Activation Code

[lbbirds]

@mesquitebean 

Responding to my and your previous posts which I have pasted in below:

I still have my 2020 activation key and haven't used up the allowed activations. So I unplugged everything from my laptop except an external monitor and my USB keyboard and mouse, opened TurboTax Premier 2020 and entered my license key again. I then accessed the return I wanted to look at after plugging in the external hard drive I have the return stored on, AFTER I'd already opened Turbotax. Then I closed Turbotax and attempted to open it again with the external drive still plugged in. Turbotax asked for the license key again. I closed Turbotax without reentering the key. Then I unplugged the external drive and opened Turbotax again and it opened without asking for the license key. So every time Turbotax is opened it does indeed expect to see the exact computer hardware configuration the system had when the license is entered, including external USB devices. Kind of ridiculous in this day and age when there are so many external devices that aren't left plugged into computers all the time. No wonder so many people are having this problem. Thanks so much to @stevekayak!  

12m ago

Previous posts

@ lbbirds wrote:

Well that would be great if I actually knew what I had plugged in when I installed Turbotax. I have a USB hub with a bunch of ports on it and I often have a different combination of thumb drives, card readers and external hard drives plugged in. There is absolutely no way I will be able to figure out how to create the exact same scenario as when I installed Turbotax. 

If it's saying all of your license activations have been used, then phone and explain your situation to TurboTax Support and ask for a new license code.  After activated, make a note of your USB configuration and keep it on file with your license number.   If you use SD cards, that can also sometimes cause the issue.

Hours are currently 5AM-5PM Pacific (8AM-8PM Eastern) Monday-Friday.

You can use this contact form to get a phone number, or it may schedule a callback.
https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/contact

[lbbirds]

@ lbbirds wrote:

Well that would be great if I actually knew what I had plugged in when I installed Turbotax. I have a USB hub with a bunch of ports on it and I often have a different combination of thumb drives, card readers and external hard drives plugged in. There is absolutely no way I will be able to figure out how to create the exact same scenario as when I installed Turbotax. 

If it's saying all of your license activations have been used, then phone and explain your situation to TurboTax Support and ask for a new license code.  After activated, make a note of your USB configuration and keep it on file with your license number.   If you use SD cards, that can also sometimes cause the issue.

Hours are currently 5AM-5PM Pacific (8AM-8PM Eastern) Monday-Friday.

You can use this contact form to get a phone number, or it may schedule a callback.
https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/contact

[jimmythomson1947]

Your system just updated my 2020 Home and Business program.  Now it asks for my activation code which I do not have available.  I can not access my business taxes.  HELP

[VolvoGirl]

Make sure your computer is the same way when you originally installed it.  Like with no flash drives plugged in or plugged in if one was.  It asked me again so I just closed the program and took out a flash drive that was plugged in and tried again.  It worked.  Or you may need to connect a flash drive or printer or something that was connected when you originally installed the program.

[nunaya]

Using Turbotax Premier 2020.  I just had the same issue of asking for the activation code even though I had activated and opened the program a dozen times without having it ask for the code.  It turns out that one of the posts below mentioned having that issue when a flash drive is plugged in.  Even though my flash drive has nothing to do with where I save my turbotax files, THAT WAS THE ISSUE!  Very strange but at least it was an easy fix.

[stevekayak]

@lbbirds 

Glad you got it going......

[stevekayak]

@jimmythomson1947 

I turned on my USB-connected Canon printer to print out a Quicken Tax Summary and TT started asking me for an activation code.   I've been using TT all day doing different returns and jumping between different returns; I'll bet I've opened and closed TT thirty times today alone, with no problems.  Then, all of a sudden, it starts asking for my activation code.  Panic....., did some research online and low and behold......

Turned the printer off and got in to TTax again with no problems.......

TT appears to be using the age-old method of hardware footprint in determining how many computers you load the software on (a method Microsoft quit using decades ago).  When you first install the software, TT takes a 'picture' of your connected hardware.  Any deviation from that setup, TT assumes it is a different computer.  If, after successfully getting in and working in TT you suddenly start being asked for the activation code again, look at your hardware!!!  What printers or thumb drives or external hard drives, etc.; ANY USB DEVICES; were plugged in / turned on / not plugged in, etc. when you loaded the TT software the first time.  Get your pc back to that original configuration and you should have no trouble getting back into the software.

WHY TT TECH SUPPORT DOESN'T STILL OFFICIALLY MENTION THIS FIX WHEN SO MANY OF US HAVE DISCOVERED IT (see other threads along this same subject line) IS BEYOND ME!  IT IS SO SIMPLE, YET FOLKS LIKE @EbonyA , SUPPOSED EXPERTS, STILL DIRECT PEOPLE TO THE COMPLICATED, AND MOST LIKELY WRONG, SOLUTION VIA THAT LINK. 

KISS PRINCIPLE; Keep It Simple Stupid.....

Start simple and work from there.

BTW, use the @ feature to target/include folks in your reply; give credit where credit is due and if you need to ask a specific person a question, that is the way to get their attention.  Again, type the "@" symbol in your reply and a list of commenters will pop up.  Type or highlight their screen name, with no space after the "@" sign, and you can target your comment to them.

[mikelella]

The computer I used turbotax for 2020 taxes is asking me for the activation code, however i lost the box with code.  Tried calling to speak to a live person but just "AI" responses.  So now what to do?

[flag8rz]

I have installed the program to the point that the program has been updated and I have been given the success sign.  When I try to initiate the program it takes me to a blank screen with the words Activation at the top.  It does not have a place for me to enter the activation code nor am I allow to type on the screen.

[mesquitebean]

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@flag8rz wrote:

I have installed the program to the point that the program has been updated and I have been given the success sign.  When I try to initiate the program it takes me to a blank screen with the words Activation at the top.  It does not have a place for me to enter the activation code nor am I allow to type on the screen.

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Are you using Windows?  If so, a blank, partially-blank, non-functioning, or missing activation screen may be related to either a screen resolution or scaling problem in your Windows settings.

In Windows 10 to get to the scaling or resolution settings click the Windows start button in lower left corner, then choose Settings (gear icon), then System, then Display.   Or for a shortcut, you may be able to simply right-click on an empty area of the main Windows desktop monitor screen (not the TurboTax program screen) and in the popup menu choose "Display settings".

NOTE:  After you change the scaling or resolution setting as discussed below, you may need to close and relaunch TurboTax for the change to take place in that activation window.

First try the scaling setting.  In your Windows Settings do you have scale set to a higher value than the normal 100%?  If so, change it back to 100%. Once the license code is entered and activated, you can later change your scaling setting back like it was.

If lowering the scaling to 100% didn't help, then it may be screen resolution.  Try a lower screen resolution such as 800x600.   If that doesn't work, then try 1024x768.    If still not working, then gradually increase the screen resolution to the next level. Once you get the license activated, you can revert your resolution setting back like it was.

[mesquitebean]

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@mikelella wrote:

The computer I used turbotax for 2020 taxes is asking me for the activation code, however i lost the box with code.  Tried calling to speak to a live person but just "AI" responses.  So now what to do?

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Are you installing the software for the first time, or is it already installed, but when you recently ran the program is it asking you to activate again?     If it's asking you to re-activate, then you may not need the license code.  It may be due to a hardware configuration as described below.    

If it's asking you to reactivate, that can often be due to a USB drive or USB device that has changed since you installed TurboTax, such as a thumb drive, other external drive, USB printer, etc.

If you have a USB drive/device plugged into a USB port at the same time you are launching TurboTax, then unplug (or turn off) the USB drive/device, and then try launching the TurboTax program again. See if that solves the problem.    Or try it the other way around. i.e., if you had a USB drive/device plugged in initially when you installed TurboTax originally, but don't now, then plug that USB drive/device back in and try.

It can work both ways depending on what the system config was like at initial activation.

That happened to me one day when I forgot I had a USB thumb drive plugged in.  TurboTax asked me to reactivate, but once I removed the thumb drive, TurboTax launched normally.

Another user reported it can also happen if one inserts one of those tiny SD memory cards after activation, or the other way around if there was one inserted at the time of initial activation.

Even if you are able to resolve that with a USB solution as above, you should keep the license in a safe place in case you ever need it in the future.    You apparently bought a CD, and the license code should be on the packet insert inside the box, unless you saved the packet insert somewhere separately.  I don't know if you installed from that CD, or if you used the option to download the software from TurboTax.  If you used the option to get the download, then the license code should also be displayed in the Downloads section of your TurboTax account.

If you end up needing to speak to TurboTax Support, use this contact form to be assigned a phone number, or it may schedule a callback.

Hours are currently 5AM-5PM Pacific (8AM-8PM Eastern) Monday-Friday.

https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/contact

[jlstaley3]

Who you gonna call? Where do you find a number?

[mesquitebean]

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@jlstaley3 wrote:

Who you gonna call? Where do you find a number?

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What is your issue?  This is a 5-page thread cluttered with multiple users.

[bigdaddysonoma]

This worked perfectly.  I just spent 30 minutes trying to find an activation code, but couldn't.  Then I saw this recommendation, and unplugged my USB drive.  Instantly turbotax works.  

[cathydelva]

how get into turbo

[DoninGA]

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@cathydelva wrote:

how get into turbo

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This message thread has over 200 posts and started with a question concerning activation codes.

So if this is what you are referring to see this TurboTax support FAQ - https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-topics/help/i-can-t-find-my-license-code/00/852973