Licensing troubleshooting
Most licensing problems fall into four buckets: format wrong, server unreachable, key already in use, or tier mismatch. Walk through the steps below before contacting support.
Quick answer
- Check the key format (
DZE-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX) — no spaces, all upper. - Retry online activation. If blocked, use Activate offline.
- Still stuck? support@diazatlas.com with the error code.
Step-by-step
- Check the license-key format. A valid Diaz Editor key looks like
DZE-1A2B-3C4D-5E6F-7G8H— five hyphen-separated groups, all upper-case alphanumeric, no spaces. If you copied from an email, watch for trailing whitespace. - Retry online activation:
Help → License → Activate. Paste the key, click Activate. Diaz contacts the activation server and unlocks the matching tier. Most activations complete in < 5 seconds when the network allows outbound HTTPS. - If online fails with "Activation server unreachable": you are likely behind a strict firewall or offline. Use
Help → License → Activate offline. Diaz generates a request file — email it to support@diazatlas.com, receive an activation file back, load it via the same dialog. - If you see "License already in use": the same key is activated on a different machine. Diaz allows two activations per key (e.g. desktop + laptop). For a third device: deactivate one of the existing activations via
Help → License → Deactivateon that machine, or contact support to reset. - If you see "Tier mismatch": the key was purchased for a different tier than the version you installed. E.g. an Indie key (€99 founding) on a Studio build (€249) fails. Either install the matching tier from /download, or upgrade the key via /upgrade.
- If you see "Refund pending — license locked": your purchase has an open refund request. The license stays inactive until the refund is finalized or withdrawn. Reply to the refund email to cancel the request, or wait for support to complete it — then re-activate.
Watch out
- Copying from PDF receipts: some PDF viewers insert invisible characters (zero-width joiners) when you copy text. If the key looks right but activation rejects it, retype the key by hand from the email.
- Transferring to a new machine: always deactivate the old machine first via
Help → License → Deactivatewhile it still has the license, then activate the new one. If the old machine died, contact support with proof of purchase — they will reset the seat count. - Tier-upgrade does not reset the seat count: if you upgraded from Indie to Studio, your two-seat allowance moved with you — it did not double. To add seats, buy additional seat-licenses via /upgrade.