Install and register WinRAR

WinRAR does not come from Lizensa. We deliver your licence. You download WinRAR from its maker, win.rar GmbH, and register it with the key file from your order. This guide takes you from the order email to a registered copy.

What you received

Your order contains a WinRAR licence. WinRAR licences are small key files. The file is usually named rarkey.rar. It belongs to the user name that was chosen for the licence. The licence term is the one named in your order.

Your licence is in your order email and in your Lizensa account under My Library. Nothing is downloaded from us for this product. If your order shows the licence as text and you cannot find a key file, contact our support before you continue.

Product pages: WinRAR, WinRAR 12 months, WinRAR 24 months, WinRAR 36 months.

Before you start:

• The download page offers the 64-bit version of WinRAR for Windows.
• You need administrator rights to install it for all users.
• Install WinRAR first. You register it afterwards.
• Keep the key file. Make a backup copy of rarkey.rar, for example on a USB drive.

Get the software

1. Go to win-rar.com and open the download page.
2. Choose your language in the list of localised versions and download the 64-bit version for Windows.
3. Save the file in a folder you can find again, for example Downloads.

What you download is the trial version. WinRAR has a 40-day evaluation period. Your licence turns it into the registered version. The licence is not tied to a language, so you can use any language version.

Install

1. Double-click the downloaded installer.
2. Windows asks whether the app may make changes to your device. Select Yes.
3. Follow the setup. Keep the default folder unless you have a reason to change it.
4. Finish the setup.

Activate

You register WinRAR by opening the key file with WinRAR. You do not type a key.

1. Find the key file from your order email. Save it to a folder, for example Downloads.
2. Right-click the file rarkey.rar and select Open with WinRAR. If a double-click opens the file in WinRAR, that works as well. If it opens in another program, see the troubleshooting section.
3. Select OK when WinRAR shows its message. A successful registration shows the message "This WinRAR copy has been successful registered". If you see "Registration failed" instead, follow the troubleshooting steps below.

If your order email contains a link to the key file, save the file first. If your browser asks what to do with it, choose to save it. If the browser saves it by itself, find it in the downloads of your browser. Then continue with step 2.

Check it worked

1. Start WinRAR.
2. Select Help at the top of the window, then About WinRAR.
3. The window shows your registration details, including the user name of the licence. Seeing them means that the registration worked.

If something goes wrong

You see "Registration failed". Install the latest version of WinRAR from win-rar.com and open the key file again.

The key file does not open. Check that WinRAR is installed. Then open Settings > Apps > Default apps, choose to select defaults by file type, and set WinRAR as the default for .rar. Open the key file again.

WinRAR still shows the trial notice. Open Help > About WinRAR. If no user name appears, the key file was not accepted. Repeat the registration with the file from your order. Contact our support if it does not help.

The user name in the About window looks wrong. The key file belongs to the user name chosen for the licence. Do not edit the file. Contact our support with your order number.

You lost the key file. Look in your order email and in My Library. If you cannot find it there, contact our support.

Still stuck? Write to our support and include your order number and the exact message you see.