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How to resolve "Unable to launch the application" message?
How to resolve "Unable to connect" or "Operation timed out" or "Connection Reset/Refused"?
How can I renew/extend my subscription?
Can I reset/delete my Qbank test history or start all over again?
When does a New purchase/Renewal begin?
UWorld 9111 Cypress Waters Blvd, Suite 300 Dallas, TX 75019
M-F 9AM to 6PM EST (New York Time) Fax: (972) 887-3296
Email Us (Support 7-days a week)
How Do I Purchase A Subscription From The Website?
Any of our product offerings can be purchased from our website with payment due in full at time of purchase via a credit or debit card with American Express/Discover/MasterCard or Visa logo.
You will need to register for an account in order to purchase any of our products. Once you have registered for an account or if you already have an account:
What Forms Of Payment Do You Accept?
You can subscribe to any of our online courses/services using a credit or debit card with a Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express logo. After a successful payment, your subscription will immediately be available for activation via your account on our website or available complementary mobile applications.
You can also subscribe via personal check, money order, or demand drafts taken in U.S. dollars. These types of payments should be mailed to us and should include the name of the subscription and the duration, along with the details asked for in the registration form. We will set up your account as soon as we receive your payment and notify you via email of your access credentials. All direct-mail payments must be in U.S. dollars and made payable to "UWorld."
Please send the payment(s) to the address in the Contact Us section. We do not accept cash via mail, currencies other than U.S. dollars, PayPal, or payments via fax.
What Is Your Refund Policy?
All refunds are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. One case has no bearing on another. Refund amounts determined by UWorld are final.
USMLE Step 2 CS, Step 3 CCS, Subject Reviews & Self-Assessment Exams: These subscriptions are nonrefundable, nontransferable, and cannot be converted into another subscription.
All Qbanks: No refunds are allowed for the first 30 days of any subscription unless the subscription has not been activated. Refunds are considered for subscriptions of more than 30 days. Refund amounts are based on the number of days elapsed since the subscription start date or the number of questions used, whichever amounts to a higher deductible.
Example scenario: An individual purchases a 180-day Qbank subscription and generates a few test blocks equal to 20% of the questions in the Qbank. After 45 days, he/she requests a refund. Because the elapsed duration is greater than the percentage of questions used, the refund amount will be based on a subscription converted to the closest duration (60 days) by deducting the applicable 60-day subscription fee from the refund. In the same scenario, if the individual had used 85% of the questions, the refund would be 15% of the subscription fee paid.
Note 1: A processing fee of 10% (minimum of $10 and maximum of $25) will be applied to all refund amounts.
Note 2: All refunds, pro-rated or otherwise, must be requested within 360 days of original purchase. Refunds for purchases made more than 360 days ago will be issued as nonrefundable store credit.
Note 3: Subscribers must notify UWorld of their intent to obtain a refund before activating their subscription (or) during the active duration. If the reset option is used or all of the questions are used, no refund will be allowed (see "I want to reset/delete my Qbank test history (or) start all over again, is this possible?" below for further details). No refunds will be offered for expired subscriptions.
Note 4: For combination package purchases, individual subscription fees will be applied when calculating the refund. If any self-assessment Exam(s) is utilized from a package, the entire purchase is rendered nonrefundable.
Note 5: Although access to Qbanks via certain mobile devices is provided as an additional feature, it is not intended to be a replacement for computer access, and no refunds or cancellations will be honored due to user inability to install and/or use the provided software on any mobile device (regardless of whether the device meets the minimum system requirements).
Do You Offer A Shorter Duration Or Custom Packages?
We do not offer custom duration(s) or combination packages other than those outlined on the website. Please refer to our purchase page for currently available subscriptions (including discounted combination packages for some products).
Self-Assessment exam subscriptions are for 14 days each. Subscribers whose active subscription(s) have not expired can purchase renewals from 7 days or more at any time before their active subscription expires. Please refer to the respective course description page for renewal options.
Can I Get A Guest Account Or A Free Trial?
We offer a demo on each of our product pages that contains a sample of the product interface and a few sample questions. We do not offer guest/trial accounts to test our software and view materials.
Can I Purchase A Subscription As A Gift?
It is possible to purchase a subscription as a gift for someone else. However, the intended recipient will need to register an account on our website (or have an account registered for them, with their profile information entered accurately). If the user is present at the time of purchase, the purchase can be made from their account on our website using any credit or debit card with a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover logo.
If the user is not present, or you wish for the gift to be a surprise, please contact Support directly using the contact form to arrange payment for the gift subscription. You will need to provide the user's registered email address so the account can be located.
Is The Information That I Provide Secure?
The personal information that a subscriber provides is highly secure and the credit/debit card information will not be stored after the transaction is processed. All subscription payment information is sent over a 256-bit encrypted SSL connection to the payment gateway.
When Does A New Purchase/Renewal Begin?
New Purchase: All new subscriptions go into effect from the time they are activated and not at the time of setup/purchase. A subscription can be activated immediately or any time thereafter. If your initial purchase consists of multiple courses (Qbank, Self-Assessment exam, CCS, etc.), each can be activated individually and independently via your account on our website. This process of activating a subscription after purchase allows you the flexibility to start a subscription when you are truly ready to use it.
We recommend that all subscriptions be activated within 180 days of setup/purchase. Once a subscription is activated, it cannot be paused or suspended for any reason and will run continuously for the duration of the course material.
Renewal: A renewal is an extension of time to continue access to a current activated subscription. Because a renewal is an extension to an already active subscription, it is effective from the existing expiration date, not from the day of purchase and cannot be deferred to start at a later date/time.
Note: All of our subscriptions are based on the Eastern Time Zone (GMT/UTC -5 hours or New York Time), which may be different than your local time zone.
How Do I Activate And/Or Access My Subscription? (Individual Or Combination)
A subscription goes into effect from the time it is activated and not from the time of setup/purchase. It can be activated from our website immediately or any time thereafter without any set deadline for activation.
If your initial purchase consists of multiple courses (QBank, Self-Assessment exam, CCS, etc.), you must activate each individually via your account on our website. Separate subscriptions, even those purchased together, are activated (and subsequently expire) independently from one another. No subscription will become unavailable or expire until it has been activated and runs through its full duration, regardless of the status of any other subscription.
To activate and/or access a subscription:
How Can I Renew/Extend My Subscription?
Please use the following steps to purchase a renewal for your subscription:
Upon a successful transaction, you will be sent a confirmation email receipt.
A renewal is an extension of time to continue accessing an active subscription, and it will not start the subscription over, provide a reset, or grant access to additional questions that were not previously accessible. Because a renewal is an extension to an already active subscription, it is effective from the existing expiration date, not from the date of purchase, and cannot be deferred in any way to start at a later date/time.
Please note that to qualify for renewal pricing, you will need to renew the course before it expires. Renewals are not offered to expired subscriptions. If you fail to secure a renewal before the expiration date, you will need to purchase a new subscription at the regular price directly from our website to regain access to the material.
Note: All times and dates displayed for subscription expiration correspond with the Eastern Time Zone (GMT/UTC -5 hours or New York Time), which may be different than your local time zone.
Note: If your initial purchase was a combination package, you will need to renew each active subscription individually. You do not need to renew a course that has not been activated.
Why Can't I See The Subscription I Purchased Upon Logging In?
This could happen for two reasons:
Multiple accounts in our system: You may have created multiple accounts on our system and are most likely using a different account. Please email [email protected] with pertinent details of your transaction (last 4 digits of the card number, amount charged, date of transaction, and billing address) so that we can look up your specific transaction to locate your correct account.
Expired subscriptions: All of our subscriptions are based according to the Eastern Time Zone (GMT/UTC -5 hours or New York Time), which may be different than your local time zone. Some users may assume that the date and time associated with their subscription reflects their current local time zone, when, in fact, it does not.
Unsupported mobile app: Complimentary Qbank access via mobile app relies on a separate app for USMLE, Boards, and NCLEX Qbanks. Mobile apps are not available for non-Qbank offerings.
I Forgot My Username/Password, How Can I Retrieve It?
Your username in our system is the same as the email address you used to register your account. Please use the full email address and associated password to sign into your account via our sign in page.
If you have forgotten your password, please enter your email address in the field under Forgot Password? to reset your password. You may be required to answer a security question correctly in order to set a new password without the password reset link. This security question will be one of the two questions you chose when registering your account.
Please note that you must specify your registered email address in the Forgot Password? retrieval dialog box as we do not send these instructions to alternate email addresses. Some mail servers may flag the automatic password retrieval message as spam; therefore we recommend that you check your spam/junk mail folder as well.
If you are unable to locate the log-in retrieval email (or no longer have access to the originally registered email address), please contact [email protected] for further assistance.
How Can I Change My Account Profile And Password?
It is critical that you keep this information updated as all communications related to your subscription rely on the accuracy of your profile details.
The username in our system is the same as your email address. The updated email address will become your new username.
You may update your registered email address by doing the following:
To update your password, fill in the required fields under the Change Password section.
Note: For security reasons, we do not discuss account/subscription-related concerns via a nonregistered email address (the email address being used to communicate with us MUST match the one in the profile details).
I Want To Reset/Delete My Qbank Test History (Or) Start All Over Again. Is This Possible?
We offer a one-time reset option with subscriptions that have been active continuously for 180 days or more. Once a reset has been used, a subscription cannot be reset again, regardless of the duration remaining on the subscription or purchase of additional renewals.
How Do I Reuse Questions With No Reset Option Available (To Avoid Repetition)?
If you want to redo certain questions and ensure that you do not have duplicate questions in subsequently generated test blocks, we recommend that you use the 'Marked' question mode.
Once a test is generated via the 'Marked' question mode, all questions within that test are no longer marked. Therefore, you could work through the Qbank or select individual subjects a second time according to your preference.
To mark a question, click the checkbox beside the red flag icon during testing or review (on mobile devices, tap the red flag icon to mark the question). Once you have your questions marked, you can then generate new tests using the 'Marked' question mode.
If you would like to generate the same questions in a new test a third/fourth/etc. time, you will need to 'mark' these questions again (as each time a test is generated via the 'marked' option, the questions are removed from the 'marked' pool).
Can I Save My Subscription Content To My Hard Disk Or Print The Material?
Printing, saving, copying, screen capture, etc. of UWorld Qbank materials is strictly prohibited. Attempts to use system commands or third-party utilities to capture/print/save/copy our content is considered copyright infringement and breach of Terms and Conditions. We monitor all user activity diligently, and repeated attempts to circumvent this may lead to account suspension, termination without refund, and/or legal action. All of our subscriptions are available for online use only. Any print copies or offline copies of UWorld products are unauthorized reproductions and are considered illegal.
Certain sections of your subscription can be printed for your records. These pages will be indicated with a Print option or printer icon.
Qbank & Self-Assessment exam subscriptions: Notes may be printed from the Notes tab. Analysis may be printed per test. Cumulative performance/score report may be printed from the Performance section.
STEP2 CS, STEP3 CCS: Sample patient notes from the STEP2 CS may be printed. Some reference pages that include a Print icon may be printed. STEP3 CCS Read-out (non-interactive) cases may be printed.
No other section of any subscription is available for print/save.
What Are The System/Device/Network Requirements?
UWorld products are compatible with most Windows and Mac laptop or desktop systems (Mac OS X 10.9 or higher and Windows 7 or higher). We also offer mobile applications compatible with Android, iOS, and Kindle devices (Android 6.0 or higher, iOS 9.0 or higher, Kindle Fire or higher). At this time UWorld does not support Linux, Chromebook, or Windows Mobile devices. Our full system requirements are available for review here.
How Do I Access My Purchased Subscription?
All UWorld subscriptions require an active internet connection. UWorld products are not available in offline mode.
Java client (USMLE Step1, Step2 CK):
Web client (USMLE Step2 CS, STEP3, Biostatistics Subject Review, Boards, NCLEX, MCAT, College Prep):
Qbank and self-assessment exam subscriptions may also be accessed via our companion mobile application available for Android, iOS, and Kindle Fire devices. You can find more information on installing the app to your device on our help page > Technical > Can I access my subscriptions on a mobile device?
Can I Access My Subscriptions On A Mobile Device?
Access to Qbank subscriptions is offered through our companion application for Android, iOS, and Kindle devices. The companion app is provided as a courtesy for convenient access on the go and is not intended to replace primary access from a laptop or desktop system. Refunds or other compensation will not be provided due to inability to access the subscription from a mobile device. Only Qbank and Self-Assessment exam subscriptions are accessible via mobile devices. Please verify that your mobile device meets our System Requirements.
USMLE
Boards
NCLEX
MCAT
SAT / ACT
Other mobile device(s): Our developers are aware of request for mobile access on other devices/platforms and are reviewing potential options and implementation scenarios. However, an exact time frame (or if/when a solution will be available) is unknown. Once an app is ready, it will be announced directly on our website.
Java: How Do I Install The USMLE Client On Windows (7, 8 Or 10)?
Java: How Do I Install The USMLE Client On Mac (OS X 10.9.0 Or Higher)?
Download Java for Mac OS X.
Update Java to the latest version (Oracle Java).
Java: Resolving "Unable To Launch The Application" Error
When connecting using different internet access points, or at times during regular use of the Qbank, the Java cache (which stores temporary files associated with UWorld's desktop clients) may become corrupted, which can prevent your subscription from launching properly. The following instructions will clear the temporary files from the Java cache and will usually resolve most "Unable to Launch" errors. This will not affect your subscription data, as it is stored securely on our remote servers.
If using Mac (OS X 10.9.x or higher)
If using Windows (7 to 10)
If the issue persists, please contact [email protected] with a screenshot of the Exception tab found when clicking Details on the error message. This will allow our support representatives to determine the cause of the error and provide further instruction.
Java: Resolving "Unable To Connect / Connection Or Operation Timed Out / Connection Refused Or Reset" Error
There are few possible reasons for this issue:
As an alternative, we suggest using a third-party DNS server such as the OpenDNS service to avoid future problems. You can find instructions and setup help for using OpenDNS on https://www.opendns.com/start/computer (this is a free service and does not require registration).
You can also try to access our services from an alternate internet access point while your ISP works on addressing the DNS lookup issue.
Java: Resolving "Failed To Validate Certificate" Error
This error usually occurs when the date and time on your system do not match the location of your current internet access point. For security reasons, your system will attempt to validate the security certificate for our application before it launches. If the system date and time do not match the expected value, your system will not launch the application.
For Windows systems:
For Mac systems:
If the error persists after attempting the above instructions, you may need to clear your Java cache. Please refer to the Resolving "Unable to launch the application" error section for instructions on how to clear the Java cache.
Java: Resolving Long Launch Time And/Or Stuck On "Authenticating User" Error
If your subscription freezes during log-in or will not proceed past the "Authenticating User" stage, this typically means that the client is unable to establish a sustained connection to our servers. There are a few possible reasons for this error:
If the issue persists after disabling security programs/web accelerators, and you have tried a different network, you may need to clear your Java cache. Please refer to the Resolving "Unable to launch the application" error section for instructions on how to clear the Java cache.
Resolving "BadFieldException[ Cache must be enabled ...]" message
This is typically caused when Java settings on your computer have either been updated manually or automatically.
Java: Why Is My Subscription Opening In A Browser/PDF Reader?
If using Mac (OS X 10.9.x or higher):
A Java update published by Apple has affected a large set of OS X users who installed it manually or automatically via System Update. The update in question uninstalls the Apple-provided Java applet plug-in from ALL web browsers. Please attempt the following to resolve this:
If the issue persists, please follow the steps below:
If using Windows (7 to 10):
This issue is most likely caused by corruption of your operating system's file associations (your computer is attempting to open the file with a program other than Java). To resolve this issue, follow these instructions:
Java: What Is The Proxy Option?
Most users should select the 'No Proxy' option. The 'proxy' option is only for users whose internet connection requires going through a proxy server to access the internet. If you connect to the internet using a proxy server, you should already have this information available to enter at the time of launch.
If you do not have the proxy server information, you will need to contact your network administrator for the proxy server and proxy port number. The proxy must be an unauthenticated proxy (meaning that no log-in is required).
Mac Os X 10.9.X Or Higher: Resolving "Unable To Load Java Runtime Environment" / Scrolling Issues
If you receive this error message, or if your Qbank shows visual glitches when you are scrolling through your test (such as text repeating multiple times or the interface appearing to "freeze"), please use the following troubleshooting steps to uninstall Java and the Qbank and then reinstall from scratch:
If you are still unable to launch your subscription after proceeding with the provided steps, please contact us directly at [email protected] and include a screenshot of the error message you receive when attempting to launch.
Why Are Images/Media In Questions Not Loading?
This problem might arise if you lose your internet connection while course content is being downloaded onto your computer. The test is downloaded on your machine while the images and media are stored on the server. Therefore, you may be able to move from one question to the next in absence of internet connection, but the images and media will not load. This is especially true if you are using a wireless (3G/GPRS/GSM/UMTS/CDMA/HSDPA/WiMAX/Wi-Fi) or dial-up connection.
If you rely on dial-up access, we recommend trying to access the course from a high-speed internet access point if possible. If you rely on wireless access, please disable the wireless device on your computer and try using a wired connection from your computer to your internet access point to avoid this issue. If the problem exists on a wired connection, then email us your username, contact number, and a suitable time to reach you by telephone. We will check if the connection is working properly.
Our qbank requires reliable and stable connection in order to download images and save tests while communicating with our servers. Wireless connections are great in terms of offering flexibility with connection but are quite unreliable when providing sustained and reliable internet connectivity.
How Do I Ensure I Am Viewing The Latest Version Of The Web App? (Clear Browser Cache)
Errors can occur if the website and/or web client was recently updated and an older version of the website/client is still stored in your browser's cache. Please see the instructions below for your specific browser to clear the cache.
Internet Explorer/Edge
Firefox
Google Chrome
Safari
If the error persists after clearing your browser cache, we recommend updating your browser to the latest available version or opening your subscription in a different browser.
How Can I Delete A Test Block?
Tests cannot be deleted once they have been generated. If you have accidentally ended this test block and caused questions to be marked as omitted, you can continue the test by going to the Previous Tests section and clicking Resume beside the test in question.
If you have made a mistake when selecting the Test Mode, Question Mode, or number of questions, this cannot be changed. If you would like to recreate the test in your desired mode to retake the questions, we recommend that you mark all questions in the test and then generate a new test using the Marked question mode.
Why Did I Receive An Incompatible Process/Application Or Screenshot Warning Message?
This is an automated email sent to a subscriber's registered email address when our software detects the presence of an application/process on the user's machine that is incompatible with our Qbank/Self-Assessment, or use of screen-capturing hotkeys.
Please disable the application before using our software by following the instructions below.
If you are using a Windows computer:
If you are using a Mac computer:
If you are accessing our software from a computer for which you do not have sufficient rights (public terminal at hospital, library, etc.), you may need to seek assistance from the computer administrator or use it from a computer on which you have full administrative rights. If you continue to receive this error after ending the process, this means that the conflicting program may be set to launch automatically or run in the background. In this case, you will need to locate the program in question, open it, and modify its settings so that it does not launch automatically or run in the background.