SmartSDR suddenly saying 'license required'

Phil M0VSE

I have been using my 6500 for the last 12 hours or so on the WPX RTTY contest and it has worked flawlessly. I had in input voltage issue with my 13.8v PSU and it caused the flex to crash. When I restarted it, both my Maestro and SmartSDR are saying "License Required"

I have tried a factory reset but it didn't make any difference. I am definitely licensed for v3 on this radio but it seems to have forgotten.

I had this happen when the EU repair center replaced the SD card last year so guess that somebody will need to connect and sort it again but I suspect that puts an end to my contest?

73 Phil M0VSE

Ria

You can always downgrade and try. What version are you on? 

Phil M0VSE

I am on 3.1, when this happened before, Tim said that it is caused by a corrupt license db so I suspect this may be the same problem. In which case I will probably need to downgrade to v1 if I want to use it at all?

I'm all for companies protecting their rights but it seems to be a common trend nowadays that these protection methods can get in the way of genuine use of a product when something goes wrong. 

Bill -VA3WTB

Don't only have to downgrade to V2?

Phil M0VSE

No exactly the same problem. I have downgraded to v1 temporarily as v2 was still asking for a license.

Dean Davidson

almost sounds like your serial number is corrupt and the license server don't recognize the radio

Dean Davidson

try going back to a previous backup in case you have a corrupt file on the software that is used in all versions and reinstalling may not be overwtiting.
if that no help open a ticket be next guess

Phil M0VSE

The problem is nothing to do with SmartSDR for Windows (or Maestro) it is a problem with the license database stored 'in the radio' so reinstalling SmartSDR won't help unfortunately.

Tim - W4TME

You must be running SmartSDR v3.1.8 for the radio to contact and update the license in your radio.  Using a lower-numbered version does not have the necessary TLS version to complete the security handshake.

It is possible that the radio crash that resulted from your power supply issue corrupted the file system on your SD card too. 

If you are still having issues, I highly recommend opening a HelpDesk ticket.