I'm having the exact same problem!  I bought a copy through TechSoup for a non-profit I'm on the board and it times out during the activation process no matter how fast I fill out the information fields.  When I try and activate through the website it can't even find the product but I have an email from QuickBooks with the license code and product ID sent to the same email I used to log into the website with.  Of course you can get an activation code from customer support but ONLY during the high demand hours when you can't get through anyway.  So right now I'm SOL!  I wish I had know about Xero before I stepped in this mess!!!