Here’s a question I get all the time from beginners — “I bought the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition. How do I get that into my software?” They also ask what to do if they get a new computer and need to install it there. That’s our topic today: how to upgrade to an upper level of the software to get extra features. We’ll also discuss the details you need to know and how to move it to a new computer.
Note: This post contains affiliate links. That means if you click the link and purchase something, I may receive a small commission. You pay the same price. This helps me to be able to keep my business going and provide more tutorials.
Let’s define the terms
First, let’s make sure we are all using the same language.
- When we’re talking about an upgrade, that’s a higher level of the software that you pay extra to get. For example, going from Basic Edition to Designer Edition. An update on the other hand, is a revamp of the software and is free for all users. That’s going from something like version 3 to version 4. For a complete explanation of the software levels, see this post.
- A license key is the unique 16-digit code you get when you purchase a software upgrade. Nowadays, the first 4 letters indicate the type of upgrade it is. For example, mine starts with SSBE — Silhouette Studio Business Edition.
- To activate a license key means to apply it in your Silhouette Studio software to get the extra features. Deactivate means to remove the license key from the software on that computer and revert to Basic Edition.
How to purchase an upgrade license key
Unlike an update, an upgrade costs money. You can buy the upgrade from the Silhouette America website here. In the past you could purchase a physical upgrade card from them, but these days it’s only a digital code. That means nothing is mailed to you — you get the license key number only. This is better anyway, because you get it instantly. Look for the Silhouette Elite box on this page (right column on a computer, bottom on a mobile device). Click that and use the code 10OFF for a 10% discount.
Make sure you are getting the correct one (read this whole section). For example, if you’re starting in Basic Edition and are getting Designer Edition, pick the option Designer Edition, NOT the UPGRADE: Designer to Business Edition. The latter is something different I’ll explain below. Or, if you are going directly to Business Edition from Basic, choose Business Edition. You do not need to purchase the levels between those two separately.
If you already have 1 upgrade type, then you don’t pay full price for the next level up. For example, if you have Designer Edition, normally $50, and want to go to Business Edition, which is $100, you only have to pay the difference. You do that by purchasing the UPGRADE: Designer to Business Edition. That’s $50 — the difference between the cost of Designer and Business.
Don’t try to go cheap by buying Designer to Business because it costs less and Designer. You won’t be able to apply it in your software because you didn’t pay the initial $50 for DE. You’ll have to go back, purchase DE, apply that, then apply the DE to BE. Too many steps!
How to activate your license key to upgrade
Let’s learn now how to apply a license key for Designer, Designer Plus or Business Editions to get the extra features. I’m going to show you in Silhouette Studio, but the process is the same for the other software (for the Alta, Mint, etc.).
- Click on the Help drop down menu in the upper left.
- Step 2: Select Upgrade Silhouette Studio.
- Enter your account details — your email address, password and the 16-digit code (license key).
- Click Submit.
- You’ll briefly see the box above where you hit Submit say Connecting to Silhouette Server. Once it has checked with the Silhouette America system to make sure that’s the right info, that area will say Silhouette Studio Licensed. Click on Next.
- A new dialog box tells you the activation was successful. Click Finish.
When you hit Finish, the software will add the extra upgrade features. If you look in the extreme upper left corner of the software, you’ll see it now says Silhouette Studio Designer Edition (or Designer Plus or Business).
Or you can go to the Help drop down menu (Windows) or Silhouette Studio drop down menu (Mac) and select About Silhouette Studio. A dialog box opens that shows the name of the upgraded edition and who it is licensed to.
What you need to know about upgrades
You only need to buy it once
Once you have a license key, it’s yours forever. You don’t ever have to pay for it again. If you change computers, you install the software on the second computer and then go through the same steps to apply the license key.
You don’t have to keep track of the number one you apply the key
As you apply your license key for the first time, it’s added to the information on your Silhouette account. You can always find it there on your account page in both the Silhouette Design Store and on the Silhouette America website in the Silhouette Studio Keys section.
There’s a limit
You can use your license key on up to 3 computers at once. So, say you have a laptop and a desktop, or have one at work at one at home. You can apply the upgrade to both using the same license key.
If you try to put it on a 4th computer after that, you’ll get a message that you’ve exhausted your number of installs. In the next section, I’ll show you how to deactivate the key to free up one of those installs. But what if you have already used your 3 installs and have a computer crash, so you can’t deactivate it on that computer? In that case, contact Silhouette America’s customer service and ask them to reset the number for you.
Now, what if you aren’t sure how many times you’ve used the license key? Since Silhouette America keeps track of that, you can find out on their website:
- Go to silhouetteamerica.com
- Sign in to your account
- Go to the My Account page
- Scroll down and look for the section Silhouette Studio Keys
- You’ll see your license key listed their with the first date you applied it, the type (level) and the number of installs remaining
This information on the number of installs is not on your Silhouette Design Store account — just on the regular website.
Updating your software doesn’t affect your license key
Updating your software doesn’t affect your license key. If you ever have to delete your Preferences folder, that may.
Going up a level
I said it above, but I’m going to repeat it. If you already have an upgraded level of the software and want to go higher, do NOT pay the full price for the upper level. Buy the license for “x” to “y”. You apply the upper license in the same way as I’ve already shown you.
How to deactivate your license key
Sometimes you need to deactivate your license key. Remember that you are limited to 3 installs? If you know you are getting a new computer, you want to deactivate the key on your old computer so that you free up 1 of those 3. You won’t do this if you are going to continue using the old computer — just if you don’t want the upgraded edition on there any longer.
So, to deactivate–
- Click on the Help drop down menu in the upper left as you did to activate.
- Select Deactivate License Key in the menu.
- Enter the details — your email address and password — and click Submit.
- You’ll briefly see the box above where you hit Submit say Connecting to Silhouette Server. Once it has checked with the Silhouette America system to make sure that’s the right info, that area will say Silhouette Studio Deactivated. Click on Next.
- You’ll see a new dialog box telling you the deactivation was successful. Click Finish.
When you hit Finish, the software will remove the extra upgrade features and take the software back to Basic. If you look in the extreme upper left corner of the software, you’ll see it now says just Silhouette Studio. Or, as described above, you can check in the Help>About drop down menu.
Feel free to comment below if you have any more questions about how to apply a upgrade license key to your account.
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