Skip to main content

How do I activate my Education Grant License?

Updated

Education Grant license holders can activate Unity licenses on multiple machines using command line batch activation as a workaround, since no official batch method exists. Instructions for Windows and MacOS include navigating to the installation directory and running Unity.exe or Unity commands with license info. Firewall and proxy settings may affect activation; specific ports and hostnames should be allowed. License files (.ULF) must be shared for multi-user access. Manual offline activation is advised if network issues persist.

Cause:
 
Education Grant license holders may need to activate their licenses on an entire lab of machines at once. To make this easier for our educators, we now support batch file activation.
 
Resolution:
 
We have no official way of activating licenses on multiple machines simultaneously. However, there is a workaround using the command line.
 
Activating via Command Line (Terminal)- Windows:
  1. Launch the Command Prompt.
  2. Click on the Start menu and type in cmd. Use the command cd .. to go to your root directory.
  3. In the root directory, navigate to your Installation Directory while using the command below. (We wrap the path in quotes or else Windows thinks the path stops at Program since there is a space between Program and Files.)
  4. Use the command to navigate to the path: cd "Program Files\Unity\Hub\Editor\[unity_version]\Editor"
  5. Once you are in the Installation Directory, enter the following command below, updating the values with your Unity license and account information: Unity.exe -batchmode -username [unity_email] -password [unity_password] -serial [unity_license_key] -quit
  6. Your command prompt will now look like:
    C:\Program Files\Unity\Hub\Editor\[unity_version]\Editor\ Unity.exe -batchmode -username [unity_email] -password [unity_password] -serial [unity_license_key] -quit
  7. Press Enter. (There is no feedback expected in the Command line.)
  8. To check if your license was installed successfully, open the Unity Hub.
  9. Click on Settings (gear icon) > Licenses to see if your Unity license is activated.

To check if the license is installed successfully from the Command Prompt:

  1. Launch the Command Prompt.
  2. Use the command cd .. to go back to your root directory.
  3. Enter the command prompt:
    C:\Program Files\Unity\Hub\Editor\[unity_version]\Editor\Data\Resources\Licensing\Client>Unity.Licensing.Client --showEntitlements
  4. Navigate to cd "Program Files\Unity\Hub\Editor [unity_version]\Editor\Data\Resources\Licensing\Client"
  5. Go to: Unity.Licensing.Client --showEntitlements
  6. Press Enter and Windows should display your license installed under EntitlementGroupId
Note: This process will need to be repeated for all machines in the learning setting.
 
Activating via the Unity Hub - MacOS:
  1. Launch the Unity Hub.
  2. Log into your Unity account.
  3. Click on Settings (gear icon).
  4. Go to Licenses > Add License > Activate with serial number.
  5. Enter the serial number you’ve received via email and click Activate License.
  6. Your license is now activated. You should see the activation and expiration dates.
Note: This step is not needed if the license key has not been activated by another method. To return your license, go to Settings > Licenses > Return License. Close the Hub and this step is complete.
 
Activating via Command Line (Terminal) - MacOS:
  1. Launch the Terminal on the Mac.
  2. Use one of the two commands below, depending on where Unity has been installed. Replace the following values with your Unity license and account information. You will use your Unity account email, password and license key you have received from Unity:

    /Applications/Unity/Hub/Editor/[unity_version]/Unity.app/Contents/MacOS/Unity -quit -batchmode -serial [unity_license_key] -username '[unity_email]' -password '[unity_password]'

    If you do not use the Unity Hub, use the following command:

    /Applications/Unity/Unity.app/Contents/MacOS/Unity -quit -batchmode -serial [unity_license_key] -username '[unity_email]' -password '[unity_password]’'
     
  3. Press Enter. (There is no feedback expected in the Command line.)
  4. To check if your license was installed successfully, open the Unity Hub.
  5. Click on Settings (gear icon) > Licenses to see if your Unity license is activated.
Note: This process will need to be repeated for all machines in the learning setting.
 
See the Unity Manual for the complete list of command line arguments.
 
If activating via the command line doesn't work, it may be due to your particular firewalls or network restrictions. Educational firewalls can sometimes create a conflict in the deployment process.
 
Try allowing these ports in your settings: 80 and 443
 
As for any firewall which may be running, add the following hostnames (IP's may vary):
 
id.unity.com
api.unity.com
license.unity3d.com
activation.unity3d.com
core.cloud.unity3d.com
sl-http.unity3d.com
developer.cloud.unity3d.com
accounts.unity3d.com
 
Other than those, there have been reports that the following IPs are contacted (by Google):
 
74.125.226.222
173.194.43.30
 
Check your Proxy settings:
 
HTTPS_proxy=https://proxyusername:proxypassword@proxyaddress.com:8080
UNITY_PROXYSERVER=https://proxyusername:proxypassword@proxyaddress.com:8080
 
We also recommend reviewing the below:
  • Some educational users may be on a restricted internal network with limited or no internet access. To verify connectivity, try pinging the following URL from the command line: https://core.cloud.unity3d.com/api/login.
     
  • To verify if it is a CACerts.pem issue, follow this code: https://github.com/justin-zheng/travisbuildtest.
    CACerts.pem is included in the repository.
     
  • If you can activate from a non-admin account, the activation should work for all non-admin accounts on that machine.
     
  • If activating on a non-admin account isn't possible, locate the license file after activating it on the admin machine, and save it in a shared area for that machine. This way, if a different user signs in to the device, the license file is shared.
License files (.ULF) are found in the following places:

  • Windows: C:\ProgramData\Unity

Note: Files may be hidden by default. You must click View and tick the Hidden Items check box.

  • Mac: Library/Application Support/Unity

If the activations still won't go through after toggling your network settings, the workaround is to manually activate the license instead. Guidance for offline (manual) activation is found in the Unity Manual.
Note: Unity can only give general guidance on the activation process within an educational environment, as each campus's network, firewalls, IPs can differ dramatically.
Make sure to move the .ULF file into a shared network area for the students to access. If the file stays in the admin area, student logins won't work.
 
We recommend creating a generic admin email address and password login for running the Unity install. Once you have done this, the students will be able to log in when needed.
 

Related to

Related articles