SOLIDWORKS Activation Wizard

We receive a few calls on a daily basis that our customers ask us to release a license from a computer. Usually it happens when they are trying to move SOLIDWORKS from one machine to another and they forgot to deactivate the license on the old machine. Of course if SOLIDWORKS is still installed on the old computer the fix is simple. They just need to open SOLIDWORKS on that old machine and release the license from Help > Deactivate Licenses. But what if they have already uninstalled SOLIDWORKS on that old machine?

Fortunately, As of SOLIDWORKS 2011, a tool was created and posted to the SOLIDWORKS customer portal that gives you the option to release a license from a computer even when SOLIDWORKS is not installed on it. This magical tool is called SOLIDWORKS Activation Wizard.

To download SOLIDWORKS Activation Wizard go to your SOLIDWORKS Customer Portal account and click on Downloads and Updates.

Download and updates link

In the next page select the version and then click on SOLIDWORKS Activation Wizard to download the tool.

Download SOLIDWORKS Activation Wizard

Double click on the file that was downloaded to extract the zip file and install SOLIDWORKS Activation Wizard. After the installation is finished you will have access to three options. Choose the first option and press Next.

Move your product license option

You should see a list of the license[s] that are active on that machine. Simply select the license[s] that you want to release along with the method you want to deactivate them with and press Next. This will transfer your licenses back to the activation servers.  After that you can activate the license[s] on your new computer.