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 Fusion licensing for 13.0.2 on Big Sur

human_v09's profile image
human_v09 posted Apr 07, 2025 03:30 PM

Need to (re)install Fusion on an older Mac running Big Sur. The latest version of Fusion (13.6...) which does not require a license for personal use does not support Big Sur. Older versions of Fusion that do support Big Sur require a license. I have 13.0.2 running on another Mac of the same vintage so I'd like to install this version but it requires a license and the link to get one appears dead.

I also can't seem to find Release Notes for older versions - following the link for the Release Notes for 13.5 leads to a generic page to search support so I am unable to determine if there is an older version of Fusion that 1) supports Big Sur and 2) doesn't require a license.

Is there a link somewhere to get to a personal use license page for older versions of Fusion or is there an older version of Fusion that I can install?

Help!

Thanks much,

Nitin

ps. The page for Release Notes for older versions of Fusion that I'm starting from is here

https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/desktop-hypervisors/fusion-pro/13-0/release-notes/vmware-fusion-136-release-notes.html#GUID-bc9dee1e-db51-4054-a8dd-95ea27d29bf8-en_id-874c0063-6fb8-4afe-fd19-9941748abff6

None of the links for versions 13.0.1 to 13.5.2 appear to work.

Technogeezer's profile image
External Moderator Technogeezer

Is there a link somewhere to get to a personal use license page for older versions of Fusion or is there an older version of Fusion that I can install?

Not from Broadcom. There's no good news for those that want to use Fusion on macOS versions no longer supported by Apple.

Fusion 12.x was the last version to support Big Sur.(per KB article https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/315635/supported-host-operating-systems-for-vmw.html )  Unfortunately Broadcom has removed access to product installers for all Fusion versions earlier than 13.5.2.. There used to be a "back door" to obtain older versions through their software update infrastructure, but those have been closed down due to recent Broadcom policy changes.

Broadcom removed the release notes for older, unsupported versions (pre-13.6) as well due to recent changes in their technical documentation site.

You're not only out of luck trying to get an old version of the Fusion installer, you're out of luck on the licenses. There's no way to get new license keys (free personal use or paid commercial use) from Broadcom for ANY version of Fusion.  

Unfortunately at this time you will need to search the internet to see if some other download site has old Fusion versions still available. It appears that Broadcom really means it when they say older versions of Fusion are "unsupported" - which doesn't make it easy for those not willing or not able to run the latest supported versions.