Is my license OEM, Retail, Something Else? You tell me . . .

[britechguy]

And I'm serious . . .

Here is what I see in Windows 11 Settings:



and here is what's in the Microsoft Account to which this license is linked:



Now, I can tell you how I arrived at the current state of affairs, but I'm going to start by giving only the information any given one of us has available to us when we sit down in front of a machine with which we have zero familiarity, and where you can count on the owner to have no idea whatsoever, other than of the Windows version the license is for, if that.

I know how I arrived at the place I did, but if I didn't, I still cannot figure out how in the hell I'd ever ferret it out. There's nothing whatsoever that indicates OEM versus Retail or anything else.

This is why I say that I will not, ever again, play gatekeeper for Microsoft or any other company when it comes to anything other than new OS or software installs on computers that have never had any form of Windows or a given piece of software on them. I can't possibly know what license type (OEM vs. Retail) I'm dealing with based on the information provided on the computer, and if I'm dealing with someone who has a local account, and only a local account, on the machine I'm in front of what I can know is even less.

If I could lift the SSD out of this laptop, plonk it into one that was purchased to replace it, which already came with an OEM Windows license and the above is what continued to display when looking at the new device, that means that the license is active, and by Microsoft's own vetting, valid, on the device on which it's running. If it were to say it's not activated, then I'd try to activate it, and depending on whether it did, or did not, would purchase another license if necessary.

 

[Markverhyden]

Seems pretty obvious to me. OEM. Retail is only for licenses purchased direct from MS or a retailer. I've also noticed that if one has W10 an upgrade will be of the same license.

You can also use the slmgr command to pull it up. Specifically slmgr /dli.

 

[britechguy]

But, the machine came with Windows 11 Home - OEM, and was upgraded to Windows 11 Pro with a license key purchased, not from Microsoft, but a member of their authorized Microsoft Partner network. So, what is it now? Here's the output from the command you suggested (and for which I thank you):



That's why very idea that any of us can definitively know what we're dealing with, under most "my first, and possibly only, encounter" with a given machine is nothing short of ludicrous!

I am not, and will not become, Microsoft's enforcer. I simply cannot reliably determine what, exactly, it is I'm dealing with, as you can see that OEM base license, with an upgrade from Home to Pro with a legit license, results in inconclusive results. Or I sure consider them inconclusive, because I sure as hell don't know what Microsoft might consider the "base license" or the current license state - but they do, and they should be the sole arbiter.

 

[tf76]

You can also use this, which gives you more info:
slmgr /dlv

 

[britechguy]

@tf76, thanks. Here are the results from that variant:

 

[britechguy]

So, does any of the above mean that I am "free and clear" to assume that I have what Microsoft would always consider a Retail channel license? All evidence seems to suggest that. But that's because I did an upgrade on a Windows 11 Home OEM license using Settings, System, Activation then hitting the Change product key button and entering the key that was sent to me after my online purchase from a Microsoft Partner.

Since Home to Pro is simply an enablement package, it's surprising that if the key used was from Retail channel that all traces of OEM-ness have now disappeared. It certainly didn't start out life as a Retail channel box.

I couldn't tell you for the life of me what the original full product key was that I entered, as I knew it was going to be stored in my Microsoft Account.

 

[Sky-Knight]

What really matters is the license itself, because it's maintained somewhere. But the RETAIL bits say RETAIL, so my default is this is RETAIL.

But RETAIL means there's a certificate of ownership somewhere, usually on an MS Store account.

Also, go dig into your account for that key... good luck finding it. The only time that key appears as far as I know is the email you get when you buy it. If you didn't document it, you're SOL.

 

[britechguy]

But RETAIL means there's a certificate of ownership somewhere, usually on an MS Store account.

Well, when it was activated I was logged in to Windows 11 using my Microsoft Account, and that's the account that ties all Microsoft Services together for those of us on the consumer side of the world. I don't even know what an MS Store account is as far as being independent of the Microsoft Account, as Store is a service.

I definitely do have the key that was sent to me, but I'll be damned if I can find it ANYWHERE in the Microsoft Account with which it's linked. To me it's insane that for a retail license, that would require the use of that same key to reactivate it were you to have the equipment on which it's running physically destroyed or decommissioned, is not easily accessible for future use in the MS Account that own's it.

BTW, that 25-character key can be, and is, findable using Nirsoft's Product Key Scanner. It comes back with what matches my records and with the same last 5 characters as slmgr reports, but with the complete key.

So, again, this all demonstrates the opacity of the Microsoft licensing paradigm and why I adamantly refuse to be enforcement cop for Microsoft. I don't even feel certain of what the rules are "under the hood" on my own machine, where every EULA requirement was followed to the letter. It is up to them to decide whether any given Windows instance in any given piece of hardware is valid to be activated in that combination. It is not mine. I will not make it mine because I cannot. I don't know all the labyrinthine rules they've made, and keep changing. Microsoft is its own gatekeeper.

The only thing I'll agree to police is what I set up anew, and from scratch. When it comes to existing systems I had nothing to do with setting up, or when I'm porting someone's existing Windows instance to new hardware, that's up to Microsoft to either allow to run or reject.

 

[Sky-Knight]

@britechguy You won't find me arguing against what you're saying.

If I buy a RETAIL key, the entire purpose for it is a LIFETIME LICENSE for that specific version of Windows on one machine. The license allows for portability, I can move it to a new machine twice a calendar year.

So why then do these licenses not have keys visible in the Microsoft Account records? The purchase is there, but the key is not. So how then do you use it on a new machine without the original key documented?

This is why I keep my keys in my password manager, under the notes field for my personal Microsoft account. But I shouldn't have to do all of this, for a license that should be usable at a click from the purchase history of my account!

Microsoft is VERY OPAQUE when it comes to desktop licensing specifically. And they have a huge margin they give large OEMs for that software too. The entire construct is designed to benefit the likes of Dell to the detriment of the normal consumer. It's been this way for the entire time I've ever known it, it's not new, and it's been annoying for decades.

Copilot suggests that if I install Windows 11 Pro on a new system, and tell it "I don't have a key".
Then link the hardware to my personal Microsoft account.
Then go to Settings -> System -> Activation, click toubleshoot, and select "I changed hardware on the device recently" the platform will get a digital license based on the account and activate.

I'm going to have to try that at some point, I'm not sure I believe it, but I'll try it.

Activation should report "Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account." if it's transferable in this way.

 

[britechguy]

So why then do these licenses not have keys visible in the Microsoft Account records? The purchase is there, but the key is not. So how then do you use it on a new machine without the original key documented?

And to further that point, the purchase may not, in fact, be there. Legitimate Microsoft Partner channels exist for the acquisition of Windows 11 Pro keys, and that's how I acquired mine. Yet the key code (what most of us think of when someone says "Windows product key" or "Windows license key") is not logged anywhere that I can find in the Microsoft Account which has ownership of that Retail license. It's madness, as part of the value of a Microsoft Account is that it can, and often does, centralize license management and record keeping.

And even were what seems to be both of our ideas of the ideal scenario for keeping the key stored, and accessible, in a Microsoft Account, I still won't play license police when it comes to shuffling things around between pieces of hardware when I know that Windows was legitimately licensed and activated on both, and particularly where the reason for a wholesale move is because an old computer is being decommissioned, and its replacement already had a legitimate Windows license. No one is defrauding anyone under those circumstances, and Microsoft is perfectly capable of running telemetry checks that match license to motherboard and blocking Windows from running if that match is not there if they wish to.

I don't care what software maker is involved, if I present a license key when installing something anew via the prescribed method, and it is validated, it is valid. Someone could have slipped it to me on the corner in exchange for a drink, but that is not what makes the license valid or invalid on the licensor's end. A stolen, legitimate license would remain legitimate as far as the licensor is concerned. They have no idea how or where things go after they leave their hands and go on to third parties.

My due diligence ends by dealing with what I believe to be (as I cannot absolutely know, ever) legitimate sources for the licenses I obtain. Beyond that, it's up to the licensor to be doing the gatekeeping at initial installation and at whatever interval they deem necessary during the service life of the product.

 

[fincoder]

Legitimate Microsoft Partner channels exist for the acquisition of Windows 11 Pro keys, and that's how I acquired mine. Yet the key code (what most of us think of when someone says "Windows product key" or "Windows license key") is not logged anywhere that I can find in the Microsoft Account which has ownership of that Retail license.

I assume you're aware there are plenty of not-quite-legitimate key sellers on the internet? These sellers being a member of a Microsoft Partner program does not mean the keys are strictly legitimate. I'm sure it doesn't matter much and it won't bother you, but it might explain the license not appearing in a consumer account. The keys that are sold illegitimately are volume license keys and they probably don't show up in consumer accounts.

Here in Australia, authorised Microsoft distributors (e.g. Synnex, Ingram Micro) sell fully legitimate ESD licenses (electronic software delivery, keys are emailed along with a standard Microsoft download link). Some online retailers resell these legitimately, cheapest price currently for Windows 11 Pro is AU$230 (less than Synnex wholesale price). Incidentally, for even these legitimate keys it is unclear whether they are OEM or retail or whether ESD licenses have their own terms.

 

[brandonkick]

If I could lift the SSD out of this laptop, plonk it into one that was purchased to replace it, which already came with an OEM Windows license and the above is what continued to display when looking at the new device, that means that the license is active, and by Microsoft's own vetting, valid, on the device on which it's running. If it were to say it's not activated, then I'd try to activate it, and depending on whether it did, or did not, would purchase another license if necessary.

If it's an OEM license (and 95% of them out there are... almost no one just goes and buys a windows key retail anymore) then technically what you've done violates the licensing terms. It may activate, but the license that was used to active the OS on the hard drive pulled from machine A lives with the motherboard in machine A. Swapping that SSD to machine B (which could be the exact same make and model) wouldn't technically be legal.

I'd give two flips less though. Machine B came with it's own bought and paid for license at the OEM level. Machine A in this case is gone to the 9th dimension and for all intents and purposes is ewaste. Again, it's not within the letter of the law so to speak... but as they got paid for both licenses I'm not sure they'd really care. Even if someone resurrected machine A again and reinstalled the OS... they've got paid for both licenses on both machines already.

There are slmgr commands you can run to wipe out all of the activation data (product keys, digital entitlements, etc) so it would be interesting to try to take the SSD from machine A, swap it into machine B, then run those commands to reset all the activation data and finally try to activate the OS again. The digital activation entitlements (OEM channel) look specifically at the hardware fingerprint. Microsoft already has that data stored and machine B in this case should reactive (keeping all the customers old programs and data from machine A) but this time with the hardware fingerprint from machine B. This is assuming they OEM licenses hadn't been upgraded with the retail copy of windows 11 PRO.

From the research I've done (so I don't know this to be fact) it seems applying a retail product key over top of an existing OEM product key converts that to a retail entitlement. As you've mentioned that gets tied to your microsoft account. Reactivation is much more flexible in terms of the hardware.



If I were trying to figure out what I was looking at, basically it would boil down to this. If the machine is from an OEM, I know it came with an OEM license at some point. If the machine only has a local account (from my understanding) that rules out the possibility of a retail key applied over top (or I misunderstand how that activation system works). Most OEM machines have stickers on them indicating if the license was home or pro. If the version on the machine mismatches what the stickers for, it'd be a strong indication that the upgrade happened by way of a retail key being applied and now we have a retail license.

It's a very convoluted system honestly.