Why Is My License Key Invalid?
There are several common reasons why a license key may show as invalid. Below are the most common causes and how to resolve them.
Your Subscription Has Expired
Most Themeisle subscriptions renew on a yearly basis. Once your subscription expires, your license key becomes invalid. To check your subscription status, log in to your ThemeIsle account and review the My Products tab.
If your subscription has expired, you can manually renew your plan to reactivate your license key.
You’re Using an Old License Key
If you renewed your subscription using a different email address, or if your subscription was manually adjusted by our support team, you may have received a new license key. The old key will no longer work.
To get your current license key, log in to your ThemeIsle account and check your active products. Your current license key will be displayed there.
License Key Character Limit Error
Some older products (such as Robin Image Optimizer) were previously managed through a different licensing system (Freemius). If you see an error about the license key being limited to 32 characters, install the latest plugin package from your Themeisle account so it uses the current Themeisle licensing system.
To resolve this:
- Deactivate and delete the plugin currently installed on your WordPress site.
- Download the latest plugin package from your ThemeIsle account.
- Install and activate that package.
- Enter your Themeisle license key when prompted.
License Key Not Recognized by the Plugin
If your license key is correct but the plugin doesn’t recognize it, try the following:
- Make sure you’re entering the license key for the correct product (e.g., a Neve Pro key won’t work for Otter Pro).
- Check that your website domain matches one of the sites registered to your license. See How to manage your website licenses.
- Try deactivating the license from your ThemeIsle account, then reactivating it on your site.
Your license is already active on a site or has reached its activation limit
An active subscription confirms that your license is valid and in good standing, but it does not grant unlimited site activations. Each plan includes a fixed number of activation slots. If all slots are already used, any new activation attempt will fail and the plugin will report the license as invalid — even though your subscription is active.
Single-site plans — such as Essential, Personal, or Starter — can only be active on one WordPress installation at a time. If that slot is already taken by another domain, you will see errors such as:
- “license is not valid”
- “invalid license”
- “license already active”
- “active subscription but license invalid”
This does not mean there is a problem with your subscription or your license key itself. It means the activation slot is already assigned to a domain.
How to check or free a site activation
To check which domain is currently using your license, or to move the license to a new site:
- Log in to your ThemeIsle account and go to Purchase History.
- Find the product whose license you want to check and click the sites used or Manage your domains link.
- Review the list of domains currently assigned to that license.
If a different or old domain is listed and you need to release or move the license to another domain:
- Click Remove Site next to the domain you no longer need.
- Go to your new site and activate your license key using the same key.
For more details, see How to manage your website licenses and How domains are counted by our license checking system.
Still Having Issues?
If none of the above solutions work, check your inbox for an email with your license details (including Spam and Junk folders). If you can’t find it, please contact us and we will help you resolve the issue.