Once the installation of your Wolfram product (such as Mathematica) is complete, upon first launching it you will be presented with the Wolfram Product Activation dialog. There are four methods to activate your Wolfram product: online activation through sign in, online activation with a key, manual activation and connecting to a license server running an appropriate version of MathLM. If you have not yet installed your product, please see "Installing Mathematica".

The default method of activation is online activation through sign in. The other activation methods are accessed via the Other ways to activate button.

This is the easiest and recommended way to activate your Wolfram product for most users. The only requirement is that your computer be connected to the internet.

Start your desktop product. The activation window appears. Click Continue to activate your product through sign in.

Your default browser opens.

Enter your WolframID and click Continue. Enter your associated Wolfram Account password and click Continue. Note that if you are already logged in online, this step will be skipped.

A list of your available licenses appears.

Select the desired license and click Activate. Your product is now being activated and a confirmation message appears.

Return to the Activation Dialog in your Wolfram product. The Wolfram License Agreement window appears.

Accept the terms and click OK to complete the setup process. Your Wolfram product is now ready for use.

To activate your product with a key, select Other ways to activate from the "Activate Your Product through Sign In" window. Then select Activate online by entering an activation key ».

If you have your activation key, enter it and click the Activate button. Your Wolfram product will then automatically generate a MachineID and retrieve a password online through a web service.

Online activation with a key and manual activation both require an activation key. When you purchase a Wolfram product, you are provided with this key via email.

Alternatively, you may access keys for registered products through your Wolfram User Portal. To access your activation key, begin by logging in with your Wolfram ID and password.

Once logged in, navigate to the My Products and Services tab. In this section, you will find a table that lists your Wolfram products.

Select the Wolfram product you want to activate from this table and you will be directed to a page that contains your activation key for this product.

If the machine on which you are using your Wolfram product does not have an internet connection, or if you are experiencing problems with online activation, then you can activate the product manually.

To begin manual activation, click the button Other ways to activate. Then select Activate offline through an activation key and requested password ».

A MachineID number (previously called a MathID) is issued for manual activation and is displayed in the resulting dialog. There are two main steps to activate manually:

    Step 1: Obtain your password.

    Step 2: Enter the activation key and password.

You can receive your password in one of two ways. In either case, you will need your activation key and MachineID number.

The recommended way is to use the Wolfram User Portal to generate a password. This is accessed when you click the link "online password generator". Please note that you will need to sign in to the Wolfram User Portal to access this form. If you do not have a Portal account, you may create one on the Sign In page.

Alternatively, to get to the Password Generator Form, you can go directly to the Wolfram User Portal and click the "Need to activate manually" link in the Activation Keys section. This will let you generate a password on a different device.

On the "Password Generator" form, enter your activation key and MachineID number.

Generate the password by clicking the button.

Once you have obtained your password, enter it along with your activation key into the Wolfram Product Activation dialog to activate your Wolfram product.

If you are unable to manually activate your Wolfram product, contact Wolfram Support with your activation key, MachineID and the password generated in the step above.

If your license is obtained from a Wolfram network license server, such as MathLM, use this method for activation. MathLM or a similar service must be installed on the license server and activated before client machines with Wolfram products can be activated. Please see "Installing MathLM" for more information.

To begin, click the button Other ways to activate. Then select Connect to a Network License Server.

In the resulting dialog, enter the name or IP address of the server on which MathLM is running and click the Activate button. Upon successful activation, your Wolfram product will launch.