# Activate a device > Activate Curtains on a Mac at curtains.app/activate after you buy. Source: https://curtains.app/help/activate-a-device/ After you buy a plan, you activate Curtains on each Mac from Studio and your browser, and Curtains then checks your plan on the Mac itself. ## Before you start You need a Pro, Lifetime or Pro for teams plan on your account. Curtains already works on Free, and during the 14-day trial, without any of this. Activation covers one device at a time, up to three per person. See [Devices](https://curtains.app/help/devices/). ## Activate this Mac ## 1. Open Account in Studio Click the plan item at the bottom of Studio's left rail. It reads **Trial**, **Free**, **Pro**, **Lifetime**, **Team** or **Renew**. The **Account** page opens. *Image: Studio's Account page actions on the Free plan: Upgrade, Sign in and Paste pass buttons, and the note “Signing in happens in your browser. Curtains gets your pass back from curtains.app and checks it on this device.”* ## 2. Click Sign in Click **Sign in**. If you haven't bought a plan yet, **Upgrade** opens the same page. Your browser opens **curtains.app/activate**. The link carries your Mac's name and a one-time code in its fragment, so neither reaches the server's logs. ## 3. Sign in on the website If you're not signed in, enter your email address. curtains.app emails you a link. There are no passwords. The link works once and expires in 15 minutes. It brings you back to the activation page. ## 4. Click Activate this Mac The page shows your account, your plan and your Mac's name. Click **Activate this Mac**. If you're on a PC, it says **Activate this PC**. ## 5. Let your browser open Curtains Your browser may ask whether to open Curtains. Allow it. Curtains comes to the front and shows your plan. You're done. You do this once per Mac. Curtains keeps the pass in the macOS keychain, and checks it without going online. ## If Curtains doesn't open Some browsers block the link back to the app. The page then shows your pass as text, with a **Copy pass** button. ## 1. Copy the pass Click **Copy pass** on the page. You can also click **Open Curtains again** to try the link once more. ## 2. Paste it in Studio Open the **Account** page in Studio and click **Paste pass**. Paste the pass into the box, then click **Activate**. *Image: Studio's Account page with Paste pass open: a box labeled “Pass from curtains.app” with the placeholder “Paste the pass here,” the note “Passes are checked on this device. Nothing is sent over the network,” and an Activate button.* The pass is checked on your Mac. Nothing is sent over the network when you paste it. ## When the page says something else - **You're on Free.** The account you signed in with has no paid plan, so there is nothing to activate. Click **See plans**. If you just bought one, click **I just bought a plan, check again**. Make sure you signed in with the email you used to buy. - **This account has all its devices.** Remove a device on the page to make room, then activate this one. See [Devices](https://curtains.app/help/devices/). - **This plan is no longer active.** The purchase was refunded or has ended, so it can't activate more devices. Devices that are already activated keep working until their pass runs out. - **Start from Curtains.** You opened the page without the details Curtains sends. Go back to Studio's Account page and click **Sign in**. The code Curtains sends works once and lasts 15 minutes. If it has expired, start again from Studio. ## Renew When a Pro or Pro for teams pass needs renewing, the Account page shows **Renew**. It uses the same steps, and the page says **Renew this Mac**. If your browser is still signed in, it's one click. See [Billing and renewals](https://curtains.app/help/billing-and-renewals/). ## Related - [Devices](https://curtains.app/help/devices/): the limit of three, and removing a device. - [Plans](https://curtains.app/help/plans/): what each plan includes. - [Troubleshooting](https://curtains.app/help/troubleshooting/): activation problems and error messages.