Help Needed: Activating an Old NFS Carbon Key in 2024 – Why Not Me?

Hey EA Team,

I’ve recently tried to activate my physical copy of Need for Speed: Carbon Collector’s Edition—a game I’ve cherished for years—but unfortunately, I haven’t been successful. It’s incredibly frustrating that even though I own a sealed, legitimate copy with a valid serial number, I still can’t redeem or access the game.

I understand that NFS Carbon and other older titles are no longer available digitally through the EA store, but it’s disappointing to see that even original licenses like mine can’t be used. It feels unfair to be locked out of a product I legally purchased, simply because the game is over a decade old and the support for it has been phased out.

I’ve reached out to support, but I was informed that the serial number for the game cannot be redeemed to unlock a downloadable version because it’s no longer available on the platform. This leaves me and other fans in a difficult position—we’re collectors who want to legitimately enjoy EA’s legacy games, but the lack of support for these titles makes that nearly impossible.

I genuinely hope EA can consider bringing back these classics or at least provide a way for those of us with legitimate physical copies to redeem and play them. It’s disheartening to see such iconic games, especially from the Need for Speed Black Box era, become inaccessible to loyal fans and collectors.

Thank you for taking the time to listen. I really hope there’s a way forward for making these amazing games available again.

TR-BatuhanKara
2 years ago
Digital version still possible. Successfully adding old NFS on my library
Hopefully MW 2005 add library but 100% not possible. Not released EA Download Manager times
- Carbon
- Undercover
- Pro Street
- Hot Pursuit (not remastered)
possible with ea help generate cd-key and adding library

12 Replies

EA_Pulsar
Community Manager
2 years ago
Hey @RetroMavenGuy

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We understand that you are facing issues with activating your old game, NFS Carbon. Unfortunately, the digital version of NFS Carbon is not available on the EA store, so it cannot be added to your account. As is the case with some of our old titles, the serial number cannot be redeemed to unlock the downloadable version as it is not available.
EA_Pulsar
Community Manager
2 years ago
Sadly, it is not possible to activate the game on your new account, as there is no digital version available. Sorry for the bad news.

If you have it on a disc, you can still install the game that way.
aspirevvv
New Novice
2 years ago
This is impossible because the game's activation rights have been reclaimed by EA. The last time I know that this game was able to be activated manually through EA customer service was in 2014, which was ten years ago!
TR-BatuhanKara
Seasoned Hotshot
2 years ago
Digital version still possible. Successfully adding old NFS on my library
Hopefully MW 2005 add library but 100% not possible. Not released EA Download Manager times
- Carbon
- Undercover
- Pro Street
- Hot Pursuit (not remastered)
possible with ea help generate cd-key and adding library
RetroMavenGuy
New Novice
2 years ago
Thanks for sharing your experience and insights! It's good to know that some older Need for Speed titles can still be added to the library with EA's help. However, my experience has been quite the opposite when trying to activate Need for Speed: Carbon Collector's Edition.
I understand that the game's activation rights have been reclaimed by EA, but it’s frustrating that even with a legitimate physical copy and serial key, it’s no longer possible to redeem it. From what I gather, the last time this was even remotely feasible through manual assistance from customer service was years ago—perhaps back in 2014, as you mentioned.
It's encouraging to see that some titles like Carbon, Undercover, and ProStreet can still be added with EA’s help generating new CD keys. I wonder if there’s any chance that NFS: Most Wanted 2005 might eventually be included in this process, even though I understand it wasn’t released during the EA Download Manager era.
That said, it feels like an unnecessary roadblock for players who legally own these games. It would be amazing if EA provided a clearer path to activate or access these classics. Thanks again for your input—it’s great to hear your success story, and I hope we see more solutions for fans of these older games.
RetroMavenGuy
New Novice
2 years ago
aspirevvv
New Novice
2 years ago
Even if you have this game in your game library, you will not be able to play it normally because the game's verification server has been completely shut down in 2021. You can't even get into the game and play a single-player racing match.
Banerjee2004
New Rookie
9 months ago
@RetroMavenGuy You are undoubtedly correct. I don't understand why EA used to remove legacy games from digital store front also discontinue the support of old game keys, I don't understand the problem about bringing those legacy titles back on EA app store. Just rubbish thing and I agree with your statement. Many users like me willing to pay for old Need for Speed titles in unused physical copy and the redeem code they cannot use anymore, Which is definitely an worst thing in today's game companies. EA continues to release some of new rubbish games, so, why they don't bring back those beautiful fantastic legacy games like Harry Potter and Need for Speed titles. Worst thing faced by many users and gamers who love to play old titles. Because many old titles provide the nostalgia whereas modern titles cannot. Please make available 🙏 legacy games in digital EA store so, that we can buy the genuine copy of the game.
Banerjee2004
New Rookie
9 months ago
@TR-BatuhanKara EA should decide something to getting old games and distribute to many users. They should make available legacy game titles in their EA app. But I don't understand what kind of weird problem they have?
Banerjee2004
New Rookie
9 months ago
@RetroMavenGuy Same thing happened with me. I can't redeem Battlefield 2 Complete Collection, which previously used to activate in Origin or EA download manager.