This error is caused by the Internet connection being unable to resolve connection to our server for license activation. There can be many reasons for this and they may not impact regular Internet usage and activity.
One of the following methods should resolve this issue. If they're successful, TurboTax will skip activation and open the starting screen where you can begin or continue your return.
If the product continues to prompt you for an activation code you have been unsuccessful.
Method 1: Temporarily disable your antivirus/anti-malware/firewall software
Method 2: Restart your router/modem
I've only installed the software on one computer. I've tried on the second computer but keep getting Error Code 603. This is ridiculous.
@krmeyer369 wrote:I've only installed the software on one computer. I've tried on the second computer but keep getting Error Code 603. This is ridiculous.
I don't know if this will help, but a user anecdotally reported this worked for him/her. It's quick and easy to try. This is for a Windows PC.
If you continue to have difficulty, unless you get additional suggestions in this thread, here's how to reach Customer Support during business hours:
Hours are 5AM-9PM Pacific (8AM-12 Midnight Eastern) 7 days.
You can use this contact form to get an incident number and phone number:
https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/contact
It always bothers me when people play at IT or I call it a doctor on TV. You do not have to restart your router or modem. Funny how everyone always says to do that. BS
"
Method 1: Temporarily disable your antivirus/anti-malware/firewall software Method 2: Restart your router/modem Method 3: Configure the TCP/IP settings Method 4: IP config command-line tool"
The only thing that has changed is the code that TT wants now that they use the activation code. This tells me nobody tested the new variable (activation code to see if there are bugs). If one registers it once, it should be on the server at TT.
The above will not work, now if you really wanted to know, take a data capture but I guarantee you it will be at TT end
It is a Turbo Tax issue. The app reaches out to the server and more than likely the code per your purchase is not staying cached.
FIXED !
I had this problem this morning and went around in circles trying to solve the issue.
After reading some other posts about external disks, I removed a 32GB USB blank but formatted memory stick in my machine and it worked...TurboTax fires up correctly. Put the stick back in and it requests me to enter an activation code.
I have tried it 10 or 12 times and removing the stick makes it work and putting the stick back in causes the activation code request.
This stick was not in there when I installed Turbotax way back last December.
Does anyone have an idea what is happening here
Alan,
You're mistakeningly implying this is totally a network issue. According to long troubleshooting conversations from problems activating the TurboTax 2019 last year, users are not required to reactivate at every single application startup if the initial activation was successful. You would think a year later and all the user complaints, Intuit would have fixed this problem by now. Yet, Turbotax 2020 has the same issue.
I've been using Turbotax since 1995. You've tried and failed badly trying this activation process once before. Many users including myself left for H&R Block back then. If you're going to continue this process, than do it right!
PLEASE get the developer on this issue and fix the problem.
Gary
I found out that the USB flash drive from which I installed TurboTax2020 MUST be plugged in to avoid the activation demand from TurboTax. Why did I install TurboTax from a USB flash drive? Because my new laptop does not have a DVD/CD drive, duh. I had to pop the TurboTax2020 disc into an old machine that has a DVD/CDROM drive, created an ISO from the CD, saved the ISO to the flash drive, then plug the flash drive into my new laptop and install TurboTax2020 from there. Now the same flash drive must be plugged every single time I want to use TurboTax2020. A damned bug from TurboTax.
Exactly. I got a new Windows 10 laptop without a CD drive. I haven't bought the 2020 program yet so I installed 2019 to test. I downloaded 2019. It installed ok, I activated it and it worked fine.
I moved some test .tax files over using a flash drive. Then when I started 2019 again it asked to activate again. I tried not to panic and just closed it. The flash drive was still plugged in so I took it out and started Turbo Tax 2019 again. It opened and didn't ask to activate! I bet that's why it recently asked me to activate again on my Desktop Win 8 also. I had a flash drive plugged in at the time.
In your case, the flash drive needs to be removed to avoid activation demand. In my case, the flash drive needs to be plugged in to avoid activation demand.
This is a BS answer. Just like so many others I have the same issue. This is a TT bug and needs to be resolved by them by elimination of the Activation requirement. We paid good money for TT, I have done so for almost 20 years. Installed on only one computer, activated properly and now can't access when ready to prepare my return. Time to switch to another vendor.
For me this was due to having a thumb drive plugged in and active on my computer. Once I ejected and removed the thumb drive all requests for Activation codes went away.
@atlmom2 Please see the steps in this TurboTax FAQ for assistance: TurboTax 2019 and TurboTax 2020 requests license activation at every launch
If you continue to have issues please see the link below to contact one of our TurboTax representatives:
There is definitely a bug in the product activation logic where can't deal with external USB storage correctly. I had installed Turbotax on my Windows 10 laptop and activated it a month ago. I opened the program on several occasions over the past few weeks and each time it updated Turbotax and restarted just fine. Today I connected an external 5TB USB hard disk to backup some data and when I launched Turbotax, it ran the usual updates but after the program restarted, it prompted me for an activation code. I searched the forums and found others experienced USB thumb drives causing them issues. I unplugged my USB hard disk and Turbotax no longer prompted me for activation. When I plugged it back in, the problem return. While I have a workaround for the issue, it's still annoying. Turbotax needs to include a fix in one of their frequent updates to the product.
Thank you for your input and sharing your resolution. We are interested in improving the customer experience for all of our customers.
@ cckc
As you experienced, I can also personally confirm that having a USB device (even as simple as a thumb drive) plugged in when launching TurboTax can confuse TurboTax and cause it to ask for an activation code. I had no trouble launching TurboTax for weeks. Then yesterday I forgot that I had a USB thumb drive plugged in, and TurboTax asked for activation. As soon as I removed the thumb drive, I was able to launch TurboTax normally without any request for activation.
It's common enough that I tell users that solution first. TurboTax is detecting a USB device as a change in system configuration and thinks it is a different installation.
It may also work the other way around, too, but I have no way to test it. For example, if one had a USB device plugged in when TurboTax was first installed, it might recognize the absence of the USB device as a system change.
same thing - 2019 asking for activation when new external disks are attached.
2020 asks for activation when the disks are removed....
what a mess turbotax! Even Microsoft abandoned tying their license to hardware long time ago..
The problem extends beyond USB drives. I have a microSD slot in my laptop and I had a microSD card inserted when I originally activated Turbotax. If I remove the microSD card, I will be asked to activate the product again. For my situation, I now have to remember to keep a microSD card plugged in but external USB storage must be disconnected.
@ ds--
wrote:same thing - 2019 asking for activation when new external disks are attached.
2020 asks for activation when the disks are removed....
what a mess turbotax! Even Microsoft abandoned tying their license to hardware long time ago..
It sounds like you installed 2019 TurboTax with no external device attached and that you installed 2020 TurboTax while an external device was attached.
In any case, it is unfortunate that TurboTax is not using a more refined method for system identification that is not subject to elective temporary devices that people commonly plug in and out.
Yep, I am sure thats what happened.
This is ridiculous - last time a major consumer company was doing something like this was Windows 95 and XP!
Thank you for responding to my question. I'll try them for sure. Regards,
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.
Turned the printer off and got in again with no problems.......
Learn something new every day.....