Error message 'Invalid Activation Key' or 'The unlock key is not valid' when entering an activation key

In some rare cases an error "Invalid Activation Key" or "The unlock key is not valid" may occur.
Activation keys are used to unlock some functionality of your software (special effects, plugins etc.) and are generated based on the passport of your computer. There may be a couple of reasons for this error:

1. The activation key is entered in incorrectly.

Make sure that the activation key you are entering is 25 characters long. All activation keys are 5 blocks of 5 letters. Double-check that each character that you enter is correct. It can be easy to accidentally key in the wrong letter.

2. New activation keys are needed - the old ones are not valid.

Even though you may have had activation keys mailed to you previously, they may not work if your Passport has changed. If the activation keys give the message above and you have verified that you are entering them correctly, please follow these steps.

Your Passport should stay the same even after reinstalling the software. Your Passport is tied to your registration information. However, if you Passport does change for some reason (For example you install Studio on a new computer), then you may need new activation keys.

There are two ways to generate Activation Keys:

Method 1 – Within Studio

For Studio 16 & Avid Studio
In Studio go to Help > Activation Keys > Regenerate Activation Keys

For Studio 15 and earlier versions
In Studio go to Help > Regenerate Activation Keys

Method 2 – From the web

Step 1: In Studio click on Help -> My Passport. Write down your Passport number which is a sequence of 5 sets of 5 digits. Make sure that you do not write down your serial number. The Passport has no letters, it is all numbers.


Step 2: Go to our Unlock Site to regenerate the activation keys.

Note: If the computer that Studio is installed on does not have an internet connection, you can go to a computer that is connected to the internet and do this step.


Step 3: Fill out the screen on the Unlock Site.

• Email address:
• Passport: (see step 1 above) Either manually type it in or copy and paste each 5 digit string into the space provided.
• Preferred Language: leave this set to English in most cases

Note'': Your Activation Keys will be emailed to this address. It is important to use the same email address than the one you used to register your software. If you changed your email address, you will have first to update your registration profile and then regenerate your keys.

To update your registration profile with a current email address, go to this site:

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/MyPinnacle/

If you have forgotten your password, click the "Forgot your password" button. After you log in, click the "Update your personal information" link. You can make the appropriate changes here.

Step 4: Once you have the email with your new activation codes, you can then enter them in Studio:

• If you have Studio 15 or earlier click on Help -> Enter Activation Key
• If you have Studio 16 or Avid Studio go to Help > Activation Keys > Enter Activation Keys
• Enter the activation keys in the space provided and when finished click OK.

You can view your activation keys by pressing Help -> View Activation Keys