6.41 FAQ-671 What are Serial Numbers, License and Registration ID?

SN-License-RegID

Last Update: 12/1/2022

Back in the "good-old-days" Origin could be installed with a seven digit serial number and you were good-to-go. Now we have Serial Numbers, License, Registration IDs, and more.

What does it all mean?

The old Serial Number is still there and is carried forward as you upgrade to newer versions, but it has now expanded to include additional fields indicating the version, the product level and the language. Origin is now available in English, Japanese and German. Combined, the fields tell us what Origin you have - useful to the user looking for Tech Support or looking for an upgrade or a patch.

In a perfect world, that number might be sufficient, but when we found our software on servers around the world for anyone to download, we were concerned that we should do something to protect the product we develop and sell for our livelihood. The answer - though far from perfect - is a License. The License encodes the same information as the Serial Number as well as other computer information in a more obscure form (the Serial Number is stored as plain text).

OK. We've got the Serial Number for product identification and an encrypted version of that in the form of a License, but why a Registration ID?

The Registration ID is designed to be a 'Web Serial Number' – most of the Technical Services require you register your Origin first. Registration is completed automatically when you obtain a license from our website.

The web can provide additional information helpful to Origin users. In particular, the Online Help system and the Forums can be invaluable. On our web site you can create a User ID. You can login and edit your online profile as you see fit.