License Activation for FARO Software
Overview
Most FARO® software requires a valid license to open and use it. As part of your FARO software purchase, you will receive a license key for single users as either:
- Product Key - An alphanumeric code which can be entered in a FARO software
- Dongle/Portlock - A physical USB device which looks like a memory stick (most are shipped pre-activated, they just need to be plugged in to run)
The FARO Licensing Manager allows you to activate licenses, update licenses and to configure and share network licenses. Make sure you have it installed, if not please follow the instructions detailed here.
This article will cover how you can activate your new single-user license.
- If you are updating to a new version of software, please refer to: License Update for FARO Software
- For network license activation, the procedure below should be performed on the host machine. After that, review the Network License Server and Client Configuration for sharing the license between host and client computers.
Procedure
Online Activation
Before attempting to activate your license:
- Ensure you have stable internet connection. If not, skip to the Offline License Activation section.
- Turn off all anti-virus and firewall software, as it can block the activation process. Be sure to turn it back on again at the end of this process. If you do not know how to do this, contact your IT department.
- Ensure you have administrator privileges on your computer.
- Open the Licensing manager and click on Activate.
- On the next screen enter your product key and click the Activate button.
- Once submitted, the software will automatically activate your license. This process requires a stable internet connection and successful communication to the FARO License server. If your license activation fails, there are a few cases in which this might occur.
- You entered the product key incorrectly: Be sure you are using the Product Key supplied with your purchase. Verify you have entered the Product Key exactly as provided. Product Keys consist of either 18 or 20 alphanumeric characters in the following formats: GXPAF-DQPEC-VN6DQ-X5PJZ or OWSTEVIZPIAVP8CDA0. If the product key entered is not valid, the Activate button won’t become available.
- You are not connected to the internet: Please see the section below titled Offline Activation for instructions.
- You have activated the same key multiple times: If you are installing the software on a new computer and still have access to the old computer, you can transfer this license without the need to re-activate the software. See License Transfer for FARO Software. If you are unable to transfer the license, please contact FARO Support.
- Your PC has been reimaged or duplicated: Our licensing system detects PC/hard drive duplication. The licensing system will interpret this as a cloned instance and the FARO software license will be disabled and no longer be accessible. If you are receiving clone protection errors, please contact FARO Support.
Offline Activation
If you need to activate your software on a computer that does not have an internet connection, you can do so using another computer that does have internet access. This process requires a creation of a C2V file from the offline computer and then using FARO Licensing Portal website to create a V2C license file. This V2C file can then be transferred to an offline computer (via a USB thumb drive or similar media).
- Open the Licensing Manager application and click on Activate.
- On the next screen, click on Offline Activation and follow the on-screen instructions.
Legacy License Activation for FARO Software
Before attempting to activate your license:
- Ensure you have stable internet connection.
- If you do not have access to the internet on the computer you are installing the software, skip to the Offline License Activation section.
- Turn off all anti-virus and firewall software, as it can block the activation process. Be sure to turn it back on again at the end of this process. If you do not know how to do this, contact your IT department.
- Ensure you have administrator privileges on your computer.
When you start the application on a computer that does not have a valid license, you will be prompted to enter a Product Key. Depending on the software and its version, the interface will vary:
| Click the Product key button. On the next screen enter your Product Key in the field provided and click Next.  License Wizard |
Enter your Product Key in the field provided and click Submit. License Manager |
Once submitted, the software will automatically activate your license. This process requires a stable internet connection and successful communication to the FARO License server. If your license activation fails, there are a few cases in which this might occur. Depending on the software and its version, the screen appearance will vary:
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Offline License Activation
If you need to activate your software on a computer that does not have an internet connection, you can do so using another computer that does have internet access. This process requires a creation of a C2V file from the offline computer and then using FARO Licensing Portal website to create a V2C license file. This V2C file can then be transferred to offline computer (via a USB thumb drive or similar media).
Offline License Activation - License Wizard
- Start the software to activate.
- The licensing wizard will appear. Click Product key.
- Click “I don’t have internet connection”
- Click the Web Portal button to begin.
Note: Email activation is no longer available. Please use the Web Portal method described below.
- Click the blue C2V button. Browse to the location where you want to save the C2V file. Name the file with the software name you are updating so you can easily identify it, (e.g. "SoftwareName.c2v") and then click Save.
- Copy this file to a USB thumb drive or similar media that will allow you to transfer it to the online computer.
- Eject the USB thumb drive from the computer.
On the online computer:
- Insert the USB thumb drive or similar media that contains the C2V file created in the previous section.
- Go the FARO Licensing Portal website at: https://license.faro.com/Portal/activation
- Click Browse and navigate to the location of the C2V file, select it and click Open.
- Paste the Product Key into the Insert Product Key field, and then click ACTIVATE.
- The next screen will verify the activation was successful, click the Download v2c file button to download the activated license file. It will be in the format of "activation_########_######.v2c"
- Copy this file to a USB thumb drive or similar media that will allow you to transfer it back to the offline computer where the software is installed.
On the offline computer:
- Insert the USB thumb drive or similar media that contains the V2C file downloaded in the previous section.
- Return to the License Wizard screen and click Next.
- Click the blue V2C button. Browse to the location where you saved the V2C file, select it and click Open.
- The updated product/license key information will now be applied, and you may begin using your FARO software.
Offline License Activation - License Manager
- Start the software to activate.
- The License Manager will appear. Click the Collect license information link.
- In the next window, browse to the location where you want to save the C2V file. Name the file with the software name you are updating so you can easily identify it, (e.g. "SoftwareName.c2v") and then click Save.
- Copy this file to a USB thumb drive or similar media that will allow you to transfer it to the online computer.
- Eject the USB thumb drive from the computer.
On the online computer:
- Insert the USB thumb drive or similar media that contains the C2V file created in the previous section.
- Go the FARO Licensing Portal website at: https://license.faro.com/Portal/activation
- Click Browse and navigate to the location of the C2V file, select it and click Open.
- Paste the Product Key into the Insert Product Key field, and then click ACTIVATE.
- The next screen will verify the activation was successful, click the Download v2c file button to download the activated license file. It will be in the format of "activation_########_######.v2c"
- Copy this file to a USB thumb drive or similar media that will allow you to transfer it back to the offline computer where the software is installed.
On the offline computer:
- Insert the USB thumb drive or similar media that contains the V2C file downloaded in the previous section.
- Return to the License Manager screen and click the Update from file link. Browse to the location where you saved the V2C file, select it and click Open.
- The updated product/license key information will now be applied, and you may begin using your FARO software.
Offline License Activation - RUS Tool (Legacy Software)
- Close any open FARO software or license manger windows.
- Open the FARO Remote Update System (RUS) tool. This tools is typically installed along with most FARO software, however if it is not listed on your computer you may download it from here: Download and Install the SafeNet Sentinel HASP License Driver and FARO Remote Update System (RUS)
- On the Collect Status Information tab, make sure the "Installation of new protection key" radio button is selected and then click the Collect Information button.
- This will generate a C2V file. When prompted, save this file to your computer.
- Copy this file to a USB thumb drive or similar media that will allow you to transfer it to the online computer.
- Eject the USB thumb drive from the computer.
On the online computer:
- Insert the USB thumb drive or similar media that contains the C2V file created in the previous section.
- Go the FARO Licensing Portal website at: https://license.faro.com/Portal/activation
- Click Browse and navigate to the location of the C2V file, select it and click Open.
- Paste the Product Key into the Insert Product Key field, and then click ACTIVATE.
- The next screen will verify the activation was successful, click the Download v2c file button to download the activated license file. It will be in the format of "activation_########_######.v2c"
- Copy this file to a USB thumb drive or similar media that will allow you to transfer it back to the offline computer where the software is installed.
On the offline computer:
- Insert the USB thumb drive or similar media that contains the V2C file downloaded in the previous section.
- Return to the RUS screen and click the
button to navigate to the location where you saved the .V2C file. Select the .V2C file, and click Open. - Click the Apply Update button.
- The RUS will respond with a success message when the process is complete.
