Activate a licence

A licence key looks like APE-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. It is entered once, and then belongs to that machine.

Entering the key

Open the licence panel, type the key, confirm. The machine needs internet at this moment — this is the one point where it has to reach us.

What happens next depends on the machine, and Licences explains why: with a security module the licence is bound to the machine and works offline afterwards; without one it stays online and the software checks in regularly.

A machine with no internet

A cell on a factory floor often has no route out. The licence panel then produces a request file. Carry it to any machine that does have internet, upload it to the licence portal, and bring back the answer. Nothing else about the machine changes.

Checking the licence

The licence badge sits next to the top of the window. It gives the state, and opening it gives the detail — what the licence allows, and, for an online licence, when it last checked in.

Moving to another machine

A licence follows the machine it was bound to, so a new board, a cleared TPM or a new computer needs a new binding. Ask from the licence panel: it produces a request that we approve online, or a file to carry if the machine is offline.

Do this before decommissioning the old machine where you can. It is quicker to release a licence that is still running than to prove that one is gone.

A floating licence moves without asking: Release the seat on the old machine, then activate the key on the new one.