So I have been going back and forth with VMware on this. Seems like issuing a free upgrade is not going to be an option, but here is what they advise, which sounds absurd:

Thank you for your email.

The action plan is to download and install the 30-days trial version of WS Pro 17 which should not need any license for activation and also fix your issue.

Once installed, you can upgrade the hardware compatibility of your VM to Workstation Pro 17 by doing a right click on the VM-->Change hardware compatibility on WS Pro app.

Once we have an update on version 16, you should be able to unsinatll WS Pro 17 app, install version 16 again which should activate using your WS Pro 16 license. You will be prompted to downgrade the hardware compatibility of the VM back to version 16 but in case it doesn't, please right click on the VM-->Change hardware compatibility on WS Pro app to WS Pro 16.

Let me know if you have any concerns with this, I will make sure to reach out to you as soon as I have a substantial update for version 16 on this.

Have a great day!


Regards,