How to Activate a Product Key

Ronald Notes 0 Reputation points
2026-10-19T21:42:24.2066667+00:00

I currently have a trail license for Visual Studio 2026. I have purchased, from Microsoft, Visual Studio 2026 Professional(order number 5658862704) but my trail copy won't except license number (

|| | -------- | Visual Studio Professional Subscription (Renewal)

Product Key: J6RMK-YKJFP-RW2FV-HXYT4-4PXDY

1

Visual Studio Professional Subscription (Renewal)

Product Key: J6RMK-YKJFP-RW2FV-HXYT4-4PXDY

|1| || ). I was told to go to the subscription portal an activate new license. However, there is no place to do that.

Developer technologies | Visual Studio | Other
Developer technologies | Visual Studio | Other

A family of Microsoft suites of integrated development tools for building applications for Windows, the web, mobile devices and many other platforms. Miscellaneous topics that do not fit into specific categories.

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  1. Rukshan edirisinghe 2,365 Reputation points
    2026-10-20T03:02:59.7366667+00:00

    Hi @Ronald Notes

    First, please edit your question and remove the product key and order number. This forum is public, and anyone could try to redeem that key.

    The reason Visual Studio won't take it is that this is a subscription key, not an IDE license key. You don't type it into Visual Studio. You activate it on the subscriptions portal, and then the IDE licenses itself from your account.

    1. Go to https://my.visualstudio.com/subscriptions/activate (it's also the "Click here to sign in" link in your purchase confirmation email).
    2. Enter the email address that should own the subscription, then sign in with that account.
    3. When the Activate Your Visual Studio Subscription window appears, enter the product key and select Activate.
    4. Check that the subscription now shows on the Subscriptions page at my.visualstudio.com.
    5. Open Visual Studio, go to the account/sign-in option in the top right (or Help > Register Visual Studio), and sign in with that same account. The trial should switch to your Professional license.

    One thing to watch: your order says Renewal. Renewal keys are meant to extend an existing subscription. If you've never had a Visual Studio Professional subscription before (only the trial), the key may not activate. In that case, contact Microsoft Store support with your order number. They're the ones who can correct the SKU.

    Does the activation page accept the key, or does it give an error?

    If this got Visual Studio licensed, please consider accepting it as the answer. If the activation page rejects the key, let me know and I'll be happy to keep helping.

    Reference:

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