Issue Details

• My serial number is not activating my NI software.
• I bought LabVIEW 2018 and now I'm trying to activate a newer LabVIEW version with the same serial number, but it is not working.
• I ordered an upgrade to the latest version of my NI software, but the serial number is not working. 
• I purchased the LabVIEW Base edition, but my serial number is being rejected for one or more of the packages included with LabVIEW (LabVIEW Application Builder, LabVIEW Report Generation Toolkit, etc.).
• I entered my serial number in NI License Manager and received the following error: Invalid Serial Number.

 

Solution

If you are having issues activating your NI software, follow the steps below:

• Make sure your software product is included under your serial number. For example, a license for the LabVIEW Base edition will not activate the LabVIEW Application Builder add-on.
• If you purchased a license under the Standard Software Program (SSP), it may have expired and you cannot activate newer versions of NI software. Licenses under SSP can only activate versions of NI software released during the service active period. Check your SSP expiry details to know what is the latest version of the NI software product you can activate.
• If you have a subscription-based license, it is possible that the date of your subscription has passed, hence you will not be able to activate the software.
• If you are using your NI User Account to activate the software, make sure you also register your serial number. The registration process takes around 24 hours. if you still have issues after it, please contact customerservice@ni.com.
• Make sure to enter the serial number without any spaces or punctuation. Watch for spaces at the beginning and end of the serial number text.
• This issue can occur when you have corrupted files in your NI License Manager. Try repairing or updating your NI License Manager and see if the issue persists.
• If you don't have access to the internet, the activation using the serial number fails. In that case, you can use 20-digit activation codes to manually activate each NI software license:
  • You can generate the activation codes in the NI Product Activation portal using a device with an internet connection. To create the codes, you will need the Computer ID of the target computer, and your serial number, and select the proper version of the NI software that requires activation. For example, if you have LabVIEW 2020 SP1 installed on your computer, you will need to select the same version of the product.
  • If you are having issues using the NI Product Activation portal, contact NI Support and provide the serial number, the Computer ID, and the specific version of the NI software that you trying to activate.  For example: Serial number MX1234567 Computer ID: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX Software: LabVIEW Professional 2020 SP1
• For NI License Manager 2025 Q2 or newer, in case you are attempting to activate multiple license files simultaneously and encounter an Invalid serial number error after 100 seconds, the activation process may be timing out. Follow the steps below to increase the activation timeout and retry activation.

  • Increase the Activation Timeout in the User Preferences File:

    1. Close NILM and the NILM Activation Wizard if they are open.

    2. Open the following file in a Notepad or other text editor:
       C:\ProgramData\National Instruments\License Manager\Data\UserPreferences.pref

    3. Add the following line under the <UserPreferences> element to configure the HTTP client timeout in seconds. The example shows 300 seconds which is the maximum supported, but you can configure any value between 101 and 300 seconds, inclusive:
       <HttpClientTimeout>300</HttpClientTimeout>

    4. Save and close the user preferences file.

  • Activate the Licenses
    • Activating All Licenses at Once

      1. Launch the NILM Utility and attempt to re-activate all licenses by clicking the "Activate Software" button at the top. 

      2. If the activation still times out, follow the steps below to activate the licenses in batches.

    • Activating in Batches

      1. Back up the C:\ProgramData\National Instruments\License Manager\Licenses folder. Name the backup folder UnactivatedLicensesBackup. This is crucial to restore the original license files if needed.

      2. Delete all the licenses in the Licenses folder.

      3. Copy the first 20 licenses from UnactivatedLicensesBackup to the Licenses folder.

      4. Launch the NILM Utility and attempt to re-activate all licenses by clicking the "Activate Software" button at the top.

      5. All licenses should be activated. If not, retry with a smaller set of licenses.

      6. Once the 20 licenses are activated, move them to another backup folder named ActivatedLicensesBackup.

      7. Close the NILM Activation Wizard and the NILM Utility.

      8. Repeat the above steps until all the required licenses are activated in batches.

      9. After all licenses are activated, copy all activated licenses from the ActivatedLicensesBackup folder back to the Licenses folder.

If none of the steps above solves the problem, please contact NI Support so we can help you troubleshoot your specific case.