how to download vmware workstation for free personal use

[surfspider]

I would like to downlaod vmware workstation player or vmware workstation for personal use but after "trade compliance verfication" I am redirected to the same page without starting a download or showing any message.

[David Edwards]

Good morning, thank for posting. I was having the same issue, but when I read your post I remembered there was a banner on the initial page that said they are doing maintenance today from 7am to 7pm EST. I assume, after 7pm this evening, we shouldn't have any issues downloading vmware workstation pro. 

[Edward Tippelt]

Account Verification is Pending - please try after some time.  What is "some time"? I've given it a few days but nothing changes when I try downloading the latest VMWare Workstation Pro for personal use. Had previous registered versions of VMware direct from VMWare but of course Broadcom won't have migrated that. Anyone have any solutions other than trying Broadcom chat after the weekend?

[MisterEd51]

I kept getting the same message "Account Verification is Pending" for months. There seems to be a bug on the Broadcom website. Nobody in support wants to acknowledge this problem. I finally realized if I get to the download by the wrong way the option to Agree to the Terms and Conditions is simply missing!!! Unless the box is checked you get the message Account Verification is Pending. However, you can download the Workstation Pro if you follow specific steps I saw in a response a month ago.

Go to the Broadcom website: https://support.broadcom.com/
Log in to your Broadcom account
On left select "VMware Cloud Foundation"
Select "My Downloads"
Search for "VMware Workstation"
Select "VMware Workstation Pro"
Select "VMware Workstation Pro 17.0 for Windows"
Select "17.6.1"
Select "I agree to the Terms and Conditions"
At the lower right click on blue arrow to download

[Edward Tippelt]

I followed these instructions but there was still no tick box to approve Ts and Cs.

I tried earlier versions and 17.5 offered the tick box, but even with this ticked, I still get the account awaiting approval message.

So would it be possible to grab a copy of 17.6.1 off anyone who has somehow successfully downloaded it?  eg via Dropbox?

[gaurav pitti]

bro it's downloadable only with corporate email adress

[yrona]

To solve this problem, you will have to open a ticket with Broadcomm.  It's difficult but doable.

The problem is that Broadcam is applying trade restrictions to downloads.  There are certain countries and territories that are sanctioned by the USG, from which Broadcom prohibits downloads of their software.  To that end, they only allow downloads from accounts that are verified not to be sanctioned.  This means that to verify your account, you need to supply your address to your profile.  However, they only enable that to users who are paying users!  So, if you are solely using VMWare Workstation Pro, you can't get a Site ID, which means that you aren't asked for your address, meaning that downloads are disabled!

I opened a ticket with Broadcomm support, and they took down my address and enabled downloads.  They claim that they are aware of this situation and working on a fix.

To open a ticket, navigate to your Dashboard, and invoke the user agent.  It took some doing, but I was able to get it to transfer me to a human agent, who opened the ticket on my behalf.  Alternately, you could email [e-mail].  The third option is to call  800 225 5224.  The important thing is to explain that you are trying to fix your profile so that you can download VMWare Workstation Pro.

[Densanki2000]

Same issue here, on my case I want privat download workstation pro with licence, but it's not possible.

[MisterEd51]

Can't you download the VMware Workstation Pro like I did? What I downloaded is same as the paid version. The only difference is for personal use I don't have to pay for a license. If I was going to use it for commercial use I would have to enter a license key I purchased.

[N_Tropy]

Hello MisterEd51,

Actually, no, you can't. Because the download button states: "Account Verification is Pending - ...". You cannot surpass that.

That's all.
I wish back the times when vmware was part of EMC². I have bought many licenses in the past via the webshop and even before EMC². I was a lucky (lomng termed) customer of vmware. I bought for Workstation an Fusion and they were costly, too. And I only use them privately. And still I did invested the money. I would rather die that pay to broadcom any time in the future, if they care that less for their customers.

And back then there was no stupid fuzz about account verification or something like that. I worked simply.

I did have hassle with broadcom on my work (in IT) in the past years and nothing has changed. Broadcom is no company to work with.

Sad, but true.

Kudos

N_Tropy

[MisterEd51]

I don't know what to say. For months I was getting "Account Verification is Pending" until I found the correct way to download VMware Workstation Pro from another thread a month or two ago. This is the file I downloaded:

NAME: VMware-workstation-full-17.6.1-24319023.exe
SIZE: 447 MB (469,691,640 bytes)
SHA2: F95429E395A583EB5BA91F09B040E2F8C53A5E7AA37C4C6BFCAF82115A8D3FA4

BTW, here is how I calculated the SHA2 using PowerShell:

Get-FileHash -Path "C:\Users\MisterEd\Downloads\VMware-workstation-full-17.6.1-24319023.exe"

Another way to get to the download is to follow the link in the blog post below. It saves a lot of steps. 

VMware Workstation Pro: Now Available Free for Personal Use
https://blogs.vmware.com/workstation/2024/05/vmware-workstation-pro-now-available-free-for-personal-use.html

Note it is important to check the box "I agree to the Terms and Conditions". Otherwise, you will get that strange verification message.

[N-Tropy]

No, impossible.

[RaSystemlord]

Now that it is Free, this question is mute. Within 5 minutes I was able to find and download it from 3 different regular download sites. Like softpedia and majorgeeks and techspot - not commenting on what is trust-worthy and what is not ... that's the same question with any Windows software that you load from the internet.

[Luzzitto Tupaz]

same here my guy. There's no maintenance today but I still can't download vmware workstation pro. I've seen some youtube videos where they download it with the option of personal use but I can't seem to see it. The records only show 6 types for Linux and windows and couple version back. but the youtube videos shows like 8 including personal use dropdown menu.

I hope they fix this soon. 

[Sunku Kwon]

I have the same problem.

When I click on the download button, it says "Account verification is pending. Please try again later."

I found the solution by downloading from the site below. Please refer to it.

https://softwareupdate.vmware.com/cds/vmw-desktop/ws/

[N-Tropy]

Hello Sunku Kwon,

First of all thanks for the link. First I thought it would help, but.... according to the "official" site the File for (I assume Windows for comparison purposes), should be VMware-workstation-full-17.6.1-24319023.exe (447.93 MB), the one from https://softwareupdate.vmware.com/ is only 245mb and yeah, the SHA256 and MD5 Checksums do not match either (how should they, if the length isn't the same).

And sites as softonic, well... the gave me Workstation 16.4 instead of 17.6... and 16.4 is what I paid for some months ago and is on my system.

BUT thanks for the efforts to all..

Kudos
N_Tropy

[N-Tropy]

To all try TechSpot it has the correct file, with the correct SHA256/MD5 hashes.

Kudos

N_Tropy

[Densanki2000]

Dear Community,

Many of us here, myself included, have encountered the frustrating roadblocks while attempting to download VMware Workstation Pro via Broadcom's download portal. After weeks of engagement on this platform, it's clear that the core issue lies beyond user error-it stems from Broadcom's refusal to address or even acknowledge our concerns.

Several users, such as Edward Tippelt, N_Tropy, and MisterEd51, have shared detailed accounts of their experiences:

• Endless loops of "Account Verification is Pending" messages.
• Missing options to agree to Terms and Conditions, which prevent downloads altogether.
• Workarounds shared by the community that still result in limited or outdated files being downloaded elsewhere.
• Private E-Mail are not able to build the profile, only allowed for business e-mails.

Despite these efforts, Broadcom remains unresponsive to fixing these glaring issues. I written multiple support tickets and e-mails without help and support. This behavior showcases an alarming disregard for VMware users-longtime customers who have invested significantly in VMware products over the years.

Broadcom's acquisition of VMware should have brought innovation and support, but instead, it has created barriers to access. The lack of action on Broadcom's part sends a clear message: VMware users are not a priority.

I urge Broadcom to take responsibility and provide a straightforward, reliable process for downloading VMware Workstation Pro. In the meantime, I encourage the community to continue sharing their experiences and workarounds while holding Broadcom accountable.

Together, we can push for the support and respect we deserve as VMware users.

Best regards,

Gerlando Caldara

[Densanki2000]

Valid download source could be
https://softwareupdate.vmware.com/

As tar archieve need to be unpacked to use the exe.
https://softwareupdate.vmware.com/cds/vmw-desktop/ws/17.6.2/24409262/windows/core/

[Mike Minter]

Densanki2000,

I worked at this a bit this morning. The file in your tar archive does not have the correct hash information.  I too was faced with the "additional verification" error this morning when I first found that there is no longer a fee for Workstation Pro if used only for Personal Use.  I originally used my VMware login and the password reset function to establish an account with Broadcom.  The first time I tried to download from the page it indicated that I needed to provide additional information.  I added my home address and checked the "I Agree" on that form and it seemed to work.  However, when I tried to download it gave me the error.

Just now, I used another of my email addresses to Register as a new Broadcom user.  This time when I filled out my additional information during my first download attempt, I changed my State/Provence do be "KS" instead of "Kansas".  This is on the page for "Trade Compliance Verification".  Then I was able to click on the download link and I was able to get the file "VMware-workstation-full-17.6.2-24409262.exe" and it has the correct SHA256 Hash and MD5 Hash.

I think you may have posted a file copy that had been renamed (which I believe changes the Hash) to not include the word "-full-".

Hope this helps others.

[Mi An]

Thank you. WTF. Why is this so hard? Holy shit, this website is trash.

[Technogeezer]

As a side note, did you call Broadcom Support or did you rely on the web-based tickets? I've found that for access issues they act slowly or not at all on web site generated tickets. A phone call to a "real person" noting asite access issues seems to gets much better response. 

------------------------------
- Paul (technogeezer)
------------------------------

[David Edwards]

I've been able to download and use workstation for a couple weeks now. As
soon as the maintenance was over, it wasnt an issue anymore.

[RaSystemlord]

I fully agree on the sentiments how bad the web design is ...

... however, a software company does what it does. The American Dream is to make more money - while it seems a failure, their business model might be a good one for them. In all cases, it is their preprogative to do whatever they want - I mean, in the current American Dream it is - not everywhere in the so-called western-world. 

Big players, like usoft and Oracle are showing the example - how to screw up numerous details in their software and not give a damn about any arguments. Examples are too numerous to even start listing them - their software design just doesn't make any sense in many cases.

Having said all that:

1. You need Broadcom for nothing to get everything running.

2. There are links in many threads to show, from where to get EVERY version of VMware - pro, player, fusion downloaded. It requires some lateral thinking how to browse using those hyperlinks. There are not that many choices and everybody can figure it out, if you just KNOW that you can get every version from there.

3. If we are talking about an old licensed version - just download it and use the key.

If we are talking about a new non-licensed version, everything's free now, I don't know exactly how they work and which version to download and where the really new versions are. I would expect the new versions to be in the same place and them installing in full-functionality without giving any key - somebody correct and explain in more detail if this is not so. I'm still sticking to 17.5.2, with my license key, and so far have seen no reason to Upgrade.

4. As for Upgrade not working - well, it never really does, except with miniature software or with very good software vendors. Obviously, broadcom-vmware and usoft are not those. A new install is the preferred method, if you are not looking for an adventure.

5. Now that VMware versions are Free, you can download them from "everywhere in the interwebs", just like you can download Notepad++. Just Google and select your preferred place. If we are talking about Windows - your computer is filled with "suspicious internet software", which you cannot be certain of. Now VMware would make no difference. If we are talking about Linux - too bad, you cannot download ALL your software from a trusted source, if you use those internet-download-places - well, you can still use the link mentioned above.

[Eric Ma]

Hi Support Team,

 

I would like to download the VM Pro Workstation for Windows but the check box for " I agree to the Terms and Conditions " was disabled

May I know my account needs to be verified. Thanks.

[Alexandru Capras]

Hi Eric, 

Before you can check the box you must click on the "Terms and Conditions" - don't ask me why, this is how it works now :)

 

[Eric Ma]

Hi Alexandru,

 

 

Thanks so much for the advice, it works fine to download the 17.6.2 by clicking the magic T&C, the 17.6.3 needs verification. Have a goods weekend.

Regards,

Eric