How to Change Product Key in Visual Studio (Resolve “License Has Expired” Trial Lockout)

When the 30-day or 90-day evaluation period for Microsoft Visual Studio (2022, 2019) concludes, developers are greeted with a modal lockout alert stating “Your evaluation period has ended. Please sign in or unlock with a product key to continue using this product.” You do not need to uninstall the IDE, rebuild your development solutions, or reconfigure SDK workloads. You can instantly unlock your development environment by clicking Unlock with a Product Key inside the Account Settings dialog, entering an authentic 25-character Visual Studio Professional retail license, and activating the software offline or online.

1. Method 1: Unlock Directly from the Expired Dialog

1. When the “Your evaluation period has ended” dialog appears, locate the link at the bottom right labeled Unlock with a Product Key.
2. Type your 25-character product key into the field.
3. Click Apply. Visual Studio immediately verifies the entitlement and opens your workspace.

2. Method 2: Change Product Key Inside an Active IDE

If your trial has not yet expired and you want to register a permanent retail key:

1. In Visual Studio, click Help > About Microsoft Visual Studio.
2. Click the Manage License button.
3. Click Unlock with a Product Key, enter your key, and click Apply.

3. Method 3: Automated Command-Line Key Injection

For automated enterprise deployment, inject the product key via the Visual Studio Installer command-line:

4. Step 4: Clear Corrupted Licensing Token Cache

If Visual Studio continues asserting that your license is expired despite entering a valid key, clear the local identity cache:

5. Frequently Asked Questions