Family Historian (FH) 8 — Activation Troubleshooting

Common activation errors and how to resolve them, based on the [[Activation Strategy - V8]] design.

Background: how activation is tied to accounts

Every licence type has an activation code that uniquely identifies it, and (except for subscriptions) that code is what links the licence to a specific account. Device limits vary by licence type — this matters for both errors below:

Subscribers log in with their account (username/email + password) rather than entering an activation code directly — the code is already attached to their account. All other licence holders (perpetual, trial, free edition) enter their activation code, typically after registering an account via the Register dialog.

1. Activation code allocated to another account

Symptom: The activation code you’re trying to use is already tied to a different account, so activation fails.

Why this happens: Activation codes uniquely identify a single licence and are locked to the account that first registered them (trial and free edition users apply for these via the FH website and are emailed a code). If you try to reuse a code that’s already claimed, or if you accidentally created a second account instead of logging into your existing one, you’ll hit this error.

Steps to resolve:

1. On a computer where FH is already installed and working, open the application.
2. Go to Help > About.
3. Check which account the current activation is registered to (username/email).
4. Compare this against the account you’re trying to activate with on the new device.
5. If you have an existing account but forgot it:
   • At the Login dialog, you can enter your email in place of a username.
   • Use “forgotten your password” if needed — this resets the password without affecting the account/licence link.
6. If the code is genuinely allocated to someone else’s account:
   • Contact support to confirm ownership and have the code reassigned if appropriate.
   • Do not attempt to register a new account against a code that’s already claimed — it will simply fail again.

[!tip] Related See [[FH Deactivating a Licence]] if you need to free up a licence from another install.

2. Invalid activation key

Symptom: Attempting to add a key returns an “invalid activation key” error.

Cause: This happens when the key is already active on the maximum number of devices its licence type allows. The limit depends on licence type — check the table above:

• Subscription / V8 Perpetual / Free Edition — allows 2 devices. This error appears when trying to activate a 3rd device.
• V8 Trial — allows only 1 device, and only one trial per account and per device ever. A trial key will not work on a second machine at all, and won’t survive being reused after a reinstall on the same machine in some cases — there’s no “deactivate and move” workaround for trials.

Steps to resolve (Subscription / Perpetual / Free Edition only):

1. Identify the computers currently using the licence.
2. Decide which installation you no longer need active.
3. On that computer, open FH.
4. Deactivate the licence (check the licensing/account menu — usually under Help or Account settings) to release it.
5. Once released, return to the computer needing activation and enter the key again.

If it’s a Trial licence: deactivation won’t help — trials are capped at one device per account by design. You’ll need to either use the device the trial was originally activated on, or purchase a Perpetual/Subscription licence to install elsewhere.

[!note] Deactivating on the old machine releases the licence slot, allowing it to be reused elsewhere. Make sure you deactivate the correct machine before reallocating. This does not apply to Trial licences.

Quick Reference