VMware Fusion licence key isn’t working

[Maxima]

I registered for VMware at the website in the flowchart, and on the Licence & Download tab the download package is for VMware Fusion 12.0. This version of the program didn’t work with my computer, as I am running MacOS 10.13 and Fusion 12.0 requires MacOS 10.15. So I ended up having to download Fusion 10.0 instead, from a different part of the website, as this is the latest version that worked with my OS. But now I am running into an issue where my licence key, as found on the Licence & Download tab on the website, is not valid. Is my licence key supposed to only work with the 12.0 version of Fusion on my download package? If so, then I don’t know what to do, as the 12.0 version of Fusion will not run on my computer.

[Simon]

The free license key is only for VMware Fusion Player, so the first thing to check is that you downloaded that, not the full version (which is not free). Check, and report back.

[Maxima]

Aah, okay yes I see that. I did have Fusion and not Fusion Player. But my issue is that the only place I can find to download Fusion Player downloads version 12.0, and I can’t find any way of downgrading that to 10.0. So when I download Fusion Player it just tells me that it can’t run on MacOS 10.13, it requires 10.15. How do I get the ealier version of Fusion Player??

[Simon]

It looks like Fusion Player (which they only made free very recently) only exists in version 12. So your remaining options are:

Upgrade your Mac to 10.15 Catalina – if you were planning to upgrade anyway, now is the time (not mid-semester). Some very old software may no longer work, so check that first if you rely on this.

Use VirtualBox free host software instead of VMWare. It is not as good but should work.

Purchase either VMWare or Parallels Desktop 16 for Mac. Look for education discounts (Parallels is £35 for 1 year, for students). In either case, get a free trial license first to confirm it works on your Mac and with our VM image.

[Maxima]

Hmm… I’m not sure if I can upgrade my OS, as my macbook is a little older than the oldest compatible model for Catalina, and while my model has had some hardware upgrades I’m not sure if they are the right kind to make it compatible. I guess I’ll have to try VirtualBox, and I will let you know if I run into any difficulties using this. Thanks for the help!!

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