Turbotax Premier Stuck at Activation Window

[Jeff19]

I have TurboTax Premier 2019 -- installed fine.  When I tried to start it, it opened the "activation window" and its a white square with "TurboTax Premier - Activation" in the top left corner.  The rest of the window is white.  

What I've done"

1) turned computer on / off

2) uninstalled /reinstalled turbotax

3) turned off firewall / antivirus

4) Checked internet -- very high speed, and no issues with VPN, or accessing network.

Nothing has worked.  I called support and they said that I should be connected via ethernet for this to work.  Also to disable firewall.  (already done this).  They said nothing else can be done and to get a refund and try the online version which costs more.    There was no one other than the tier-1 support person I could talk to.

Any other solutions?

[mr_zhou]

I ran into this same problem yesterday on my desktop running Windows 8. After upgrading the OS to Windows 10, the problem is gone. Not sure if this will help you.

Also I did a search on the Web. The user JSBAIN on this forum posted the following:

"For those stuck on the activation step -- one thing that actually helped get past this step was to change my dns settings to override my router dns server with 8.8.8.8, or manually typing in your ISP's dns server.

I checked the logfiles found in C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\Intuit\TurboTax\TY19\ErrorLog and found an error saying:

2020-01-17 20:15:34,283 [1] 2019.41.13.203 ERROR Intuit.Ctg.Map -
   System.Net.WebException: The remote name could not be resolved: 'oauth.platform.intuit.com'
   at System.Net.HttpWebRequest.GetRequestStream(TransportContext& context)
   at System.Net.HttpWebRequest.GetRequestStream()
   at Intuit.Ctg.Map.Net.WebResponse.GetPostResponseResult(Endpoint endpoint, String post, Encoding encoding)

This led me to try nslookup oauth.platform.intuit.com, which gave one timeout error before providing the address -- probably an error in the way my ISP has my router's DNS settings -- it takes one bad lookup before it gives the right answer.   I think the TTAX activation software is not doing a retry, or just barfs on the timeout.   Manually going to your network settings /  adapter settings / Internet Protocol v4 settings, then under DNS, enter 8.8.8.8, or perhaps whatever your ISP's DNS server settings are. "

[LeonardS]

In some instances, temporary internet files can disrupt access to secure websites. If a page fails to load or you experience difficulties signing in to your account, clear your browser's temporary internet files, including cookies, cache and browser history.  Then close and restart your browser. 

[gaillaustx]

I purchased a Turbo Tax Deluxe 2020 Download today. I was able to download it. When I ran install, it installed Turbo Tax, ran updates, and then asked if we should run Turbo Tax. I said yes, the Activate screen came on and it froze. I deleted and reinstalled it, several times.

I have a brand new Dell Inspiron. When I went online for help, I saw many complaints the same as mine. And half of those said they had a new pc. So I tried installing Turbo Tax 2019, which I used last year, on my old laptop, with no issues. I did the same thing.

My wise husband began looking for what was different. After hours of fussing, he changed the display from 1920x1080 to the same as my old machine, 1366x768. It now works. I hope this helps others as well.

[tjburke888]

This worked for me.  Thanks to you and your husband!

Someone needs to tell TurboTax.  I will try, but I am not sure how to get through to their tech folks

[gaillaustx]

I tried notifying TurboTax also. They don’t make it easy to contact tech support about software. Just tax questions. 

[Rabbit51]

Also tried to activate on a new machine, unblocked firewalls, etc. but nothing worked until I changed the screen resolution as suggested and then no problem!  Thanks for this simple but brilliant idea.

[KEL5]

Thanks, I had the same problem. Your simple solution worked!  What a strange problem.  I was getting quite frustrated.

[RetiredEngineer46]

I had the same problem on a new Dell Inspiron 7706 2n1 with 2560x1600 display resolution.  It got stuck on the activation screen.  Seeing the hint to change display resolution, I tried 1280x1024 since TurboTax installed on my other computers with that resolution. It did not work on my Dell.  Then I tried 1360x768 and it worked.  Thanks so much for the display resolution fix suggestion.

After completing the activation, I changed back to 2560x1600 and TurboTax runs just fine.  Go Figure!

[jamesxa]

All i had to do was change scaling from 250% to 100%. It was tiny on screen but it worked. Thanks to those who found this and all the others who confirmed it worked.

[5string]

Worked! Same experience as others, with brand new Lenovo with UHD display. Seems like Turbotax could fix this...should have fixed it by now. I'm just switching after years with TaxACT and so far NOT impressed.

[nmc51]

Hi - I had a similar problem with TurboTax Deluxe, but luckily found a comment in an old posting that works for me....

If you have a flash drive installed, just take it out and restart TT....  why, it works I have no idea. 

Possibly fails because the system when I installed 2020 originally is not exactly the same as 'now' (I swap flash drives for quick backups every month, so the one I'm using now is not what was on the laptop when TT installed a few weeks ago).     That's a guess... but removing the flash drive works - when I forget, it prompts, I remove and restart and tis fine

[nyack123]

I had the same problem on my laptop from a downloaded TurboTax Deluxe 2020 and tried what seemed to be such a ridiculous recommended fix from this website but it worked: 1) Change your screen resolution to 800 X 600 (REMEMBER what it was before so that you can set it back after you finish). Have your 16 digit license code handy in case you are asked for it.  2) Launch TurboTax 2020. Hopefully, it will work.

[Phil7781]

Thanks so much to you and your husband.  Same deal.  Bought two new laptops for wife and me.  Downloaded Turbo Tax Premier 2020 on both and got hung up at the same white Activation box.  Your suggestion to adjust the resolution level worked on both devices.  You saved my liver because I was definitely being driven to drink!

[434570_03456]

Thanks this worked for me also.