Fusion 3 Academic Upgrade

[Tomtomtom00712]

Hey guys,

I tried to buy an academic upgrade for Fusion 3 - this is supposed to cost $19. I have got a (commercial) version of Fusion 2 and would like to upgrade to the academic version of Fusion 3. However, if I add the upgrade and the academic discount to the shopping cart, I end up with the following:

1 VMware Fusion Upgrade from Version 2.x and 1.x to VMware Fusion 3

• Mac OS X

• Electronic Download

$39.99

VMware Fusion 3 – Academic Discount

• Mac OS X

• Electronic Download

$39.99

Promo Code:

Sub-Total $79.98

Looks like something went wrong, the total price is not reduced. What did I do wrong?

Best,

Tom

[Joseph_Strong]

The story is that VMware is having a horrible time with the actual mechanics of the site for downloading fusion. I think waiting a bit is the best solution. The portal is flooded with requests, customer support is flooded with calls...best to stay out of it and let things settle down.

[Tomtomtom00712]

...still not working. It's not related to the promo code issue (emptying browser cache etc.).

I am not sure how it is supposed to be. Do I have to add the Discount item and the Upgrade? It's not really documented...

[SegNerd2 · Accepted solution]

The academic discount worked fine for me. It looks to me like there's two things wrong with the shopping cart you posted:

1. I think it contains a full version of VMWare 3 (academic), not the upgrade.

2. I think you must have two of them in your cart - how else would you get to $79.98?

All you have to do is go to http://upgrade.vmware.com/vmwarestore/academicstore.html and then click the right button that says "Buy Upgrade." Provided that you don't have one of those "no registered serial number" issues like I was having until today (and many other people have struggled with), this will add the correct item to your cart. (If your cart has other stuff in it too, you can remove it.)

[Tomtomtom00712]

Thanks signerd2! You are right, my mistake. However, this is kind of confusing. The options are "get discount" and "buy upgrade". Actually, the full and the upgrade version are discounted, so I had expected something like "buy full version" and "buy upgrade". I thought I have to add the "get discount" item to the cart.

Anyway, thanks a lot!

Best,

Tom

[borisdusek]

Does that mean that it's possible (and OK w.r.t. licensing) to buy full non-academic version of let's say Fusion 2, and then buy the cheaper academic upgrade Fusion 2->3 to restrict the Fusion 3 to be academic?

[Tomtomtom00712]

If you buy an academic upgrade of Fusion 3, you are only allowed to use it academically, i.e. it does not depend on your version (academic or commercial) of Fusion 2.

[topcho]

Are you sure? I have a commercial license and want to upgrade. I am eligible to get an academic upgrade. However, the online store page says "you need an academic license to use the academic upgrade".

[cromagno]

I would also like to hear if others have upgraded from the commercial version of Fusion 2 to the academic version of 3.0. I am also eligible for the student discount but am put off by VM's wording "VMware Fusion 3 Academic Upgrade purchases require existing ownership of qualifying VMware Fusion 1.x or 2.x academic licenses."

Safe to buy the student upgrade?

thanks

Claude

[topcho]

I can confirm that the academic upgrade works on a commercial 1.x license.

[Tomtomtom00712]

I can confirm the successful upgrade from the 2.x commercial version.

[cromagno]

Thanks all!