Kai Mallari's Notes'

EC - License Deactivation

3 min read

License Deactivation

Symptom: Capture One opens in trial mode, shows a license error, or refuses to launch with a subscription message. Root Cause: Capture One license deactivated because the subscription lapsed, the offline grace period expired, or macOS hardware ID changed. Referred from: DIT Triage - C1 Crashed, DIT Triage - Tether Dead

Diagnosis

  1. Launch Capture One. If it shows:

    • “Trial Mode” or limited features — subscription has lapsed or was never activated
    • “License expired” or “Subscription ended” — payment failed or subscription was cancelled
    • “Activation limit reached” — too many machines activated on this license
    • “Offline grace period expired” — the license requires periodic online validation and the grace period (typically 30 days) has passed

  2. Check internet connectivity. If the laptop has internet access, Capture One may re-validate automatically.

Fix

If internet is available

  1. Capture One menu > License > Sign In (or Activate)
  2. Enter the photographer’s Capture One account credentials
  3. If the subscription is active, the license should validate immediately
  4. If “Activation limit reached”: the photographer needs to deactivate another machine from their Capture One account (account.captureone.com) or contact support

If internet is NOT available

  • You’re within the offline grace period (30 days from last online validation) — Capture One should still work. If it doesn’t, the grace period has expired.
  • Grace period expired — You need internet. Options:
    1. Connect the laptop to the venue’s Wi-Fi temporarily (just for license validation — doesn’t need to be the DIT network)
    2. Tether the laptop to a phone hotspot for 60 seconds (just long enough to validate)
    3. If no internet at all — Capture One will not run in full mode. Fallback options:
      • Use Capture One in trial mode (limited features, may still tether)
      • Use an alternative tethering solution if available
      • See EC - Card Import Fallback as last resort

If the subscription actually lapsed (payment failed)

  • This cannot be fixed on set. The photographer needs to renew their subscription.
  • If the photographer has an old perpetual license: they can switch to that version (if still installed)
  • Temporary: some Capture One versions allow limited trial use — enough to tether for the day

Prevention

  • Verify the license before shoot day. Open Capture One and confirm it’s not in trial mode.
  • Ensure the laptop connects to internet at least once every 2 weeks to keep the offline grace period refreshed.
  • Keep subscription payment details current. Set up auto-renewal.
  • Have the Capture One account login credentials available (email + password) in case re-authentication is needed on set.

Documentation

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