enter product key on new purchase of visual studio professional 2026

Thanks for reaching out.

To activate Visual Studio Professional 2026 using your product key, follow these steps:

1. Open Visual Studio 2026.
2. Go to File > Account Settings.
3. In the Account Settings window, select “License with a Product Key.”
4. Enter your 25-character product key and complete the activation prompts. [learn.microsoft.com]

Alternatively, you can activate Visual Studio by signing in with a Microsoft or work account that has an active Visual Studio subscription.

Let me know if you need any further help with this. I will be happy to assist. If you find this helpful, Kindly mark the provided solution as "Accept Answer", so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

To enter a product key for Visual Studio Professional 2026 and unlock the IDE:

1. Install and open Visual Studio Professional 2026.
2. In the IDE, go to File > Account Settings.
3. In the Account Settings dialog, select License with a Product Key.
4. Enter the 25-character product key in the space provided.
5. Complete the prompts to finish activation.

Alternatively, Visual Studio can also be unlocked by signing in with an account that has an active Visual Studio subscription:

1. Select Sign in in the upper-right corner of the IDE (or File > Account Settings > Sign in).
2. Sign in with the work, school, Microsoft, or GitHub account that has the Visual Studio subscription.

For subscribers, product keys can be located or claimed from the Product Keys page in the Visual Studio Subscriptions portal if needed.

References:

• Extend a trial version or update a license
• Finding and claiming product keys in Visual Studio subscriptions
• Understanding the product keys offered in your Visual Studio subscription
• Visual Studio subscription benefits