How to find your laptop's serial number: MacBook and Windows

Summary. On a MacBook, choose Apple menu > About This Mac and read the Serial number line. On a Windows laptop, open PowerShell and run Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -ExpandProperty SerialNumber, which prints the serial on one line. The old command, wmic bios get serialnumber, no longer works on an up-to-date Windows 11 PC: Microsoft removed the WMIC tool from versions 24H2 and 25H2 in its August 2026 preview update and from 26H1 in September 2026, and it is not available as a Feature on Demand. Apple lists five places to find a Mac's serial, including System Information, Terminal, account.apple.com and the printed label. Microsoft shows a Surface serial on the About page in Settings, as a 12-digit number or a 14-character code. Dell calls its serial a Service Tag, printed on the bottom cover and shown in BIOS setup. One warning before a warranty claim: if the logic board or motherboard was replaced in a repair, the serial in software can differ from the one printed on the case.

About this article. For anyone who needs a laptop's serial for a warranty claim, a repair or an asset register, and for IT teams. On 15 November 2026 we checked every step, command and limit against Apple Support, Microsoft Support and Microsoft Learn for macOS Golden Gate 27.2.1 and Windows 11 version 26H2. HP's page was checked directly; Dell and Lenovo block automated access, so we checked their pages through search-engine copies. Labels can differ by build and maker; no vendor paid for inclusion. Researched with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team.

Laptop serial number methods at a glance

The table draws on Apple's and Microsoft's support articles and on Dell, HP and Lenovo help pages.

How to find the serial number on a MacBook (macOS 27)

These steps follow Apple's support article, published on 4 November 2026 with screenshots from macOS Golden Gate (macOS 27). The newest release is macOS Golden Gate 27.2.1, out since 9 November 2026.

About This Mac

1. Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen.

1. Choose About This Mac.

1. Read the Serial number line, below Chip, Memory and Startup disk. An Intel-based Mac shows Processor instead of Chip.

System Information

1. Press and hold the Option key, then choose Apple menu > System Information.

1. Select Hardware in the sidebar.

1. Find Serial Number, alongside Model Identifier (for example MacBookPro18,1) and Model Number.

To hear the serial read aloud, choose File > Speak Serial Number or press Command-4, which helps when characters look alike. If the text is too small to read, our guide to zooming in and out on a laptop covers the Mac shortcuts.

Terminal, including from macOS Recovery

Open Terminal (in the Utilities folder inside Applications), paste this command and press Return:

            ioreg -l | grep IOPlatformSerialNumber
          

The serial appears after IOPlatformSerialNumber in the output. If the Mac turns on but does not finish starting up, Apple says you may be able to start up from macOS Recovery and open Terminal from the Utilities menu there.

account.apple.com, the case and the box

If the MacBook will not start at all, sign in at account.apple.com on any other device, select Devices in the sidebar and click the Mac to see its model name and serial. The serial is also usually printed on the underside near the regulatory markings, and it may appear on the original box next to a barcode label.

Apple adds a caution: if the logic board was replaced during a repair, the number printed on the Mac or its box might no longer be active. Use About This Mac or account.apple.com for the current serial, or check your repair paperwork.

Check coverage with the serial

Enter the serial at checkcoverage.apple.com to get the exact model name and see warranty or AppleCare coverage. The page asks you to complete a CAPTCHA, or you can sign in to see the coverage of all your devices in one place.

How to find the serial number on a Windows laptop

These steps apply to Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 and to version 26H2, the newest release, available since 29 September 2026.

PowerShell: the command to use now

Microsoft's PowerShell 101 guide reads the serial from the Win32_BIOS class, which represents the PC's firmware. Search for PowerShell from Start, open Windows PowerShell and run:

            Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -ExpandProperty SerialNumber
          

The serial prints as plain text. The same guide gives a shorter form that returns the same string, and a form that lists the BIOS maker, version and serial together:

            (Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS -Property SerialNumber).SerialNumber
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS
          

Windows PowerShell 5.1 ships with Windows, and Get-CimInstance also works in PowerShell 7 on Windows. The older Get-WmiObject cmdlet, still quoted in many guides, is deprecated and is not available in PowerShell 6 and later.

Why wmic bios get serialnumber stopped working

WMIC has been deprecated since 2021 and was disabled by default from 2024. Microsoft removed it from Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 in the August 2026 preview update and from 26H1 in the September 2026 preview update, and on 29 September 2026 said removal was complete for all supported versions of Windows 11.

If Command Prompt says wmic is not recognised, use the PowerShell command above. Only the command-line tool is gone: WMI itself, which PowerShell queries, is unaffected. WMIC may still run on Windows 10, whose free support ended on 14 October 2025, but the PowerShell command works there too.

Settings > System > About

1. Right-click Start and select Settings, or press Windows key+I.

1. Select System > About.

1. On a Surface, look in the Windows specifications section for Serial number.

Microsoft documents this field for Surface devices on Windows 11 and Windows 10. Its general article on finding device information lists the device name, model, Windows edition and device specifications on this page and does not mention a serial, so other brands may not show one. If the field is missing, use PowerShell.

Surface laptops

On a Surface, the Surface app is the quickest route: select Start, search for surface, open the app and expand Device information to see the value next to Serial number. If the app is missing, download it from the Microsoft Store. Microsoft says the serial is a 12-digit numeric code or a 14-character alphanumeric code with no spaces or dashes. On a Surface Laptop it is also printed under the keyboard near the hinge, and it appears in the PC information section of Surface UEFI.

Dell, HP and Lenovo: labels and maker tools

Dell. Dell laptops use a Service Tag (ST) instead of a traditional serial number, plus an Express Service Code (EX), which is a numeric conversion of the tag. Dell's support page lists four places to find it:

1. Etched on the bottom cover, or on a sticker there.

1. In BIOS or UEFI setup: restart, press F2 repeatedly as the laptop starts, and look under Overview or System Information. Exit without changing anything.

1. On the main screen of the SupportAssist app.

1. From a command line. Dell's page still shows the WMIC command, while noting WMIC is disabled by default on Windows 11 24H2 and newer.

Use the PowerShell command above instead, which Microsoft names as the WMIC replacement. Dell also warns that O and 0, l and 1, and B and 8 are easy to mix up when you type a tag.

HP. HP's support page says that on an HP notebook you can press fn + esc on the built-in keyboard to open the System Information window, which lists the serial number. The shortcut may not work from an external or virtual keyboard, and the window can open behind other windows. The serial is also on the product label.

Lenovo. Lenovo's page on finding PC serial numbers points to three routes: its detect-product tool on the Lenovo support site (on Windows), the Lenovo Vantage app, and the printed label on the device.

Serial number not showing? Common fixes

• PowerShell returns a blank or a placeholder value. The firmware does not hold a usable serial. Use the label, the box or the maker's app, and ask the repairer whether a board was replaced.

• The number in software does not match the label. Apple and Microsoft both say a logic board or motherboard replacement can change the internal serial. For Surface warranty service and support, Microsoft asks you to quote the number etched on the outside; for a Mac, Apple says to use About This Mac or account.apple.com.

• Windows says wmic is not recognised. Expected on Windows 11 24H2 and later; switch to Get-CimInstance.

• The Mac will not start. Try Terminal in macOS Recovery, account.apple.com, or the case and box.

• The label has worn off. Use BIOS or UEFI setup (F2 on Dell, Surface UEFI) or the maker's app. Our guide to shutting down a laptop with the keyboard covers the restart shortcuts you need to reach firmware setup.

• Support wants proof. Take a screenshot on your laptop of the About page.

For IT teams: serial numbers in device management

Serials link purchase records, warranty portals and management tools, so collect them by script.

• Intune corporate identifiers. For Windows 11 (version 22H2 and later with KB5035942), Intune matches the serial number, manufacturer and model together, not the serial alone; for macOS it uses the serial number. A CSV upload takes up to 5,000 rows or 5 MB per file, whichever comes first. Microsoft's remote sample script combines Win32_ComputerSystem (manufacturer and model) with Win32_BIOS (serial) through Get-CimInstance.

• Remote queries. Get-CimInstance uses WSMan by default, and a CIM session created with alternate credentials lets you query a remote PC without running your whole shell as an administrator.

• Board-level repairs. A Surface motherboard replacement changes the internal serial, and Microsoft points Windows Autopilot customers to separate registration instructions. Update your asset register after every such repair.

• Retire WMIC from scripts. Any login script, RMM job or inventory tool that still calls wmic.exe fails on Windows 11 24H2 and later. Microsoft offers a temporary download that puts WMIC back but says it is not a secure, long-term fix. Search your script repositories for wmic before moving PCs to 26H2; our Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 end-of-servicing guide covers that upgrade.

How eCorpIT can help

eCorpIT is a Gurugram-based technology organisation, founded in 2021, assessed at CMMI Level 5 and MSME certified, with senior-led engineering teams working across AWS, Microsoft and Google platforms. Our digital transformation services team helps organisations bring Windows and Mac fleets under one inventory and management process, including scripted serial-number collection for Intune and asset registers. Talk to us at /contact-us/.

Last updated: 15 November 2026.

References

1. Find your Mac model name and serial number, published 4 November 2026 — Apple Support

1. Chapter 7, Working with WMI, PowerShell 101 — Microsoft Learn

1. Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC) removal from Windows, KB5067470, updated 29 September 2026 — Microsoft Support

1. Find the serial number for your Surface device and accessories or Microsoft accessories — Microsoft Support

1. Locate your laptop's Service Tag — Dell

1. FAQs about Surface service and repair — Microsoft Support

1. Find product and serial numbers for HP PCs, printers, and accessories — HP Support

1. How to find PC serial numbers — Lenovo Support

1. Apple security releases (macOS Golden Gate 27.2.1, 9 November 2026) — Apple Support

1. Check coverage: AppleCare and warranty — Apple

1. Windows 11 release information — Microsoft Learn

1. Win32_BIOS class — Microsoft Learn

1. What is Windows PowerShell? — Microsoft Learn

1. Get-CimInstance (PowerShell 7.6) — Microsoft Learn

1. Deprecated features in the Windows client (WMIC entries, page dated 11 November 2026) — Microsoft Learn

1. Find information about your Windows device — Microsoft Support

1. Keyboard shortcuts in Windows — Microsoft Support

1. Add corporate identifiers (Microsoft Intune) — Microsoft Learn