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Troubleshooting SmartPLS License Issues

Find the message SmartPLS shows you in the Licensing options dialog below and follow the steps. To activate a key for the first time, see activating a license key.

"This is not a valid license key."

SmartPLS shows this message under the key field when the key was not entered exactly as it is in your license email.
SmartPLS dialog "Activate Professional license" with a license key in the field and the message "This is not a valid license key."
  1. Copy the key again from the email with your license key, not from the order confirmation.
  2. Make sure no space or line break was copied before or after the key. Some email programs add these.
  3. Check that you chose the right license type in the dialog, for example Professional, and pasted the key into the license key field.

"Internet Connection Problem"

SmartPLS shows this message when it cannot reach our license servers at smartpls.com and nalpeiron.com. It needs them to check your license.
SmartPLS dialog "Internet Connection Problem" with the buttons Retry and Generate activation certificate
  1. Check that your computer is online.
  2. If you are on a company or university network, ask your IT to allow SmartPLS to connect to smartpls.com and nalpeiron.com. A firewall or proxy often blocks the check.
  3. Check the hosts file for entries with smartpls.com or nalpeiron.com and remove them. You need administrator rights for this.
    • Windows: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
    • macOS: /etc/hosts
  4. Click Retry in the dialog.
  5. If the computer cannot go online at all, click Generate activation certificate and follow the steps for offline activation.

"License is in use"

A seat license runs on one computer at a time. SmartPLS shows this message when the ID of your computer has changed, for example after a new computer, a hardware upgrade or a software update, or when the license is active on another computer. You can move the license yourself:
SmartPLS dialog "License is in use" with the buttons Reactivate license and Enter new license
  1. Click Reactivate license.
  2. We send a confirmation code to the email address linked to the license.
  3. Enter the confirmation code in SmartPLS. The license now runs on this computer.
To use a different key instead, click Enter new license. Changing computers on purpose? Moving SmartPLS to a new computer shows the whole move.
If you no longer have access to that email address, contact support.

"All seats of this license are currently in use."

This only happens with floating licenses: as many people as your license has users are already working with SmartPLS. A seat becomes free as soon as one of them exits SmartPLS, and SmartPLS tries again automatically ("Next connection attempt in … seconds").
SmartPLS dialog "Warning" with the message "All seats of this license are currently in use", a countdown to the next connection attempt and the buttons Exit and Switch license
  • Keep the dialog open; SmartPLS starts as soon as a seat is free.
  • Ask colleagues to close SmartPLS when they are not using it.
  • If this happens often, your team may need more users on the license.

"License expired"

SmartPLS shows this message when the term of your license has ended. Licenses do not renew automatically.
SmartPLS dialog "License expired" with a link to the store and the buttons Exit and Enter new license
  1. Order a new license in our store. See renewing your license for how this works with an existing key.
  2. If you receive a new key, click Enter new license and paste it.
To see when your license runs out before it expires, check the expiry date in the license dialog.

"License server is not available."

SmartPLS shows this warning when you use a license server in your own network and cannot reach it. It tries again automatically ("Next connection attempt in … seconds").
SmartPLS dialog "Warning" with the message "License server is not available.", a countdown to the next connection attempt and the buttons Exit and Switch license
  1. Check that your computer is connected to the network of your organization. From home, this usually means connecting to the VPN first.
  2. Ask your administrator whether the license server is running and uses the latest version (see setting up a floating license server).
  3. Check the server address: click Switch license and compare the address with the one from your administrator (host name or IP address and port, for example 192.0.2.10:16090).
SmartPLS 4 needs its own license file on the server; license files from SmartPLS 3 do not work. Contact us for a new one.

Still stuck?

Send us a support ticket. A screenshot of the message in SmartPLS helps us to help you quickly.