corner, so download the tool now.
More amazing features of the Product Finder:
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Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Already paid for the "Product Key" version.
Free Download Microsoft Office Product Key Finder:
Step 1. Under Hive, click the Applications tab.
Step 2. On the right pane, view the application registry entries. The KeyFinder tool will display the keys of all installed software. Copy the target serial number. You can also click on "Print" or "Save."
ProduKey is a small and free utility that quickly retrieves lost Office and Windows product keys, as well as activation codes for other popular programs (such as Adobe, Autodesk, etc.), to check the product key of the currently running operating system.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Unstable. It throws an "Product Key not found" error.
Step 1: Download the ProduKey.zip file (from https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html) and extract its contents.
Step 2: Click and run produkey.exe
Step 3: You should then see the product key information for any existing Office installations.
Step 4. Choose the Office suite you have and click the “Edit” button at the top of the window. Select “Copy Product ID.” Paste the activation code into the target software to activate it.
Magical Jelly Bean KeyFinder is a free and powerful utility that retrieves product keys from the registry. In addition to Office software, it can fetch keys for over 300 supported applications. This free software can even recover lost Office keys when you can't boot up.
Advantages:
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Step 1: Click the Download button on the official website (https://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/).
Step 2: Install and run the software.
Step 3: All your installed programs will be displayed in the left panel. Click on a program's name to see details about it in the pane on the right.
Apart from Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder, another advanced key finder called Recover Keys can be found on this website. Compared to the aforementioned utility, Recover Keys supports over 10,000 programs, recovers product keys from BIOS, scans remote network computers, and has a portable USB version.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Step 1: Access and download the Recovery Keys software from
Step 2. When the scan starts, select what to scan (local drive, another drive, Windows installation or network computer). Click on Advanced if needed.
Step 3: All the keys will be displayed under the “Product Key Scanner” tab.
We've used CMD before to find a Windows 10 product key, and it works similarly for Office. Copy the command lines below to avoid typos when typing them manually.
Advantages:
Drawbacks:
Step 1: Type “CMD” in the search bar, right-click on it, and select “Run as administrator.”
Step 2: Check your version of Office, and then type the following command line.
For example, in Office 2013:
32-bit Office with 32-bit Windows: cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus
32-bit Office with 64-bit Windows: cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus
64-bit Office and 64-bit Windows: cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus
Step 3. Press Enter, and then check your Office product key.
Does it work well with your office software? We've rounded up five programs that can find Office activation codes, and KeyFinder does a great job of locating Microsoft Office product keys in particular. If you need to find the keys for any installed software, Recover Keys is worth a try.