Activation

The Unity editor requires activation before it can be used. The trial download available from the Unity website and can be activated using a 30 day trial activation method. When starting Unity for the first time you will need to register using Internet activation. No personal information is needed and the registration is performed at the click of a button on the Internet activation page. You can select either a Pro or Indie trial version and after 30 days this version will expire. At this point you will need to purchase the Indie or Pro version to continue using Unity. Note that the trial version is intended to allow potential customers to evaluate the product and come to a decision to purchase. Please use the 30-day trial period accordingly.

Non-trial activation uses an Activation code. You will receive an Activation code from Unity by email when you make a purchase. An Activation code is a string of characters and looks like XY-ABCD-1234-EFGH-5678-IJ90. An Activation code is unique to each customer and should not be lost or shared with anyone! When you activate Unity you need to enter your Activation code. The licensing system will take a finger-print of your hardware and system software and send this finger print to our activation server. The activation server ties your Activation code and this finger-print together. This locks your computer to your Activation code. The end-user license agreement permits you to use the Activation code on up to two computers. If you attempt to activate Unity on a third computer you will be told that your activation limit has been exceeded.

Note: The finger-printing is affected by many things. For example, if you were to re-install your operating system, or re-format a hard drive, or change the network card, these things will cause the unique finger-print of your computer to change.

When you attempt to re-activate Unity you may find that you are told you are unable to reactivate because your activation limit has been exceeded. This is not an error but reflects the fact that our server sees that your computer has changed. To help customers who have suffered from catastrophic computer failure we offer a Unity migration service. To take advantage of this service please email support@unity3d.com and provide as much information as possible about what has happened to your computer. Please also provide your unique Activation code. A Unity support person will then help you with the migration.

Common Questions

My computer cannot talk to your activation server. What can I do? Please activate Unity using manual activation. To do this, please contact support who will guide you through the process.

I need to migrate Unity from one machine to another. What do I need to do? Firstly, uninstall Unity from your "old" machine. Then contact support asking for assistance with migration. Ensure that you give your current activation code. If you are mid-way through a critical period in your game development, please plan carefully for this migration. In addition to moving your project from your old machine to your new one, re-installing applications and so on, plan ahead for contacting support. Bear in mind that you can use Unity on two machines, so there should be no time when you are unable to continue development.

My hard drive has died. What do I need to do? If you cannot uninstall Unity because your hard drive has failed write and tell the support team who will try to help. Note that it remains your responsibility to protect your assets and project by using a regular back-up strategy, and Unity support can only help once you have a working computer again.

How many activations can I make? Your activation code is good for 2 (two) activations.

I have received an activation code when I upgraded to Unity iPhone. Why does the old one no longer work? The iPhone products are an extension to your Indie or Pro products. When you upgrade to Unity iPhone the activation code you receive replaces your original activation code. Your old activation code is marked as inactive following the upgrade. Please only use the new iPhone activation code. It activates Unity as well as Unity iPhone.

Can I use the same activation code on a PC and a Mac? Yes, the same activation code can be used on a PC or a Mac. As per your end-user license agreement you can use Unity on two machines that you own and have exclusive use of. These two machines could be two Macs, two PCs or one PC and one Mac, whatever works best for you.

Can I use the same activation code on a laptop and a desktop? Yes, the activation code will work on laptops and desktops.