Whether you are using DragonDictate, Dragon NaturallySpeaking or just plain Dragon speech recognition software these days you will know just how important it is to protect your keycode. You may call it a serial number but it’s the unique set of numbers and letters that make up a code used to activate your license and product. It usually starts with something like K609A…
In the days when you could easily find a boxed version of Dragon on the shelf of your local computer store, things were much more physical in terms of picking a box off the shelf and using a CD to install software using a special keycode found on the back of the disc sleeve. Having a physical copy was great because you could stuff it in a drawer but you could just as easily lose it.
Nowadays, the keycode is actually the most important part of the exercise. Focusing more on downloads with shifts in technology, you should have a record of the keycode in your email as part of your invoice or order history. Yet it’s important to reiterate just how important this keycode is because without it one can be put in a situation where they need to purchase a new license altogether. If your laptop goes missing, gets damaged beyond repair or stolen… all you need is the install software, a copy of your voice profile and that keycode to get back up-to-speed.
The keycode is used to verify previous licences, something that can become very important when one is performing an upgrade. It’s also important because while you can get the installation software again quite easily, you still need the keycode in order to activate your software.
Nuance was allowing for up to 3 installations and activations with Dragon version 13 which was convenient in being able to have your software installed on a home and office PC or on your own PC and that of a support staff member for transcription using your voice profile. Nowadays with version 15 you get two activations, which still allows you to have this benefit.
It’s important to note that when you uninstall a Dragon license need to be connected to the Internet. This will update their servers to restore one of your activations so that you can install again at a later stage. This process can be inhibited by antivirus software, so it’s not a bad idea to disable antivirus for 10 minutes while you do the uninstall to ensure that you retain that activation. You don’t want to get into a situation where you have used up all your activations rendering your software license void.
There are ways to restore these activations by contacting Nuance in order to free up the software license you have paid for but this can take many hours to resolve. If you find yourself in a situation where you have you have used up all your activations and want to get back to using your software, be prepared to share information in order to prove your purchase and machine’s unique fingerprint. We’ve assisted a number of clients who have faced similar situations and would be happy to offer the same service to you.