Why can't I activate Capture One? – Capture One

QUESTION

When trying to activate Capture One, an error message appears. What should I do to activate the software?

ANSWER

There might be several reasons indicating why Capture One can't be activated.

1. You are trying to activate software offline with a subscription license. Otherwise, you are trying to activate Capture One trial or Capture One Express offline as well.

In such cases, you need to activate Capture One online.

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2. When you get the error stating "Activation Limit Exceeded", that means that the limit of available activations for your license has been reached.

Check this page to see how many computers can you install Capture One on depending on your license type.

In case you need to free up some activation seats, check the detailed instructions on license deactivation.

3. When you get the error "License key is disabled", it usually means that you are using an old key to activate a newer version of Capture One. Also, in the cases when you got the license key for the latest version, you should also use it to activate the previous software versions such as Capture One 12, 11, etc.

4. When you got such errors as "Could not query profile...", "Unable to reach the activation server", "License code could not be verified by the server...", or other server-related issues, please follow the steps below:

Make sure you are connected to the internet. Typically, disconnecting and reconnecting your internet connection should resolve it. In some cases, it will require a full router reset (this will refresh the DNS used);
Make sure you are not using a VPN connection when activating Capture One. VPNs can also cause some confusion when trying to access the activation server. You should refrain from using VPNs when activating Capture One;
Investigate whether your firewall isn't blocking Capture One's request. Whitelist CaptureOne.exe from any firewall applications that might be blocking the connection;
Open a browser window, and go to https://activation.phaseone.com/Errors/ServiceStatus.aspx
where you should see the following: "Activation service is alive". If the connection to the server fails, it will give a 404 or another error;
Uninstall and reinstall the application;
Check your hosts file, please refer to this article;
If something is still blocking your connection, try renaming the file from Capture One 20.app to Capture One 20.1.app

5. In the cases when you get an error message indicating that your profile is incorrect, it usually means that the credentials you are using to activate the license are not matching the profile at captureone.com associated with that license. Thus, you have to correctly enter your e-mail address and password associated with that license (used during the first activation). If you do not have a profile at captureone.com yet, check this article on how to create a profile on the website.

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