Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Your question

Are a licence key and a product key the same for Windows?

Tags:
  • Windows
  • Tom's Hardware
Last response: in General UK & Ireland Discussions
Share
October 14, 2013 11:05:33 AM

Hi Everyone 'on' Tom's Hardware,

Have a simple question as I am
confused:

are a licence key and a product
key the same for Windows?

If your answer is "yes" then why
can't one phrase be used instead
of two - please explain as it is
confusing!

From

Mahjonng

More about : licence key product key windows

October 14, 2013 11:16:41 AM

They are not the same.

Product key is basically the SKU. What 'version' it is.
The activation key, or license key, is what is used to tell Microsoft that you have actually bought a valid key.

On my Windows 8 Pro - the "Product ID" is 00181-00009-93573-XXxxx (discoverable by right clicking on Computer, then selecting Properties)

The activation key is altogether different. 5 groups of 5 characters.
m
0
l
October 14, 2013 11:38:50 AM

Hmm - mildly disagreeing here. "Product Key" has always been the term for the five by five characters on the CoA and that converts into a unique PID which, as you say, appears in the System page in Control panel. The Licence is the same - it is displayed as the Product Key and proves the product is licensed. Either way, it's the key used to go through Activation.
m
0
l
October 14, 2013 12:27:18 PM

Saga Lout said:
Hmm - mildly disagreeing here. "Product Key" has always been the term for the five by five characters on the CoA and that converts into a unique PID which, as you say, appears in the System page in Control panel. The Licence is the same - it is displayed as the Product Key and proves the product is licensed. Either way, it's the key used to go through Activation.


Right. But I've seen many instances of people mistaking the Product ID for the Product Key.
(I should have said Product ID for the first)

But yes. License key, activation key, product key....all the same. The Product ID is different.

m
0
l
Related resources
!