Licensing Questions

Getting started with a Blackmagic product? Ask questions here about setup and installation.
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stusic

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Licensing Questions

PostThu Apr 17, 2025 4:43 pm

I recently bought the Speed Editor with a license for Resolve Studio. I understand that I am able to use this on 2 computers, but I'm curious to know how it works if I need to re-install Windows or I get a new computer, etc. - is there a way to transfer my license to the new computer and remove it from the old one? I'll need to update my Windows soon, which will involve wiping my primary drive. Will this "use up" 1 of the 2 license uses I have?

Thanks for any feedback or advice!
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Charles Bennett

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Re: Licensing Questions

PostThu Apr 17, 2025 5:06 pm

Before you update Windows click on the Help menu in Resolve and click on Deactivate Licence. All you then need to do is install Resolve Studio and activate it with you key. For your second computer do the same. Install the Studio version and activate it. You can always have up to two computers activated at any one time. If you activate a third it will automatically de-activate the other two. You can always re-activate them.
Make sure you look after the Activation Key, and also keep a copy of it in a safe place. If you lose it you would have to buy another one.
Resolve Studio 20.0 B4 build 48
Dell XPS 8700 i7-4790, 24GB RAM, 2 x Evo SSDs, GTX1060/6GB (572.16 Studio Driver), Win10 Home, Speed Editor, Faderport 1, Calibrated Eizo ColorEdge CS230 + BenQ & Samsung monitors for UI, Canon C100mk2, Zoom H2n.
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stusic

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Re: Licensing Questions

PostThu Apr 17, 2025 5:23 pm

That's great news! Thanks for the heads' up on deactivating first. I really appreciate your help and am relieved :)
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Jerry Murphy

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Re: Licensing Questions

PostWed Apr 23, 2025 3:07 pm

I ordered Resolve Studio in December 2021. The software requires insertion of a dongle and it came with the Speed editor.

I understand I can have Studio active on two PCs. Is this possible with the dongle version? Also is it possible to exchange my dongle version for the "normal" version?
Jerry Murphy
South Carolina, USA

DaVinci Resolve Studio 20 Beta 2
Speed Editor
Windows 11 Pro
1) NZXT B760 Gaming X AX
Intel Core i7-13700K 3.40 GHz
NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti
BenQ PD3205U
2) MSI Creator Z16 Laptop
Intel Core i7 11800H, NVIDIA RTX 3060
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Ellory Yu

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Re: Licensing Questions

PostWed Apr 23, 2025 4:59 pm

Jerry Murphy wrote:I ordered Resolve Studio in December 2021. The software requires insertion of a dongle and it came with the Speed editor.

I understand I can have Studio active on two PCs. Is this possible with the dongle version? Also is it possible to exchange my dongle version for the "normal" version?

No. You can only use the dongle on one pc at a time. You can take it out and plug in to your other pc if you need to use the license there but you won’t be able to use Resolve studio on the pc you took it out from. You can use the dongle on any number of PCs but only one at a time.

I assume by “normal” version, you mean the software activation key. I don’t think BMD has a dongle and activation key exchange program today. But you can call your local support team and they can answer it much better.
URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, BM Pocket Cinema Camera 6K. iMac Pro 27” 5K Retina, 64gb, 1Tb SSD, 12Tb M.2 NVMe TB4 DAS, 36Tb HDD DAS, Vega 56 8gb GPU/ BM Vega 56 8gb eGPU, MacOS Sequoia, Resolve 19.1.1 Studio. BM Panel & Speed Editor. Dual Display setup.
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aizahaider

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Re: Licensing Questions

PostFri Apr 25, 2025 10:25 am

i also want to know
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Redaktore

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Re: Licensing Questions

PostMon Apr 28, 2025 7:28 pm

Charles Bennett wrote:Before you update Windows click on the Help menu in Resolve and click on Deactivate Licence. All you then need to do is install Resolve Studio and activate it with you key. For your second computer do the same. Install the Studio version and activate it. You can always have up to two computers activated at any one time. If you activate a third it will automatically de-activate the other two. You can always re-activate them.
Make sure you look after the Activation Key, and also keep a copy of it in a safe place. If you lose it you would have to buy another one.


Does this mean that I can deactivate to move access from one computer to another? If I got one main pc with Studio all the time, and two laptops that I can change between by deactivate one and activat the other limitless times?

Tore Myrberg, Norway
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Ellory Yu

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Re: Licensing Questions

PostTue Apr 29, 2025 12:19 am

Redaktore wrote:
Charles Bennett wrote:Before you update Windows click on the Help menu in Resolve and click on Deactivate Licence. All you then need to do is install Resolve Studio and activate it with you key. For your second computer do the same. Install the Studio version and activate it. You can always have up to two computers activated at any one time. If you activate a third it will automatically de-activate the other two. You can always re-activate them.
Make sure you look after the Activation Key, and also keep a copy of it in a safe place. If you lose it you would have to buy another one.


Does this mean that I can deactivate to move access from one computer to another? If I got one main pc with Studio all the time, and two laptops that I can change between by deactivate one and activat the other limitless times?

Tore Myrberg, Norway


Yes. Actually, if you activate the key on a third computer, BM deactivates one of the registered keys automatically. With your setup, it might deactivate your main pc or the laptop that’s already activated. A suggestion is to buy a dongle and an activation key. Put the dongle on your Main PC and use the activation keys on your two laptops. This way you’ll always have all computer Studio activated.
URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, BM Pocket Cinema Camera 6K. iMac Pro 27” 5K Retina, 64gb, 1Tb SSD, 12Tb M.2 NVMe TB4 DAS, 36Tb HDD DAS, Vega 56 8gb GPU/ BM Vega 56 8gb eGPU, MacOS Sequoia, Resolve 19.1.1 Studio. BM Panel & Speed Editor. Dual Display setup.
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Shrinivas Ramani

Blackmagic Design

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Re: Licensing Questions

PostWed Apr 30, 2025 1:46 am

You have three options to activate a license for DaVinci Resolve Studio:
  • Activation keys - personal licenses meant for up to 2 simultaneous devices for the same user.
  • Dongles - hardware devices to activate 1 device, capable of activating and working offline.
  • Blackmagic Cloud Rental licenses - connected to your Blackmagic Cloud Id and plan. Flexible, integrates with other Blackmagic Cloud offerings, requires login in to Blackmagic Cloud from DaVinci Resolve Studio.
Please look through the FAQs on Studio and licensing - this should answer most of your questions.

If you have an activation key with two devices activated and wish to swap/upgrade one of them to a new system, do not rely on the automatic license reset. Instead, launch the application, select the Help menu and deactivate the license explicitly. DaVinci Resolve Studio will redeem the license and exit. You can now enter the key on the new system.

Please make sure to retain both the activation key and serial number of the card - you will need both to avail of Blackmagic Design support.
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Ellory Yu

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Re: Licensing Questions

PostWed Apr 30, 2025 5:50 am

There a bit of confusion as to some statements about license activation. It is understood that to activate or deactivate the software license key you need to be connected to the internet. There are statements that say you have to always be connected to the internet if you’re using the software key and if don’t then buy the dongle. There are also other statements that you only need to have the computer connected to the internet to activate or deactivate the license. Once you’ve activated, the computer doesn’t need to be connected to the internet anymore. So dear BM, which is the correct statement?
URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, BM Pocket Cinema Camera 6K. iMac Pro 27” 5K Retina, 64gb, 1Tb SSD, 12Tb M.2 NVMe TB4 DAS, 36Tb HDD DAS, Vega 56 8gb GPU/ BM Vega 56 8gb eGPU, MacOS Sequoia, Resolve 19.1.1 Studio. BM Panel & Speed Editor. Dual Display setup.

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