The six issues people run into most often when installing Workstation Pro on Windows or Linux, with the fix for each. Jump to a specific issue:
This usually means you are signed into a legacy My VMware account that has not been migrated. Sign out, then sign back in at support.broadcom.com using the same email — the migration runs on first login. If the message persists, you must be on Workstation 17.5.2 or newer; older builds query the retired entitlement endpoint and will always say Not Entitled.
Workstation 17.5.2 and 25H2 ride on top of the Windows Hypervisor Platform, so they coexist with Hyper-V, WSL2, Docker Desktop, and Windows Sandbox. If you see a "Side-by-side feature failed" error on first VM start, open Windows Features and ensure "Windows Hypervisor Platform" is checked, then reboot. You no longer need to disable Hyper-V.
The bundle compiles two kernel modules. Missing kernel headers are the usual culprit — install linux-headers-$(uname -r) (Debian/Ubuntu) or kernel-devel matching your running kernel (Fedora/RHEL). On bleeding-edge kernels, check github.com/mkubecek/vmware-host-modules for community patches that ship before Broadcom catches up.
Secure Boot will refuse unsigned kernel modules. Either disable Secure Boot in firmware, or sign the vmmon and vmnet modules with your own MOK key using mokutil. The Broadcom KB has a step-by-step procedure linked in the sources section.
You forgot to tick the Terms and Conditions checkbox, or the page has a stale session token. Tick the box, then hard-refresh (Ctrl+F5). If the icon is still inactive, open the page in a private window — third-party tracking blockers occasionally break the entitlement check.
You do not. The free version of Workstation Pro 25H2 has no license-key field. If a build is asking for one, you are on an older trial release — download 25H2 from the Broadcom portal and the prompt disappears.
If your issue is not listed here, check the official documentation at docs.vmware.com, or search the VMware Community Forums.