Activation fails
Check the purchase channel, key, seat usage and connection before contacting support.
On this page (5 sections)
Recognize an unrecognized key
The pictured message is "That license key was not recognised. Check for a typo, or copy it again from your purchase email." The image uses ASTRO-GUIDE-SAMPL-EONLY-NOUSE, a nonworking sample key, not a key to try. Real keys arrive in the purchase email. Copy the full current key again rather than typing the account hint or buying a second license to clear the message.
Recognize a full seat allowance
The pictured message is "All device seats for this license are in use. Release one from your account on astrolize.app, then activate again." This also uses the nonworking sample key ASTRO-GUIDE-SAMPL-EONLY-NOUSE. Check your actual account allowance and device names before releasing a seat. A connection error is a different state: "Could not reach the licensing server." followed by a reason such as "This Mac appears to be offline." Restore the connection before retrying. "Too many attempts. Wait a few minutes and try again." means you should pause rather than keep submitting the key.
Check the purchase channel and key
If the purchase was through Apple, install the App Store copy; it needs no direct key. For a direct purchase, use the full key from the newest license email, not the short hint under Licenses.
Check seats and connectivity
Open Your account with the purchase email and review devices in use against the actual allowance.
If the seats are full, identify a Mac you no longer need before releasing it.
Restore the network connection and retry Activate. In the direct app's License settings, Check Now requests a new check.
Interpret the result carefully
A connection failure is not proof that the license was revoked. Offline grace and an explicit revocation are different states. If a key was regenerated, use its replacement for new activations; already activated Macs are unaffected by key regeneration alone.
If the failure persists after these checks, contact support instead of repeatedly buying or regenerating keys.