License Activation and Management

This page contains solutions to common License Activation errors, and other License Management issues.

See our License Management Guide for full instructions on activating your license and How the LightBurn License Works for details on licensing terms.

Invalid License Key

Your license key has been entered into LightBurn incorrectly. To avoid typos when entering your key into LightBurn, we strongly recommend copying and pasting the key directly from your original order email.

Highlight the key and press Ctrl/Cmd + C to copy it, then click in the License Key field in the License Management window in LightBurn, and press Ctrl/Cmd + V to paste it.

If you must type your key manually, take care to follow the exact formatting of the original key, including dashes. The letter O is never used in a LightBurn license — enter the number 0 instead.

System Time Incorrect

Your computer's system time is inaccurate, most likely because it is not set to sync automatically.

If you're using Windows, right-click on the clock on your toolbar, click Adjust date / time, then make sure Set time automatically is enabled. If it is, click the Sync now button as well.

If you're using a Mac, go to System Settings → Date and Time and enable Set time and date automatically.

Failed to Connect to the Server

LightBurn was unable to connect to our license server to verify your key. Make sure your computer is connected to the internet.

If you are certain your computer is connected to the internet but you are receiving this error message, your network may be restricting LightBurn's ability to connect to our license server.

If you are using a Firewall or have any other restrictions in place, try temporarily disabling them. LightBurn only needs to connect once in order to activate a license.

To permit access without disabling restrictions, whitelist api.cryptlex.com for port 443.

It is also possible to configure LightBurn to access the network through a proxy. You can append the proxy connection address using -p ProxyString.

The proxy format is:

[protocol://][username:password@]machine[:port]

Examples of valid proxy strings:

http://127.0.0.1:8000/
http://user:pass@127.0.0.1:8000/
socks5://127.0.0.1:8000/

If you are still unable to connect, use our Offline Activation process instead. For full instructions, see License Management: Offline Activation.

Note

Offline activation does not work with Trial Keys. LightBurn must connect to the internet once in order to activate the Trial Key, after which you are free to take your computer offline again.

Activation Limit

You have used up the maximum amount of simultaneously allowed activations for your key. Deactivate LightBurn from an unused computer by opening LightBurn on that computer and clicking Deactivate License in the License Management window, or log in to our License Management Portal to manage your activations there. For full instructions on using the License Management Portal, see License Management.

A LightBurn license comes with 3 allowed activations (seats) by default. If you'd like to activate LightBurn on additional computers simultaneously, you can purchase additional seats for your key here.

Deactivation Limit

LightBurn limits the amount of times a license key can be deactivated, to discourage sharing or other misuses of the key. If you reach this limit, contact us at support@lightburnsoftware.com to request an increase to your limit.

Unable to Access the License Portal

See License Management for full instructions on accessing the License Portal.

Select United States as your region in the upper-right corner of the License Portal login page, regardless of your location, or our License Management server may fail to send the password reset email.

If you purchased your key through our web store, make sure you are attempting to access the portal using the email address you used to purchase your key. If you purchased your key through a 3^rd party vendor, you'll need to contact us support@lightburnsoftware.com so we can assign the key to your email address and grant you access to the portal.

If you do not see an email from Cryptlex when requesting a password reset, check your Promotions or Spam folders — the password reset email sometimes ends up there. If you still cannot find it, your email provider might be blocking the email from ever reaching you. Contact us to have us reassign your key to an address under a different provider. Gmail accounts work well.

License Expired

A LightBurn license is perpetual, but its update period expires one year after you first activate it. You will need to renew your key in order to continue receiving updates for another year. If you renew your key before your license expires, you'll receive an additional two months added to the one year renewal.

To download and revert to a version of LightBurn compatible with your key, visit our release repository.

You can renew your exsting key here.

Application is Being Run Inside a Virtual Machine

LightBurn keys are, by default, restricted from running in virtual machines. If you receive this error message, contact us at support@lightburnsoftware.com to request an exemption from this restriction.

Lost License Key

If you do not know your license key, try accessing our License Portal using the email address you used to purchase the key. Your key is visible in the License Portal.

If you did not purchase your key through our website, you will be unable to access the License Portal. Search your email inbox for the original purchase email from the vendor you purchased your key through.

If you are still unable to find your key, contact us at support@lightburnsoftware.com.

Follow our instructions on setting up a System Locked license key to activate the same key for all users on a given computer.

For more help using LightBurn, please visit our forum to talk with LightBurn staff and users, or email support.