How to Check Powershell version on Windows 10, 8 and 7
Since Windows 10 comes with Windows PowerShell 5.0 installed by default but the WU (Windows Update) component is supposed to install a superior version automatically (Powershell 5.1), some users have been looking for ways to determine which Powershell versions they are currently using.
If you’re a fan of doing tasks through a terminal with Powershell, it’s always a good idea to make sure that your system uses the latest release. This is especially true if you’re using an OS version older than Windows 10. Keep in mind that PowerShell got a lot more powerful starting with version 5.0 – you have a lot more control over Windows Server and it also gives you more control of Exchange, Lync, and SQL-based servers.
Before we show you how to check the version of your PowerShell, here are the versions that come preinstalled by default according to your Windows version:
Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 - PowerShell version 5.0 ( it should get updated to 5.1 by Windows Update) Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 - PowerShell version 4.0 Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 - PowerShell version 3.0 Windows7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 - PowerShell version 2.0
How to check your PowerShell version
Now that you know what the default versions should look like, follow the steps down below for a quick guide on checking your current PowerShell version. Keep in mind that the following steps can be replicated regardless of your Windows version.
- Press Windows key + R to open up a Run command. Then, type “powershell” and press Enter to open a new PowerShell prompt.
Run dialog: powershell - In the newly opened Powershell window, type the command below and hit Enter:
$PSversionTable
- You will see a list of details related to your PowerShell utility. However, the one that interests us is PSVersion. In this case, we already have the latest version because we already installed all the pending updates through WU.
Note: Keep in mind that you can also use get-host|Select-Object version or $host.version as additional commands that will retrieve your PowerShell version.
If you have Windows 10 and your PSVersion is still 5.0.10586.63, you can update it to the latest version by installing every pending update in Windows Update.
