This is how you can find the Microsoft Office product key


Microsoft Office

If you are trying to install or activate Office, you will often need a Microsoft Office product key. But where can you find it? And what if you lost the code? We will answer that in this article.

When installing or activating Microsoft Office 365, Office 2019 or the older versions of, such as Office 2016 and Office 2013, a product key may be requested. You cannot activate the software without this code. It is a 25-character alphanumeric code in five blocks of five characters separated by a hyphen.

Where is the product key?

How you can find the product key depends on how you got Office. If Office was already preinstalled on your computer, the code will be included in your computer box.

It is also possible that the code is on the receipt. However, this is more often the case if you bought the software separately. If you have purchased Office as a separate software package, you can find the product key on the back of the card in the packaging. If you purchased Office through an online store, you may have received the product key via email. This is usually on the digital invoice.

Microsoft states that the product key is in Office itself is not transparent because of ‘security reasons’. Fortunately, there are tools to find out the product key. Think of Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder. However, it is a cat-and-mouse game between the developers and Microsoft, eager to prevent people from obtaining the product key on their PC.

Product code
The code that you see via Info about Word is not your (full) product code for security reasons.

Microsoft account

Once Office is activated and then linked to your Microsoft account, you actually no longer need the product key as you can activate the software by logging in with your Microsoft account. Still, it is useful to keep the product key just in case.

If you don’t link the product key to your Microsoft account, you should keep the product key as you will need it when you reinstall Office.

If you have purchased multiple copies of Office and used the same install button to install Office on multiple PCs, you will no longer be able to activate the program on other PCs. You can only use the product key for one computer. You can change the product key for other PCs to solve this problem. Here you can read how that works.

Lost product code?

If you have unexpectedly lost the product key and have never linked it to your Microsoft account, you can use the support from Microsoft request a new code, provided you have a valid proof of purchase.

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