Determine if Windows License Type is OEM, Retail, or Volume  

Matthew Wai said:

Right-click on the Start button --> Windows PowerShell.

Run the following command:

CMD /C "CScript %WinDir%\System32\slmgr.vbs /dli > C:\License_Status.txt"

The output will be written into this file "C:\License_Status.txt".

As an addition, it also WORKS running it from CMD Prompt.

Bastet said:

Imo the grey area is with previous Windows (7/8/8.1) which upgrade for free rather than PCs purchased with Windows 10. These may be OEM originally but on upgrade become Retail licenses & we don’t know which is correct - will these licenses be transferable or not.
I would expect a PC which comes with Windows 10 OEM will remain an OEM after updating builds, same with a PC with Windows 10 retail installed.

No the licences did not become retail on an upgrade. All that happens is pc is given a digital licence and the installed key is a useless generic key. These generic keys always show as retail but it has no meaning as the key is not any use.

The rules are very clear. Upgrades inherit the status of the original key.

Hello Shawn Now I had to do a reset on my laptop because I broke the registry and Microsoft steered me through the reset process but it ended up installing the Enterprise version. Then a few days later Settings told me that the product was not activated because I originally had the Pro version.
I contacted Microsoft support again and the techie then took control of my machine and activated the Pro version with that original key that was used when Windows 10 was new - the partial code is *******************-3V66T and the laptop was then activated but I notice alongside the code when I checked with Showkey that code had an asterixis (*) alongside of it and I am just curious why it should be there. I also checked the original code with Showkey and it came up as a version of Windows 10 Pro. What is sort of bothering me is whether or not the key the techie put in to activate the version of 10 will run out or not and I have to reactivate it with the original code??
Sorry to be so long winded but I just want your professional opinion on what I have got.

ICIT2LOL said:

... I had to do a reset on my laptop because I broke the registry and Microsoft steered me through the reset process but it ended up installing the Enterprise version. Then a few days later Settings told me that the product was not activated because I originally had the Pro version.
I contacted Microsoft support again and the techie then took control of my machine and activated the Pro version with that original key that was used when Windows 10 was new - the partial code is *******************-3V66T...

That is the generic key for Windows 10 Pro. Your reset accidentally used the generic key for Enterprise (these thing do happen occasionally). The techie fixed it by installing the correct generic key for Pro that it should have used, and that then activated because your PC already had a digital licence for Pro on the MS activation servers. No, it won't 'run out' - you are good to go.

Bree said:

That is the generic key for Windows 10 Pro. Your reset accidentally used the generic key for Enterprise (these thing do happen occasionally). The techie fixed it by installing the correct generic key for Pro that it should have used, and that then activated because your PC already had a digital licence for Pro on the MS activation servers. No, it won't 'run out' - you are good to go.

Thanks Bree I thought that was what had happened with the reactivation the download of Enterprise did surprise me though. I still have my original key to fall back on I suppose? But at least I know now not to mess around with trying to import old registry files especially as I had to do two reinstalls for doing things to my laptop. I have to say the support from Microsoft was really great and reassures me of their systems.
Have a happy Christmas

NavyLCDR said:

@Brink and I had a conversation about this. He disagrees with (and me at the time). There is a big difference between using a product key to activate Windows and transferring an activation via a Microsoft account. MS seems more than willing to transfer a digital license via a MS account to a new computer regardless of the initial source of the digital license.,

The fact that MS are lenient with transferring licences does not invalidate the EULA. The truth is the EULA is full of gaping holes. People forget why the MS account link was introduced.

People who had upgraded from retail 7/8 only got a digital licence and according to EULA, upgraded licence inherits same rights as original. However, until the anniversary edition, digital licence transfer did not exist and people complained that they could not transfer licence to a new mobo if mobo failed, or reactivate pc if sone other hardware change was made (back then digital licences were less robust).

In effect, the digital licences were not transferable violating the EULA which clearly says upgrades inherit status of original.

So on anniversary edition, MS introduced the digital link with MS account to enable people to transfer digital licence in event of hardware failure.

This is when MS rather dropped the ball, in EULA compliance, as technically if you had a digital licence by upgrading an OEM licence, its status is OEM as well but the problem is that MS (as far as we know) never stored that status of original licence {retail or oem), so it is impossible to say really to state if a digital licence is oem or retail.

The effect of the new link was that people soon found you could transfer the digital licence to new pcs (although that was never the true intent of the link but necessary for MS to comply with their own EULA.

So I stand by my statement - oem licences did not become retail on an upgrade. Digital licences were effectively oem until the digital link was introduced and effectively all were sort of retail after the link. Technically MS violate their own EULA by allowing digital licences to be transferable if as a result of an upgrade from oem licence, but of course, nobody would complain about that. However peoole did complain before the link was introduced.

In the end, MS are lenient about digital licence transfer (digital licence copy actually but that is whole other discussion).

When they first introoduced the digital licence transfer, I tested it in a vm, upgrading from an old w7 licence (oem system builder licence) and I found you could only transfer it three times before locked out.

So on that basis, digital licence transfer still does not full retail status which is unlimited transfer.

So in effect digital licences are sort of upgraded oem or downgraded retail status depending on the original key source.

Thus saying digital licences are retail is not accurate, as the original meaninng of retail and oem has got blurred. A better statement is to say digital licences have limited transfer rights but MS will never say that as that would be admitting they were not technically complying with EULA, as eventually the digital licence does become untransferable.

I admit I have not tried transferring a digital lince several times in quick succession recently to still if that transfer restriction still applies.

In the end, MS just do not really care as their primary aim is to keep people in the Windows ecosphere. This is why they are lenient, and similarly why oem keys 7/8 keys still work today despite it was alkegedly a 1 year offer (later admitted to be marketing ploy).