{"id":504,"date":"2026-09-25T09:45:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T09:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keyslocker.com\/guides\/key-types-explained\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T09:45:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T09:45:56","slug":"key-types-explained","status":"publish","type":"kl_guide","link":"https:\/\/keyslocker.com\/es\/guides\/key-types-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Types Explained: OEM, Retail, Phone Activation and Microsoft Account Keys"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Every key we sell is a genuine Microsoft product key, but they don&#8217;t all activate \u2014 or reactivate \u2014 the same way. This page explains each type in plain words: how it activates, what happens when you reinstall, and whether you can move it to a new computer.<\/p>\n<h2>Quick comparison<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Key type<\/th>\n<th>How it activates<\/th>\n<th>Reinstall on the same PC<\/th>\n<th>New PC or new motherboard<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Windows Retail<\/strong> (online)<\/td>\n<td>Enter the key, activates over the internet<\/td>\n<td>Reactivates automatically<\/td>\n<td>Yes \u2014 move it, one PC at a time<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Windows OEM<\/strong> (online)<\/td>\n<td>Enter the key, activates over the internet<\/td>\n<td>Reactivates automatically<\/td>\n<td>No \u2014 stays with the first PC<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Phone activation<\/strong> (Windows &amp; Office)<\/td>\n<td>By phone \u2014 free Confirmation ID from our Get CID page<\/td>\n<td>Repeat the phone steps (new Confirmation ID)<\/td>\n<td>Retail: yes \u00b7 OEM: no<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Office \/ Visio \/ Project online key<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Enter the key, activates over the internet<\/td>\n<td>Enter the same key again<\/td>\n<td>Meant for one PC<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Microsoft account key<\/strong> (bind)<\/td>\n<td>Redeemed once to your Microsoft account<\/td>\n<td>Download again from your account \u2014 no key<\/td>\n<td>Yes \u2014 sign in on the new device<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Microsoft 365 Premium<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Invitation to the subscription<\/td>\n<td>Sign in again<\/td>\n<td>Yes \u2014 up to 5 devices at once<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Windows Server, SQL Server, RDS CALs<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Enter the key on the server<\/td>\n<td>Enter the same key again<\/td>\n<td>One server (CALs stay on your license server)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Windows: Retail vs OEM<\/h2>\n<p>Both are full Windows licenses with every feature of their edition. The difference is what happens when you change computers.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Retail<\/strong> belongs to you, not to the PC. When you replace your computer, stop using it on the old one and activate the same key on the new one. It is active on one PC at a time.<\/li>\n<li><strong>OEM<\/strong> is tied to the first PC it activates on \u2014 specifically its motherboard. It is the cheapest way to license a PC you plan to keep. If you buy a new computer or replace the motherboard, you need a new key.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Reinstalling on the same PC:<\/strong> once Windows activates, Microsoft remembers that PC (a <em>digital license<\/em>). Reinstall the same edition, connect to the internet and it activates by itself. If setup asks for a key, choose <em>I don&#8217;t have a product key<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tip for Retail keys:<\/strong> sign in to Windows with your Microsoft account (Settings &rarr; Accounts). Your license is then linked to the account, and after a hardware change you can reactivate from Settings &rarr; System &rarr; Activation &rarr; <em>Troubleshoot<\/em> &rarr; <em>I changed hardware on this device recently<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h2>Phone activation keys<\/h2>\n<p>Phone activation keys are full Windows and Office licenses for your computer \u2014 not for your mobile phone. They are simply activated through Microsoft&#8217;s phone activation system instead of the online check, which is why they cost less.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Enter the key. Windows or Office says it cannot activate online (for example error 0xC004C008) \u2014 that is expected.<\/li>\n<li>Choose <em>Activate by phone<\/em> and copy the <strong>Installation ID<\/strong> shown on screen.<\/li>\n<li>Paste it on our <a href=\"\/get-cid\/\">Get CID page<\/a> with the activation code from your order. Type the <strong>Confirmation ID<\/strong> back in \u2014 activated. No call needed.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Reinstalling or changing hardware:<\/strong> the Confirmation ID matches one specific installation. After a reinstall or a major hardware change, Windows or Office shows a new Installation ID and you repeat the three steps. Every phone key includes one Confirmation ID; if you need another one for the same key, message us from your order page and we will issue it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>New computer:<\/strong> Retail phone keys can move \u2014 stop using the key on the old PC and activate on the new one with the phone steps. OEM phone keys stay with the first PC.<\/p>\n<p>See the full walkthrough: <a href=\"\/guides\/how-to-activate-by-phone-cid\/\">How to activate Windows or Office by phone<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Office, Visio and Project online keys<\/h2>\n<p>An online key activates one installation over the internet. Keep the key safe \u2014 it is in your order email and on your order page.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Reinstalling on the same PC:<\/strong> install the same version again and enter the same key.<\/li>\n<li><strong>New PC:<\/strong> the key is meant for one computer. If you replace your PC often, a Microsoft account key is the more flexible choice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Microsoft account keys (bind keys)<\/h2>\n<p>You redeem the key once at <strong>setup.office.com<\/strong> while signed in with your Microsoft account. The license then lives in that account permanently.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Reinstalling:<\/strong> sign in at <strong>account.microsoft.com<\/strong> &rarr; <em>Services &amp; subscriptions<\/em> and install again. No key needed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>New computer:<\/strong> sign out of Office on the old one and install from your account on the new one. The license covers one device at a time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Microsoft 365 Premium<\/h2>\n<p>A subscription, not a key. You join it with your own Microsoft account, then install the apps from <strong>microsoft365.com<\/strong> on as many devices as you like \u2014 up to five can be signed in at the same time. Reinstalling or changing devices is just signing in again.<\/p>\n<h2>Windows Server, SQL Server and RDS CALs<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Windows Server:<\/strong> enter the key in Server Manager or with <code>slmgr \/ipk<\/code>. After reinstalling the same server, enter it again. One license covers one server.<\/li>\n<li><strong>SQL Server:<\/strong> the key unlocks the edition during setup \u2014 there is no separate online activation. Reinstalling means running setup again with the same key.<\/li>\n<li><strong>RDS CALs:<\/strong> the pack is installed on your Remote Desktop license server. If you rebuild that server, you reinstall the pack with the same key.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Something didn&#8217;t activate?<\/h2>\n<p>Every product shows its warranty period on the product page. If a key does not activate within that period, message us from your order page and we send a replacement or a full refund.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every key we sell is a genuine Microsoft product key, but they don&#8217;t all activate \u2014 or reactivate \u2014 the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"class_list":["post-504","kl_guide","type-kl_guide","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keyslocker.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kl_guide\/504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keyslocker.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kl_guide"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keyslocker.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/kl_guide"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keyslocker.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}