Lenovo laptop lost original windows key after school installed their software

Saucerless 40 Reputation points
2026-05-07T12:12:23.52+00:00

My son's laptop is Lenovo Legion 5 and when he enrolled to his new education institution, the school installed their administrative control on the laptop. When this laptop is no longer required, we asked the school to remove their administrative software control, they reinstalled the laptop with education windows 11, causing the laptop to lose its original windows 11 that comes with the laptop.

Now this current Windows 11 is asking for activation. How do I get back the old key for the laptop windows 11 before the school messed it up?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Licensing and activation
Answer accepted by question author
Neil D 34,285 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2026-05-07T12:50:42.17+00:00

A Lenovo has the licence built into the bios. You will need to clean install windows deleting the existing data. The school should have done this for you really. (it it did the job correctly)

The installation software for Windows 11 is here Download Windows 11 - Microsoft read the instructions on how to create the bootable USB flash drive.

You will need to boot from the USB once it is created. Select Language > Install now > Customised install. At customised install delete each partition (one at a time) when there is only unallocated space select Next and follow the onscreen instructions.

The licence will be detected during the install and active once installation is complete.

You may need to go to the Lenovo support website to get all the correct drivers for the device.

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Answer accepted by question author
DaveM121 931.9K Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-05-07T12:50:00.77+00:00

If Windows came pre-installed on the laptop, then there is an OEM Windows licence for Windows stored on a chip on the motherboard and that licence cannot be removed.

However, if the school installed a different version of Windows on the laptop, then you may need to re-install the old version of Windows to activate it.

1

Open the Settings App, then go to System - Activation.

Please provide a screenshot of that window.

2

Download the free ShowKeyPlus app from the Microsoft Store.

Please provide a screenshot of that app window and please hide your product key in the screenshot, this is a public forum.

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  1. AI answer

    2026-05-07T12:12:36.3833333+00:00

    The original Windows 11 license for the Lenovo Legion 5 is tied to the device, not to what the school installed, so it can normally be used again.

    Key points and options:

    1. OEM key is in the firmware
      • For a new PC running Windows, the product key is usually preinstalled or embedded in the device firmware (BIOS/UEFI) and does not get erased by reinstalling Windows.
      • When reinstalling the original edition (typically Windows 11 Home on consumer laptops), Windows will usually read this embedded key automatically and activate without needing the key printed or typed.
    2. Education upgrade does not replace the original OEM license
      • Upgrading from Windows Home to Windows Education does not remove the original OEM license.
      • If Windows is reinstalled, the original edition and key (for example, Windows 11 Home) should be used for activation, not the Education edition. The Education upgrade does not automatically reapply after a clean reinstall.
    3. How to get back to the original Windows edition
      • Create Windows installation media for the correct edition (for example, Windows 11 Home) using the official media creation tools. See:
      • Boot from the USB/DVD and perform a clean installation of the original edition (usually Home, not Education).
      • During setup, choose “I don’t have a product key.” Windows should detect the firmware-embedded key and activate automatically once online, provided the correct edition is installed.
    4. If activation fails
      • After reinstalling, go to Settings > System > Activation and check the edition and activation state.
      • If the edition does not match the license (for example, Education is installed but the device has a Home license), Windows will not activate. In that case, reinstall with the correct edition.
      • If the school changed the motherboard, the automatic activation might fail. Then:
    5. If the key/COA is not visible
      • For OEM devices, the key is usually not printed; it is embedded in firmware. Reinstalling the correct edition is normally enough.
      • If the device originally came with a COA label or documentation and that is missing, contact Lenovo support with the device serial number for assistance, as suggested in the product-key guidance.

    References:

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