Educational account verification denied by SheerID

[Anonymous]

My organization has used the same educational account for over 5 years to license a few students at our schools for Autodesk inventor. We have always just used the serial and product key for activation. This year I discovered that our account required additional verification. I secured a qualification letter from the school signed by the principal that met all the requirements listed for verification. It was almost immediately denied by SheerID. I completed their contact form which states it may take a few days to hear back. It has now been over a week.

I've contacted education community technical support to discuss the issue. I was told that Autodesk cannot provide any support in this area and that I must deal with the third part verification service. I've tried to find any other way to contact SheerID with no success. I even tracked down their headquarters in Oregon and tried to call (the listed number goes to busy).

I could really use some guidance for my use-case. I have Autodesk Inventor 2019 already installed on the affected machines. I need to be able to register the software for about 15 students. My serial and product key are not working (according to support I need to first register my product from my account which I cannot do because my account cannot be verified by SheerID). Just looking for some guidance on how I can get these students working again.

Is there really no recourse for people who's account verification is denied? It seems wrong that AutoDesk support is unable to work with these cases and help legitimate educational users verify their accounts.

[Mark.Lancaster]

@Anonymous 

There's not much we as users (supporters of this user base forum) can do for you as well.

Not sure why SheerID had denied your school but they hold/host the verification process.   Have you reached out to them via email?  [email protected]

Reference material: https://damassets.autodesk.net/content/dam/autodesk/www/industries/education/docs/verification-faq.p...

[Anonymous]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply. I'm not opposed to changing my strategy for getting Inventor registered for these students. Is there another way to go about it or should I just focus on trying to get my existing account verified?

[Mark.Lancaster]

@Anonymous 

In certain areas of the world, schools and students must be verified first in order to obtain educational (free)_ license.  I suspect because this honor system was abused for many years that it has lead to this verification process.  Without being verified you can't move forward with any other process of activating your educational product.  

[natasha.l]

Hello @Anonymous, 

I see that you started a chat with the >Educational Support Team< but there was no mention of the issue in the chat. Please make sure to reach out to them to ask what else can be done. 

In the meantime, I will reach out to them on my end to find out more for you. 

Please "Accept Solution" if a reply or replies have helped resolve the issue or answered your question, to help others in the community.

[Anonymous]

I can totally understand the need for verification. What I find unreasonable is that there doesn't seem to be a good way to get support when there is a verification problem, especially since this account have been used for over 5 years to provide educational access to Inventor to a few students each year. This issue is preventing access for current students and I have no idea how long I'll be waiting for a response or if I'll even get one.

[Anonymous]

See the full transcript of my chat below. The support agent told me to email SheerID (which I had already had done) and that he couldn't help. Then he closed the chat without giving me a chance for further response. 

Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:00:58 AM): Thanks for contacting Autodesk. My name is Aparna and I’ll be helping you today.
Let me review the information you provided—I’ll be with you in just a moment.
Me (5/26/2020, 9:01:29 AM): You were the person I connected with last time. Why did you close the chat?
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:02:35 AM): which chat ?
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:02:51 AM): with whom you were chatting ?
Me (5/26/2020, 9:03:25 AM): You. 5 minutes ago. You said you were reviewing my case and then the chat was closed due to no support agents being available.
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:03:28 AM): i have not talked to you even
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:03:38 AM): that is a normal notification
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:03:42 AM): which goes to everyone
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:04:03 AM): chat was not working fine so the server got disconnected
Me (5/26/2020, 9:04:13 AM): ok
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:04:30 AM): we don't disconnect anyone's chat
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:04:34 AM): issue please ?
Me (5/26/2020, 9:05:05 AM): Getting an error trying to activate inventor. I have a screenshot if you'd like me to send it to you.
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:05:42 AM): version ?
Me (5/26/2020, 9:05:52 AM): 2019
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:08:01 AM): give me a moment
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:10:44 AM): your serial number ?
Me (5/26/2020, 9:11:09 AM): xxx-xxxxxxxx
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:13:06 AM): Inventor Professional 2019 is unregister
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:13:11 AM): first register then activate
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:13:19 AM): please refer the email send
Me (5/26/2020, 9:14:05 AM): Don't see an email yet.
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:14:12 AM): wait pls
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:14:13 AM): drafting
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:14:17 AM): give me some time
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:16:38 AM): send the email
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:16:41 AM): see the email
Me (5/26/2020, 9:16:41 AM): Let me explain my use case here. Maybe we need to change the way we are deploying this software.
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:16:44 AM): line wise
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:16:56 AM): see this is the common case
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:17:02 AM): always register product first
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:17:10 AM): then activate the product
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:17:17 AM): other wise you will get this error
Me (5/26/2020, 9:18:01 AM): Ok. I need to activate on multiple student devices. Will I be able to do this after registering the product?
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:19:36 AM): yes you can do that,
Me (5/26/2020, 9:20:07 AM): I'm having a problem with my account as well. I need to submit additional verification of my educational status
Me (5/26/2020, 9:20:33 AM): I've submitted 2 qualitification letters from the school. One signed by the affected teacher and one signed by the principal of the school
Me (5/26/2020, 9:20:40 AM): both have been denied.
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:21:20 AM): ohh i can see that your eligibility is rejected
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:21:44 AM): please contact to this email id [email protected]
Me (5/26/2020, 9:21:47 AM): Not sure why. Both letters met the requirements listed by SheerID
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:21:54 AM): for this issue contact to the email id provided
Me (5/26/2020, 9:22:16 AM): I've opened a case with SheerID. They say it can take a week to hear something though.
Me (5/26/2020, 9:23:05 AM): I'm in the middle of image creation for deployment on all new student devices. I'd really appreciate it if there was any way to speed up the process
Me (5/26/2020, 9:23:23 AM): or at least explain why eligibility is being denied.
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:23:45 AM): i am sorry you have to wait for there email
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:23:54 AM): they are the only one who can support you on this
Me (5/26/2020, 9:24:45 AM): So you have a third party verification provider for your companies products and no oversight over who the approve or deny?
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:24:56 AM): want to inform you that, this is new verification process launched by autodesk where user has to verify his/her eligibility once user is verified user will get an email by sheerID team that you are eligible, and then you can use the autodesk products.
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:25:14 AM): they are the third party team yes you are right
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:25:18 AM): and they are the one
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:25:31 AM): who approves all this informations
Me (5/26/2020, 9:26:19 AM): And you have no control over who they approve or deny and you can't look up any more detailed information regarding the reason for denial
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:27:10 AM): no as i mentioned i am not at all
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:27:21 AM): the part of that department
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:27:32 AM): wait for the reply 🙂
Me (5/26/2020, 9:28:33 AM): Thats the problem. I'm on a deadline to get this software onto student devices. I don't have a week to just sit and wait for an email that may or may not even be helpful. I need to find a way to escalate this case
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:28:37 AM): please i can not help you in this
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:28:44 AM): i can help you with my department
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:28:49 AM): which i am doing
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:28:51 AM): not with there
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:29:00 AM): try an understand
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:29:43 AM): i hope you understand
Aparna A (5/26/2020, 9:29:46 AM): have a good day 🙂

[pendean]

>>>... this account have been used for over 5 years ...<<<
This is a new verification process that has removed any historical/previous approvals: it is starting from scratch. There is no need to state you used to have it, that is sadly no longer relevant and is not used for any consideration since the old system was heavily abused.

>>>...I've opened a case with SheerID. They say it can take a week to hear something though....<<<
You will need to wait: its only been two days since that reply you wrote, correct? Sorry if that affects your deadlines. Any reason a 30-day trial of the software is not an option as you wait for a resolution?

Good luck with your search for an answer in the meantime.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your response. I mentioned the age of this account because I'm a longtime user and have never had issues in the past. Had I received any sort of warning email that I needed to verify my account I would have started the process immediately. You are correct that it has only been a few days since I've contacted Autodesk support. However My account validation issue has been going on for longer. I will have current students activate the trial period for now so that their access isn't interrupted, but I'm nervous about getting this account validation issue resolved in a timely fashion and a little disappointed with that lack of support for this issue.

[natasha.l]

Hello @Anonymous, 

I have received word from the Educational Support team they will reach out to you via private message. 

It seems your institution's account credentials were generic, so they need to be specific (proper first & last name). 

Please "Accept Solution" if a reply or replies have helped resolve the issue or answered your question, to help others in the community.

[Anonymous]

Hi Natasha,

Thank you for your help. I was contacted via private message by Emily Steinglass with some steps to try. I'm still running into some problems. I'm not permitted to reply to her private message (says that I've exceeded the number of private messages that I can send even though I've never sent one before). I'm not sure how else to contact her. This is the response that I'm trying to send:

Hello Emily,

Thank you for you response. It was very helpful. I modified my account profile as you instructed and resubmitted one of my qualification letters. It was denied almost immediately. This was the message I received from SheerID:

Hi Diocese,

Thank you for submitting your documentation. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify your eligibility to access Autodesk products with an Educational license, and you have reached the maximum number of attempts to submit supporting documentation. During the review process it was determined: The first name on the document does not match the first name you entered on your verification form. The last name on the document does not match the last name you entered on your verification form.

This is the first time their denial message has mentioned the account name. Here is what the content of my qualification letter looks like:

1. (Jake Glessner) working on behalf of Greensburg Central Catholic High School

2. Greensburg Central Catholic High School

3. 5/22/2020

(Signed by school principal)

Looking at it now I realize that my profile name is Jacob Glessner not Jake Glessner. Maybe I need to get rid of the parenthesis in the letter too? Are you able to open my account up so that I can try to submit my letter again? It says that I've exceeded the maximum number of verification attempts.

Thanks,

Jake G. 

[Mark.Lancaster]

@Anonymous 

You can directly tag @emily.steinglass 

Also I will tag the @Discussion_Admin to see if they know why your private messaging has the limitation..

[Anonymous]

Hi Mark,

Thank you. I've tagged her on my reply.

[Mark.Lancaster]

@Anonymous 

For the future..  When I stated you can directly tag her (Emily), I meant in your reply..   Placing it as an actual tag is not going to inform her (or the person you're tagging) that you tagged them and looking for them to reply...   😁

[Anonymous]

Hello Emily @emily.steinglass 

Thank you for you response. It was very helpful. It looks like I'm unable to send a direct message from my account for some reason so I'm tagging you on this post in the hopes that you might see it. I modified my account profile as you instructed and resubmitted one of my qualification letters. It was denied almost immediately. This was the message I received from SheerID:

Hi Diocese,

Thank you for submitting your documentation. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify your eligibility to access Autodesk products with an Educational license, and you have reached the maximum number of attempts to submit supporting documentation. During the review process it was determined: The first name on the document does not match the first name you entered on your verification form. The last name on the document does not match the last name you entered on your verification form.

This is the first time their denial message has mentioned the account name. Here is what the content of my qualification letter looks like:

1. (Jake Glessner) working on behalf of Greensburg Central Catholic High School

2. Greensburg Central Catholic High School

3. 5/22/2020

(Signed by school principal)

Looking at it now I realize that my profile name is Jacob Glessner not Jake Glessner. Maybe I need to get rid of the parenthesis in the letter too? Are you able to open my account up so that I can try to submit my letter again? It says that I've exceeded the maximum number of verification attempts.

Please let me know if there is a better alternate way to contact you directly. 

Thanks,

Jake G.

[emily.steinglass]

Hi Jake, 

Thank you for your patience. I just sent a private message. Feel free to contact me and we can work together on verifying your account. 

Note your name in your account and on the uploaded document should be your legal name and both should match. 

Best,

Emily

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

All is well now. With some further assistance from Education Community support I was able to get our account verified by updating our account credentials to list my name instead of the generic one that we have been using up until now. Also got an updated qualification letter list said name clearly with no extra characters and resubmitted for verification after tech support set the account to be able to re-submit again.

I appreciate the constructive comments and assistance received via this thread. Have a good weekend everyone! 

[thierry.decker]

Hi, I face the same problem now. I need to install Fusion, Inventor and other programs on a new PC but was asked to verify my student status now. I uploaded my student ID twice as well as an enrollment certificate which have all been rejected after a minute although my name stated in the documents does not differ from the one given here, and the text was clearly visible. What's up with that @emily.steinglass ? I contacted SheerID and they apparently need a few days to reply, but I need to continue my work.

[leowarren34]

Hi @thierry.decker,

Does your Student ID have: 

▪ Your full legal name
▪ The name of the educational institution at which you are enrolled or
employed
▪ A date within the current school term

The last requirement is commonly missed.

FAQs

[thierry.decker]

Hi @leowarren34, the ID card has in fact the validity period on it, but I just noticed that it's one of those holographic stickers that can't be scanned. That's probably the issue they had with the ID, however I don't know why my enrollment certificate was refused. I'll try and send them a photograph of my student ID where the validity period is visible.