Starting with MATLAB Student R2014a, Serial Numbers have been retired and have been replaced with Activation Keys. If your MATLAB Student or MATLAB Home license is valid through MATLAB R2014a or later, you will have an Activation Key, not a Serial Number.
Activation Keys are longer than Serial Numbers and thus they are not interchangeable. Even though they serve a similar purpose, you cannot enter your Activation Key into the R2013a (or earlier) activation client. If you need to activate MATLAB Home or Student prior to MATLAB R2013a, you will need to activate MATLAB on the MathWorks website.
Before activating, you will need your host ID and login name. Refer to the following articles to get this information:
Once you have the HostID and login name:
- Log into your MathWorks account here: https://www.mathworks.com/mwaccount
- Click the license number on the screen you wish to activate
- Click the 'Install and Activate' tab
- Click the 'Activate to Retrieve License File' link in the 'Related Tasks' column on the right.
- Choose your release of MATLAB in the drop down menu
- Select your Operating System in the drop down menu.
- Enter your HostID.
- Enter your Computer Login Name.
- Fill in a nickname for your activation.
- Click the button labeled 'Continue'.
- Choose to download or email the license file.
For R2013a and earlier, the MATLAB Student activation client does not have an option to provide a license file, so you will need to place the license file in the licenses folder manually. The location of the licenses folder varies depending on your operating system. For the purposes of placing your license file, treat your MATLAB Student license as if it is a Designated Computer license. See the following article for instructions on finding your licenses folder location:
If your Activation Key or Serial Number does not match the standard format, or you are unable to complete the steps above, Please contact MathWorks Support using the following link:
