Recovering Your Parallels Desktop Activation Code: A Comprehensive Guide

Losing your Parallels Desktop Activation Code can be a frustrating roadblock, preventing you from accessing or reinstalling your virtual machines. This crucial key, typically a 30-character sequence divided into five blocks, verifies your legitimate copy of Parallels Desktop for Mac. Fortunately, retrieving your parallels desktop activation code is usually straightforward. This guide provides several methods to locate your lost key and get you back to using Parallels Desktop seamlessly.

Finding Your Parallels Desktop Activation Code

There are multiple avenues to recover your parallels desktop activation code, depending on where you purchased Parallels Desktop and whether you still have access to your Parallels account or the Mac where it’s installed. Let’s explore each method in detail:

1. Retrieve Your Activation Code from Your Parallels Account

Your Parallels account dashboard is often the quickest place to find your parallels desktop activation code. Follow these steps:

Navigate to the Parallels My Account page and log in using your credentials.
Once logged in, locate the “Active subscriptions & permanent licenses” section under “Parallels Desktop for Mac.”
Click on the specific subscription or permanent license for which you need the activation code.
Within the subscription details, you will find a “License Keys” box clearly displaying your product licenses, including your parallels desktop activation code.

If you can’t immediately find your license under “Active subscriptions & permanent licenses,” check the “Legacy licenses” section in your dashboard, as older licenses may be located there.

2. Find Your Activation Code via the Parallels Online Store

If you purchased Parallels Desktop directly from the Parallels Online Store, retrieving your parallels desktop activation code is also easily done online.

Visit the Cleverbridge Customer Service page, which handles Parallels Online Store transactions.
Use the Cleverbridge portal to retrieve your purchase information and access your parallels desktop activation code.
Alternatively, search your email inbox for emails from cleverbridge ([email protected]). Your order confirmation email should contain your parallels desktop activation code.

3. Check Your Email or Physical Box from a Parallels Reseller

For purchases made through a Parallels reseller, your parallels desktop activation code was typically delivered via email or included in the product packaging.

Email Delivery: Check the email address you used during the purchase. Search for order confirmation emails from the reseller, which should contain your parallels desktop activation code.
Physical Box: If you bought a boxed version of Parallels Desktop, the parallels desktop activation code is usually printed inside the box, often on a card or within the documentation.

4. Recover Activation Code Using Terminal Command on Your Mac

If Parallels Desktop is still installed on your Mac, you can use a Terminal command to reveal a partial parallels desktop activation code.

Open Terminal. Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
Execute the following command in the Terminal window:
```
prlsrvctl info --license
```
- Parallels Desktop 15 and later: The output will show a partial license key in the format: XXXXXX-******-******-******-XXXXXX. This partially revealed parallels desktop activation code can sometimes be enough to identify your license in your Parallels account.
- Parallels Desktop 14 and earlier: The output will display serial lines with numeric codes (e.g., xxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx). The more activation keys used on the Mac, the more codes you’ll see.
Example of Parallels Desktop license key format in Terminal output

For Parallels Desktop 14 and earlier, copy the “serial” line content and contact Parallels Support for assistance.

Still Can’t Find Your Code? Contact Parallels Support

If none of these methods help you recover your parallels desktop activation code, your next step is to contact Parallels Support directly. When contacting support, provide them with a copy of your purchase invoice or any relevant purchase details to help them locate your license information.

By following these steps, you should be able to successfully retrieve your parallels desktop activation code and continue using Parallels Desktop without interruption.