Entering your licence key
Where the key goes, what happens when you press activate, and what each error means.
To enter your licence key, open w0a, go to Settings in the left menu, paste the key into the box in the License section and press Activate. w0a then asks the licence server whether the key is valid and locks it to this machine. The key was emailed to you when your payment was confirmed.
Where do you enter the licence key?
- Open w0a
- Go to Settings in the left menu and find the License section
- Paste the key into the box and press Activate
Your key was emailed to you the moment your payment was confirmed. If it is not in your inbox, check spam first.
What happens when you press it
w0a asks our licence server whether the key is valid and locks it to this machine. The server's answer is signed, and the public half of that signature is compiled into the application. An answer that does not verify is refused — so a fake server, or something sitting in the middle of the connection, cannot hand out activations.
That is also why activation needs internet access once. After that, day-to-day use does not need you to be online — but a term licence (1, 6 or 12 months) does quietly re-check itself in the background: if it cannot reach us for 72 hours in a row, premium drops to the free tier until it can. Your key stays where it is, and premium comes back by itself the moment the connection does. A Lifetime licence works the same way with a longer window: 30 days instead of 72 hours. If we ever shut the service down, every Lifetime installation that connects during the notice period receives a permanent record and from then on keeps working offline for good.
The lock is to the hardware, not to Windows: if you format or reinstall Windows, the key re-activates on the same machine — nothing needs resetting.
What do the activation errors mean?
| The message | What it means |
|---|---|
| Could not reach the server | No internet, or something between you and us is blocking it. Try again; on a work or school network, the network itself can be what blocks it. |
| Server verification failed | The answer did not carry a valid signature. w0a refused it on purpose. Try again on another network before anything else. |
| Your access was revoked or your key expired | The subscription period ended, or the key was cancelled. |
| This key is bound to another computer | The key is bound to a different machine. On that machine, open Settings → License and press Unbind; then activate here. If the old machine is dead, see I changed my PC. |
Related
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