Don't know about your problem, nor about "upgrade". But there are many versions available as explained in the thread "vmware-workstation-player-1761" - there is workflow that works for downloading.
You don't need to "upgrade", but just make a new install. Mostly likely versions 16.x and 17.x are versions that you need purchase, nothing 15.x isn't, but following those guidelines you get a full version for "personal use", if that is satisfactory for you.