Parallels Desktop activation key is not recognized by Parallels Desktop

Symptoms

• Unable to activate Parallels Desktop for Mac with a valid, correct activation key.

• Every time Mac restarts, Parallels Desktop prompts for an activation key.

Cause

Parallels Desktop activation key that is present in the licenses.xml file is not recognized by Parallels Desktop.

Resolution

• Unable to activate Parallels Desktop for Mac with a valid, correct activation key:

Note: Steps below are needed to restart Parallels Service and they are safe for your Mac operating system.

1. Open Terminal application on Mac. You can find it in Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal.app

2. Paste the line below into Terminal and hit Return/Enter:

   sudo launchctl stop com.parallels.desktop.launchdaemon
   

   You will be prompted to enter your Mac user account password. You will not see characters as you type it in, it is normal Terminal behavior.

3. Open Finder, go to /Macintosh HD/Library/Preferences/Parallels folder and move licenses.xml file to Trash

4. Paste the line below into Terminal and hit Return/Enter:

   sudo launchctl start com.parallels.desktop.launchdaemon
   

5. After the above steps have been followed, please activate Parallels Desktop again.

• Every time Mac restarts, Parallels Desktop prompts for an activation key:

  1. Quit Parallels Desktop.

  2. Open Terminal application on Mac. You can find it in Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal.app

  3. Paste the lines below one by one into Terminal and hit Return/Enter after each one:

     sudo launchctl stop com.parallels.desktop.launchdaemon
     sudo launchctl start com.parallels.desktop.launchdaemon
     

  You will be prompted to enter your Mac user account password. You will not see characters as you type it in, it is normal Terminal behavior.

If the above-mentioned steps do not work, please refer to the following KB articles:

Activation Key for Parallels Desktop for Mac is required whenever Mac is restarted

Cannot Start Parallels Desktop: License has expired