License Activation & Issue Troubleshooting

This guide explains how to address common license activation issues and provides solutions based on frequently encountered scenarios.

This documentation covers:

• License request flow
• cURL examples
• Common problems
• Troubleshooting solutions

Typical Symptoms of License Activation Failure

Common symptoms during license activation:

• The Activate button does nothing / the page refreshes without a message.
• The license remains inactive even though the REST API responds with success.
• The remote server cannot be reached.
• The license is not written to the database or upload file.

1. License Activation Limit / Domain Change

This issue typically occurs when:

• The license key is already active on another domain.
• The old site was deleted but the license was not deactivated.
• The domain was moved without deactivation.

Solution:

Try Deactivate on the old site

If you still have access to the old site’s WP Admin, open the license page and click Deactivate License.

2. ISP / Network Blockage

Some ISP networks block access to the remote license server. Most common symptom:

cURL timeout / connection failed.

Solution:

1. Test cURL connectivity directly from the server

   curl -I https://lcs.bostheme.com/

2. If it fails:

• Ensure ports 80/443 are open.
• Use a temporary proxy for activation:
  • Visit https://free-proxy-list.net/id/
  • Get the first available proxy details
  • Add the following code to the active theme’s functions.php:

  add_action('http_api_curl', function( $handle ){
      curl_setopt($handle, CURLOPT_PROXY, "PROXY_IP");
      curl_setopt($handle, CURLOPT_PROXYPORT, PROXY_PORT);
  }, 10);

  • After activation succeeds, remove the proxy code from functions.php.

3. Caching Layer Interference

Caching layers like Redis / Memcached may hold license data that is too long, causing it not to be stored in the DB.

Solution: Temporarily disable caching during activation, then re-enable it afterward.

4. Database Encoding Issue

If the option_value column encoding is incompatible, license data may not be saved.

Solution:

• Ensure the option_value column uses UTF-8 or UTF8MB4.
• Test by inserting non-ASCII characters. If it fails, change the encoding.

5. Security Layer Blockage

ModSecurity or other WAF rules may block cURL requests due to certain character combinations.

Solution:

• Temporarily disable ModSecurity/WAF for your domain.
• Re-enable the security rules after activation succeeds.

Debugging Tips (Best Practices)

To assist support or license debugging, include:

• Full JSON response status
• The cURL request used
• Server error output (if any)
• Screenshot of the activation page
• Hosting environment (PHP version, open_basedir, allow_url_fopen, etc.)
• Provide access to your dashboard; I will check whether the license has been activated.

Summary

License activation issues typically occur due to:

• Remote API unreachable
• Incompatible server settings
• License used elsewhere
• Server caching/security interfering with the request

Each issue has a clear workaround as outlined above.

This documentation provides quick steps for effective identification and resolution—based on real-world license activation cases.