How to activate a subscription on your device

In this section, you will learn how to start using applications after you have purchased a subscription. An Internet connection is required for activation.

If you purchased a subscription from Kaspersky website

If you have purchased your subscription in the Kaspersky online store, your My Kaspersky account was created in the course of completing the purchase. My Kaspersky account is required to activate your subscription on different devices and to manage your subscription. You can activate your subscription by logging into your My Kaspersky account from the device on which you are installing the application.

To activate a subscription on your devices:

1. Check the inbox for the email address you specified when making your purchase. There should be two emails from Kaspersky: a receipt and instructions for completing the activation of your subscription.
2. Click the Go to My Kaspersky link in the instructions email to complete creating your account and to log in.
3. Click Download to download the application to your device.
4. Install the application.

When the installation is successfully completed, the application will automatically connect to your account and be activated according to the subscription you have purchased.

When a subscription is renewed, its expiration date will be updated automatically within 24 hours on all the devices that have been activated for this subscription and are linked to your My Kaspersky account.

If you purchase a subscription from the Kaspersky Online Store, the term of the subscription begins from the moment of purchase.

If you purchased a box or an activation card

If you purchased a box or an activation card in a shop, you need an activation code to activate the application. You can find the activation code on the box, in documentation or on the backside of the card. The activation code is a unique sequence of twenty digits and Latin letters in the format xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx.

The countdown for the expiration of a subscription activated with an activation code starts from the date when you activate the application on the first device.

If you have purchased an activation card:

1. Open My Kaspersky website on the device you want to protect.
2. Create a My Kaspersky account or sign in to an existing account.
3. Under Already have an activation code? in the lower part of the page, enter the activation code in the entry field.
4. Click the Add button.

   If the activation code was added successfully, the Subscriptions section displays the subscription panel.

5. Click the subscription panel.

   A subscription details window opens.

6. Click Download to download the application to your device.
7. Install the application.

   After the application has been successfully installed, it will be activated automatically according to the terms of your subscription.

If you have purchased a box with an installation disk:

1. Insert the disk into the disk drive.
2. In the My Kaspersky account connection window, create an account or sign in to an existing account.
3. In the activation code window, enter the activation code in the text box and click Add.

   The activation code is saved in your account under Subscriptions.

4. Click Download and Install to download and install the application to your device.
5. Install the application.

   After the application has been successfully installed, it will be activated automatically according to the terms of your subscription.

Your activation code is now stored in your My Kaspersky account. To protect a new device, sign in to the account and download the application. You can also manually enter the activation code in the application.

Activating your subscription if the application is already installed on your device

In this section, you will learn how to renew an expired subscription, add a new activation code to an application that has an active subscription to have it renewed automatically, and switch from the trial subscription to a paid subscription.

Your subscription expired

If you have automatic renewal activated, the subscription is automatically renewed for another term without your intervention. If you do not have automatic renewal activated, you must renew the subscription manually.

If you renew the subscription manually and you have previously added a reserve activation code in the application, when the current subscription expires, the application is automatically activated with the reserve activation code.

To renew a subscription:

1. Open the main application window.
2. Go to the Profile section. If your device is connected to your My Kaspersky account, your email address is displayed here.
3. In subscription information, click Renew now.

   The website of the Kaspersky eStore or one of our partners opens in the default browser.

   During the purchase process, enter the email registered with your My Kaspersky account. If you do not have an account yet, it will be created with the specified email. After purchasing and connecting the application to your My Kaspersky account, the subscription is automatically activated on the device within an hour from renewal.

You can also send the new subscription to devices from your My Kaspersky account. For details about sending a subscription to a device connected to your account, see My Kaspersky help.

If you have not renewed your subscription, the application may switch to limited functionality mode.

Renewing the subscription using a reserve activation code

If you have a new activation code, you can add it to the application to be used as a reserve code. When the current subscription expires, the application is activated automatically with the reserve activation code. This way, you can ensure uninterrupted protection for your device.

There are cases when you cannot add a reserve activation code.

To add a reserve activation code:

1. Open the main application window.
2. Go to the Profile section. If your device is connected to your My Kaspersky account, your email address is displayed here.
3. Under subscription information, click the three dots and select Enter activation code.
4. In the entry field, enter the activation code and click the Save activation code button.

The reserve activation code will be displayed in the Subscription details window.

If you enter a reserve activation code that was issued for multiple devices, you must follow the steps to apply the reserve code on all devices where you want to renew the subscription automatically.

An attempt to activate and fully verify the reserve code will be made when the current subscription expires, or if the current subscription is removed from the device. The application verifies the expiration date of the reserve activation code, the maximum number of devices that the subscription can be used on, as well as the compatibility of the subscription with the installed version of the application. During the activation of a reserve activation code, a connection to the My Kaspersky account may be required.

If the reserve activation code that you are adding has already been applied on this device or on another device, the activation date for the purpose of renewing the subscription using the reserve code is the date on which the application was activated with this code for the first time. To renew the subscription, add a reserve activation code that has an expiration date later than the expiration date of the subscription currently used by the application.

If the application did not automatically activate with a reserve activation code, you can activate it manually by clicking the Try again button. If the current subscription is blocked, you can activate the application using a reserve activation code by clicking Activate now.

You can also send the reserve activation code to devices from your My Kaspersky account. For details about sending a subscription to a device connected to your account, see My Kaspersky help.

Switching from trial subscription to paid subscription

You can use the trial subscription and all of its features during a short trial period. When this period ends, the trial subscription cannot be activated for a second time.

You can purchase a subscription for the Kaspersky application and switch to that subscription even before your trial period ends.

To switch from trial subscription to paid subscription:

1. Open the main application window.
2. Go to the Profile section. If your device is connected to your My Kaspersky account, your email address is displayed here.
3. In subscription information, click Buy now.

The website of Kaspersky or one of our partners opens in the default browser. During the purchase process, enter the email registered with your My Kaspersky account.

After purchasing, the subscription is automatically activated on the device within an hour from renewal.

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