Activation Troubleshooting

Beginning with InstallShield 11 and AdminStudio 7, Flexera Software has combined powerful license protection technology with our top-notch installation utilities. InstallShield and AdminStudio are now protected with licensing technology in order to ensure the acceptable use of our products on a single and unique machine.

In order to install the full version of InstallShield or AdminStudio, it must first be activated through communication with a Flexera Software-hosted activation server. While we have thoroughly tested our license protection, there are some circumstances that could prevent this activation from occurring. The following troubleshooting steps should resolve these circumstances.

General Troubleshooting steps:

  • If you have purchased your software through a reseller, registration of your serial number is required before activation can take place. Your serial number can be registered at http://shop.flexerasoftware.com/registration/serials.aspx
  • Disable any firewalls or proxy settings. Certain firewall and proxy configurations can prevent the Activation Service from communicating with Flexera Software's servers. We recommend temporarily disabling firewalls and proxies while installing and uninstalling in order to allow full communication with our servers. If you are unable to modify these services, then an email activation may be required.
  • Confirm that the serial number you are entering is correct, and that it has been entered in the format XXXXXXX-XXX-XXXXXXXXXX (7-3-10).
  • If your product has been previously activated on another machine, you must first deactivate the license on that machine through a full uninstall before it can be activated on the new machine. Deactivation requires an internet connection to communicate with the server to properly free up a different machine for activation. For more detailed information about deactivation, please see the following knowledge base article:

INFO: Activation and Deactivation Information for Installshield and AdminStudio

Email Activation

If you are unable to activate through the automatic online method, an email activation is required. For more information on activating by email, please see the following knowledge base article:

INFO: Activation and Deactivation Information for Installshield and AdminStudio

Virtual Environments (VMWare, VirtualPC, etc)

Some known issues with activation relate to virtual environments and running system restore utilities. It is recommend that Installshield or AdminStudio be installed on stable systems that are not run in virtual environments and that are not re-imaged frequently.

Further Assistance

If after trying all of the above suggestions and your InstallShield product is still not activated, please contact Flexera Software support at installshieldsupport@flexerasoftware.com.