Red Alert 3 serial keys missing or invalid? Problem fixes detailed by EA

30 October 2008

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Posted by:Ferry

If you bought the PC RTS Red Alert 3 this week, you might come across a problem when installing the game. With some copies of the game, the serial keys are missing or invalid. Here’s the official word from publisher EA on both serial key issues going on right now and the details on HOW TO FIX THEM…

SERIAL KEY ISSUE #1 – My key says it is invalid and I cannot get online.
There were a small amount of keys in the early distribution which were not pre-loaded in to our backend, thus that is why it’s tell you it is invalid. This is a similar issue we experienced during the Beta Test. This will be resolved by the end of today. By tonight, or at latest tomorrow morning, anyone experiencing this particular issue should be able to get online without a problem. Many of you may not even experience this.

SERIAL KEY ISSUE #2 – My manual has 19 digits instead of 20 for the serial key.
Answer: Visit the Command and Conquer Help page to contact CS to fix your key. — It turns out a small set of the first run of manuals misprinted the serial keys, leaving one digit off. EA’s Customer Support team has posted a simple FAQ proces at help.commandandconquer.com (click the link above) where you can contact them and they will quickly help you fix your key.

There’s also a quick workaround if you do not want to go through that process.
The last digit of your serial key will either be a number from 0 – 9 or a letter from A – Z. Using a quick proces of elimination, simply type a number or letter at the end of the serial key until it activates. There is a maximum of 36 possible entries, so it’s likely you’ll hit the correct number or letter before then. It’s not the most glamorous workaround, but its quick and painless and will save you some time from contacting Customer Support if you don’t wish to do that.

EA‘s Command & Conquer community manager adds: “We apologize for these two serial key issues. Both were absolutely out of our hands and while seemingly unacceptable, we hope you can understand. For most of you, this should not be an issue by tomorrow, especially when everyone starts getting online.”

Update: If none of the above helps you, then you should contact Electronic Arts by phone using the number found on page 28 of your Red Alert 3 manual.