The Activation Key is a string of 25 digits which authorizes an individual to access a license. There may be multiple reasons why the MathWorks Installer may prompt you for an Activation Key:
- Your MathWorks Account is not linked to a license
- The MATLAB release that you are attempting to install is not included on the license
- You do not have activation permissions
Your MathWorks Account is not linked to a license
If your MathWorks Account is not linked to a MATLAB license, you will be prompted to provide an Activation Key to link to one. To resolve this issue, confirm your MathWorks Account is linked to a MATLAB license by signing in to the MathWorks License Center. If you are not linked to a license, verify that you are using the correct email.
For assistance with linking to a license, please contact your License Administrators.
If you do not have access to a license through any organization, you may need to purchase a license .
The MATLAB release that you are attempting to install is not available for the license
If the MathWorks Installer is for a release of MATLAB that is not included on the license, you will be prompted for an Activation Key. Possible reasons include:
1) You may be using a Trial license, which is release specific. Trial licenses can only be used for a specific version of MATLAB, typically the latest release.
Please ensure the release of MATLAB you have installed on your computer matches the release you have been issued a Trial for. If you need to obtain Trial for a different release of MATLAB, please contact your Sales Representative.
2) If you license does not have an active Software Maintenance Service (SMS) contract, you may be attempting to use a release of MATLAB which was released after your SMS contract expired.
To resolve this issue, install an older release of MATLAB, or contact your Sales Representative to request a quote to update your SMS contract.
3) Certain releases of MATLAB are not available for Student licenses. These releases are: R2014b, R2013b, R2012b, R2011b, R2010b, R2009b, and R2008a and earlier.
You do not have activation permissions
If you are linked to a license that includes the desired release, and you are prompted an Activation Key (either in the MathWorks Installer, Activation Client, or in the License Center), your License Administrator may have set a restriction on the license to only allow activation with an Activation Key. By default, a key is not required to activate MATLAB.
To resolve this issue, contact your License Administrator to request for the Activation Key or to have that permission turned off.
