Licensing and Activation
Overview
In order to use mAirList, a valid license is required. Licenses are bound to a particular major version (e.g. mAirList 8) and can be used with any sub-version (8.0, 8.1, etc.) of that major version. Discounted upgrades are offered for holders of licenses for earlier versions.
Types of Licenses
We offer various editions of mAirList (e.g. Standard, Advanced, Professional, …) that have different feature sets. Please refer to the feature matrix of the website to find out which edition is suitable for you.
All editions use the same setup/installer. The functionality will be unlocked based on the activated license.
When you install mAirList for the first time, you can obtain a free trial license that will be valid for a limited period of time. Thereafter, a license must be purchased and activated.
Activation
Each computer that runs mAirList must be equipped with a separate license. This is enforced by activation, which can be either software or dongle-based.
Software activation is the default method. It will use an encrypted “fingerprint” (“Hardware ID”) of your computer, generated from various hardware and operating system parameters. The Hardware ID is stored in your license when you activate it for the first time. It can be reset from the website if you ever need to move it to a different computer.
Dongle activation uses special USB devices that act as the “key” to your license. This allows you to use the license on multiple computers - but only one at a time - by moving the USB dongle from one computer to another.
Customer Area
Licenses are managed in the customer area on the website. In order to manage your licenses, you have to create an account there.
Obtaining a License
Licenses can be purchased online through our online shop, or from our sales department or partners.
When buying a license online, you will receive a voucher code along with the purchase confirmation/invoice. Please log into the customer area and go to the Redeem Voucher page, then enter/paste the voucher code. This will create the license, and it will appear on your personal My Licenses page.
When buying a license offline or through our partners, no voucher code will be issued, but the license will appear automatically on the My Licenses page as soon as your order is received. This may be a temporary license until the payment has been processed.
My Licenses
The My Licenses page shows the list of licenses you own, in particular their serial number, the product(s)/edition(s) they are valid for, and a possible expiration date (for temporary licenses).
On the License Details page, the technical details of the license are displayed, as well as the list of products they are valid for. That page also allows you to manage your activation, in particular, perform a manual activation, or reset the activation (in order to move the license to a new PC).
License Manager
The License Manager built into mAirList is used to install, activate and manage your license. It can be found in the Windows Start Menu, and also in the About window of the main playout window.
Main View
The main view of the License Manager shows information about the currently installed license and provides access to the most frequently used tasks.
Click Download/Activate in order to activate a license from your My Licenses list and download the license file onto the computer. The activation takes place in your web browser:
The License Manager opens the activation page of the mAirList license server in your default web browser.
Log in with your customer account and follow the instructions on the page to select and activate the desired license.
Once the activation is complete, the browser hands the license back to the License Manager, which installs it automatically and comes back to the foreground. The browser shows a confirmation page, which you can close.
The License Manager must stay open until the activation in the browser is complete. Activation requires an Internet connection on the computer that runs mAirList.
If you don’t own a license yet, you can also obtain a trial license from this view by clicking Activate Trial License. This uses the same browser-based flow, where you select the desired product/edition.
Advanced View
The advanced view provides access to additional information and actions, in particular the initialization of FTDI dongles (see below).
FTDI Dongles
mAirList supports activation via FTDI USB devices. That means that you can use many FTDI-based USB dongles (including serial port adapters) as a security dongle for mAirList.
The device must have an FT232R(L/Q) or FT485R(L/Q) chipset. Other chipsets, or devices from other manufacturers like Prolific, will not work!
FTDI offers a special USB Key device that is designed to be used as a security dongle.
The dongle must be obtained from a third-party supplier. If unsure, please contact mAirList customer support beforehand to check if a particular model is supported.
Install Drivers
FTDI dongle activation requires that the “D2XX” drivers are installed on your system. Recent Windows versions will install them automatically when you plug in the dongle for the first time; you can also download them from the FTDI website and install them manually.
Enable FTDI Activation
Once you have obtained a dongle, it must be initialized with a license code. This is done in the advanced section of the License Manager.
Before you begin, please make sure that your dongle is plugged in, and all relevant drivers have been installed (will usually happen automatically). The device should be visible in the USB devices section of Windows Device Manager.
Then go to the Dongles -> FTDI tab in the License Manager advanced view, and click Reload to scan your system for available FTDI devices. You will see a list of all attached devices along with their serial number and description.
Select the device you would like to use, then click the Initialize button in the toolbar, and follow the on-screen instructions.
Once the device was initialized, a license code will appear.
Click the Copy Code button in order to copy that code to the Windows clipboard.
Send this license code to mAirList support team, and wait for the confirmation that your license has been switched to FTDI activation.
Finally, open License Manager again and re-download the license file.
Disable FTDI Activation
Generally it is advised to stick with FTDI activation once you have set it up for your license.
If, for any reason, you must switch back to software activation or another FTDI, please follow the steps below. Please only do so if it is absolutely necessary!
First, use the License Manager to re-initialize the FTDI device with a new license code, as described in the Enable FTDI Activation section above.
You will see a warning message, telling you that you are going to overwrite the existing license code.
Then send the new license code to the support team. It acts as some kind of proof that the previous dongle activation was made unusable. We will remove the previous FTDI activation from your license then, and make it available for another activation again.