SOLIDWORKS Frequently Asked Questions

Student Edition serial numbers allow for two simultaneous activations. You can install and activate SOLIDWORKS on two systems at a time. Hence you can use the same serial number to install and activate SOLIDWORKS on another system.

Yes. Starting with SOLIDWORKS Student Edition 2020-2021, this serial number will license the previous version of Student Edition 2019-2020. The same will be true for future releases, licensing the previous year's release. 

SOLIDWORKS Student Edition licenses are version-specific, and hence it is not possible to upgrade these products. The licenses will be valid up to 365 days, beginning from the first date of activation. If your current Student Edition license has expired, contact your school/university to issue you a free home use license of SOLIDWORKS. If the school/university is not able to assign you a free home use license, you can purchase a new Student Edition license from the SOLIDWORKS student store website -www.solidworks.com/studentstore

Yes, students with a valid serial number for Student Edition and Student Engineering Kit (SEK) products can access the MySolidWorks.com web portal. Please note that the Student Design Kit (SDK) does not provide access to the MySolidWorks web portal, except for limited “Guest” access.  More information is available here:

www.solidworks.com/mysolidworks_for_students

Link to MySolidWorks : https://my.solidworks.com/

Steps to register: www.solidworks.com/mysw_student_reg

No, dongles are no longer supported by SOLIDWORKS.

This error can occur if prior license information is still available on your system, or if the installation is performed with a prior version serial number.

Try the following to troubleshoot:

1. Rename the FLEXnet folder and try the activation again:
   Go to C:\ProgramData\FLEXnet and rename the folder FLEXnet (may be to FLEXnet_old) (The ProgramData folder is a hidden folder. Either you can enable to show hidden folders from Folder options, or you can directly type c:\Programdata into the address bar and press enter to access this folder. You will be able to find the Flexnet folder.)

2. Try to activate again and if the error still occurs, confirm that a valid serial number is used for the SOLIDWORKS installation by modifying the installation. If the serial number is not a valid one, please change and input the correct serial number:
   1. Go to Start > Control Panel >SOLIDWORKS
   2. click ‘Change’ to modify the installation. Select ‘Modify the individual installation (on this computer)’ >click ‘Next’
   3. Under ‘serial number’ make sure that your valid serial number is in use
   4. If not, replace the serial number with a valid one and click ‘Next’
   5. Follow the instructions to complete the modification
   6. Rename the FLEXnet folder and try to activate again

If the problem still occurs, try doing a repair installation of SOLIDWORKS by following the steps below:

1. Go to Start > User Account > User Account Control Settings. Set it to “Never Notify”. Restart the system
2. Login as administrator
3. Turn off all anti-virus, popup blocker, ad-ware and spy-ware applications along with Windows Firewall
4. Go to Start > Control Panel >SOLIDWORKS and click ‘Change’ to repair the installation
5. Select ‘Repair the individual installation (on this computer)’
6. Click ‘Next’. Follow the instruction to complete the modification
7. Try activating again

Follow the steps available in the How to Register video and enter your serial number to complete the process.

If you already have a 3DEXPERIENCE account, follow the below steps:

1. Visit the MySolidWorks website.
2. Click Log In and login to your account.
3. Click on your name at the top right corner and select My Profile.
4. Click My Subscription and check the Account Type.
5. If your account type is 'Guest', you will need to register your Student Edition serial number (9020...) on your account to access the trainings available under MySolidWorks for Student.
6. Click 'register' option available under MySolidWorks Account, Student section.

You can contact the Student Edition Support Team by filling in the student support form using this link and providing the required information: www.solidworks.com/studentsupport 

When contacting the Student Edition Support Team, please collect and include the following information:

For installation and download issues:

1. Installation Logs: Please provide the installation log files for further investigation of your issue. To go to the installation log folder, you can type %appdata% at Start > RUN and press Enter; it will open the "Roaming" folder.  In the "Roaming" folder go to the "SOLIDWORKS" folder. Under the "SOLIDWORKS" folder, you will find a folder named “Installation log.” Zip this complete folder and provide it for investigation.
2. Screenshot of the error message
3. Serial numbers

For Crash and SOLIDWORKS functionality issues, or SOLIDWORKS files related issues:

1. SOLIDWORKS Rx: Please capture your problem using the Rx utility and send the zip file back for further investigation. (Default location of Rx is Start > All Programs > SOLIDWORKS Student Edition > SOLIDWORKS Tools > SOLIDWORKS RX) Run Rx utility and go to "Problem Capture” and Click “Record Video.” It will launch SOLIDWORKS and you can follow steps to show your issue. Click “Finish recording” after you have followed the steps to show the issue. Then Click “Package Files Now...” and save the zip file.  Now under “Describe Problem" click “Continue” and enter the problem description and required details and click “OK” and exit the Rx utility. Send the zip file as an attachment for further investigation.

The issue can appear if you:

• Use some custom scaling on your system.
• Use Windows compatibility mode settings to run SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager [Installation Wizard].
• Use 115% or greater text size.

Follow these steps to resolve the issue: 

1. Resize the text size to 100%.
   1. Press the Windows key from the keyboard.
   2. Type Make text size bigger and press Enter.
   3. Set the text size to 100%.
   4. Right-click the SOLIDWORKS setup file setup.exe and select Run as administrator.
   5. On the summary screen, tick the License agreement check box and click Download and Install
2. If the issue persists, perform the following steps:
   Change the scale and layout settings:
   1. Go to windows search and type settings and press enter.
   2. In the search window, type Change the resolution of the display and press enter.
   3. In the Display setting under the Scale and layout section, change the size of text, apps, and other items to 100%.
   4. Run the SOLIDWORKS setup file and check if it resolves the issue. Also, check by changing the size to 125% and 150%.
3. If the issue persists, perform the following steps:
   1. Right-click on the SOLIDWORKS Setup file and select Properties.
   2. Select the Compatibility tab.
   3. Uncheck Run this program in compatibility mode for: option.
   4. Select a 640 x 480 resolution and run this program as an administrator.
   5. Run the setup file and check the operation.
   6. Also, try changing the settings in change high DPI settings and check the operation again.
4. If the issue persists, perform the following steps:
   1. Right-click the SOLIDWORKS setup file setup.exe and select Run as administrator.
   2. Follow the on-screen instruction until reach the Summary screen.
   3. Click the Installation Manager [Installation Wizard] window and scrolled so you can see the Change options.
   4. Press the Tab key until the first Change option is highlighted.
   5. Press the Tab key four or five times and then press the spacebar key to accept the license agreement.
   6. You should now be able to select the Download and Install or Install Now option.

If the issue persists, contact the student support team.

Please try the following to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Rename the FLEXnet folder and try the activation again
   Go to C:\ProgramData\FLEXnet and rename the folder FLEXnet (maybe to FLEXnet_old)
   (The ProgramData folder is a hidden folder. Either you can enable to show hidden folders from Folder options or you can directly type c:\Programdata into the address bar and press enter to access this folder. You will be able to find the Flexnet folder)
2. Try the activation again

This issue can occur if the SOLIDWORKS Downloads folder [which includes the installation files] is present in OneDrive. For example:

C:\Users\[username]\OneDrive\documents\SOLIDWORKS Downloads\SOLIDWORKS 2025 SP05

Follow the below steps to resolve the issue:

1. Install CEF for SOLIDWORKS applications manually:
   1. Uninstall CEF for SOLIDWORKS application if it is present under [Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features]
   2. Go to swcef folder present under: C:\Users\[username]\OneDrive\documents\SOLIDWORKS Downloads\SOLIDWORKS 2025 SP05\swcef
   3. In the swcef folder, right-click the setup.exe file and select run as administrator.
   4. Install SOLIDWORKS.
2. If the issue persists, move the SOLIDWORKS2025 SP05 folder to any local folder on your computer. For example:
   1. Move the SOLDIWORKS 2025 SP05 folder from: [C:\Users\[username]\OneDrive\documents\SOLIDWORKS Downloads\SOLIDWORKS 2025 SP05] to Public Downloads folder in the following path: [C:\Users\Public\Public Downloads].
   2. Run the setup.exe file from [C:\Users\Public\Public Downloads\SOLIDWOKRS 2025 SP05] folder.

If these steps do not resolve the problem, please submit a support request.

This message can appear during the activation of the SOLIDWORKS Design Premium for Students license or with the SOLIDWORKS Student Engineering Kit [SEK] license. The serial number of these licenses starts with [9020…].

This message can appear because of the following reasons:

1. If your serial number is of an older version [say SOLIDWORKS 2025], and you use this old serial number to install a newer version [say SOLIDWORKS 2026]. Here, as your license is of an older version [say 2025], it will not work with the new version [say 2026]. 
   Note: SOLIDWORKS Student licenses are version specific and backward compatible.
   For example: You can use a 2024 version license to install SOLIDWORKS 2024 or an older version [like SOLIDWORKS 2023, 2022…]. However, the 2024 version license will not work with the newer version [2025, 2026…].
2. If an old serial number auto-populates on the serial number screen during the installation. For example: An older [say 2023] version serial number is present on your computer from a previous installation. This old serial number can automatically appear in the serial number field during the installation of the new version [say 2025].

Follow these steps to resolve the issue:

1. Uninstall all SOLIDWORKS versions present on your system. [If any]
   1. Go to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Programs and Features.
   2. Search for SOLIDWORKS [Version] > right-click it and select Uninstall.
   3. In the Installation Manager, under Advanced Options click Change
   4. By default, the software selects the Program files and folders option. Select the remaining items [Registry Entries and Data Files and Folders] and click back to Summary.
   5. Click Remove Items.
   6. Once uninstallation is complete, restart your system.
2. Check the version of your license and download the appropriate version [2026 or 2025 or 2024…] setup file from: www.solidworks.com/SEK 
   To determine the version of your license, you can check the name of the product in the purchase invoice email. For home use license [which is provided by your school], check the name of the product in the instruction provided by your school or university. 
   For example: If the product name is:
   1. SOLIDWORKS Design Premium for Students – 2026: This means you can install SOLIDWORKS 2026 or older version [2025, 2024...]
   2. SOLIDWORKS Design Premium for Students – 2025: This means you can install SOLIDWORKS 2025 or older version [2024, 2023...]. Note: In this case, your license will not work with the later SOLIDWORKS 2026 version.
3. During the installation, on the serial number screen:
   1. Always enter your new serial number manually in 3D Design under the SOLIDWORKS check box.
   2. Leave all the other products [like composer, Visual, simulation, CAM, Electrical...] serial number check boxes blank and unchecked.
   3. Click Next and proceed with the installation.
4. If the software automatically populates some serial numbers on the Serial Number screen, follow these steps:
   1. Enter your new serial number manually on the Serial Number screen in the 3D Design, SOLIDWORKS check box.
   2. Uncheck the check boxes of all the other product's [like composer, Visual, simulation, CAM, Electrical...] on the serial number screen.
   3. Click Next.
   4. If the following message appears, then select Yes and proceed with the installation: 
      "Are you sure you want to remove the SOLIDWORKS Composer [or Visualize, Simulation, Flow Simulation, CAM, Electrical...] serial number from the computer? This could cause existing applications to stop working."

Follow the steps below for deactivating a SOLIDWORKS license:

1. Open SOLIDWORKS on your current system.
2. In the SOLIDWORKS window, navigate to Help > Deactivate Licenses.
3. In the SOLIDWORKS Product Activation window, select the products and click on the 'Next' button.
4. Once the deactivation is successful, you will be able to install and activate this license on the new system.

Most schools that purchase a SOLIDWORKS Education Edition license receive additional home use license for their students to work on a home or personal computer. Hence, please contact your school and ask them to provide a student home use licenses (SDK or SEK, or Student Premium or Student Standard).

However, if your school does not have a SOLIDWORKS Education Edition license, you will need to purchase your own Student Edition from the SOLIDWORKS online store: www.solidworks.com/studentstore

This issue can occur if the SOLIDWORKS® License Service is not installed properly on the machine. In most of the cases, this issue is resolved by performing a repair installation of SOLIDWORKS. Follow the below steps for a repair installation:

1. Login as an administrator
2. Go to Start > Control Panel > Program and Features > SOLIDWORKS and click ‘Change’ to repair the installation
3. Select ‘Repair the individual installation (on this computer)’
4. Click ‘Next’
5. Follow the instructions to complete the modification

After the repair is successful, try following the steps to perform the activation:

1. Rename the FLEXnet folder and try activation again:
   Go to C:\ProgramData\FLEXnet and rename the folder FLEXnet (maybe to FLEXnet_old) (The ProgramData folder is a hidden folder. Either you can enable to show hidden folders from Folder options or you can directly type c:\Programdata into the address bar and press enter to access this folder. You will be able to find the Flexnet folder)
2. Try the activation again