Hi,
I am trying to install Flowbotics Studio app for Phidgets 4 input encoder, but I repeatedly get the message that the license activation has failed. “Check firewall and internet connection”. I have disabled the firewall and the internet connection is good. Please help urgently. I am admin for the local network and nothing is being blocked intentionally. PC firewall and router firewall logs do not show any attempts that were blocked.
Windows 7 pro, 64 bit, Norton Security.
Hi,
All FlowBotics Studio apps validate their licence during activation with our activation server (u.flowbotics.com). During verification, the software opens two HTTP/80 connections:
The message your received means that the software was unable to reach #1 (which stops the process) or #2.
Unfortunately, it has come to our attention that not only firewalls but also anti-virus and other security software suites also can block FlowBotics Studio apps from accessing our activation server.
Also, if you are on an educational or corporate network, then their may be other security software or hardware that is preventing the connection but that is transparent to you. If that is the case, please contact your network administrator.
As a test, try to browse to this address: u.flowbotics.com/apps/test/0000-0000-0000-0000-0000/test/check
If it works, then it means you do have access to our activation server but that something else is blocking the connection for the FlowBotics Studio app that you are trying to activate.
Sincerely,
Thanks, but not much help. This is a small network that I set-up so nothing complex. I have disabled the Norton firewall on the PC but this does not help. The router firewall is also set to allow ALL outgoing traffic. But even before I did this neither firewall logged any blocked attempts.
As you say this is a common problem I would appreciate a common solution… Windows 7 & Norton must be something other people have tried to use?
Yes, I can ping u.flowbotics.com, I can access it via port 80 in a web browser, nothing else gets blocked.
Hi again,
I have uninstalled Norton security, disabled windows firewall and started the PC in safe mode with network. Still blocked. (checked after each stage). And yes I can still connect to flowbotics.
I also tried routing it through my phone as a wireless hot-spot. Same result. So it is not the network, it is a problem between the software and Windows.
Hi,
We understand your issue, but unfortunately, it is not possible for us to know (or troubleshoot) such issues as there are too many possibilities and not enough information available to us.
The main issue is this software always tries to activate the exact same way everywhere it is ran (HTTP/80 request to the google.com & activation server), whereas every user’s computer (and network) has different OS variations, security software, patches and other software that may change or interfere with the activation process.
The best solution in such a case is to ask help from someone with technical knowledge of such issues locally that could help you directly identify (and resolve) this issue. You can also try one of the many Windows-oriented technical support forum available online.
Sincerely,
Hi,
I have made extensive checks, I can connect to the internet with every other program that I can think of:
My browsers connect.
I can telnet into your site and others on port 80.
I cannot find any software or method that is blocked.
On this PC and others on our network I have never had any issues connecting to license servers, update downloaders etc, except one program that required a new firewall exception to be set-up.
I have set up a network traffic monitor which confirms that your app does not make any connections at all so the problem is not network related.
It appears only your software is affected, so whatever the cause, it has to be something that your software is doing that is bot working or being blocked.
I have spend many hours trying to find a cause so I would really appreciate any advice or suggestions - you mention that you have had this problem before. What fixes have worked?
Regards
Hi,
In other cases that had similar issues, the issue was resolved by removing/changing configurations that prevented the software from detecting network access. It was always due to some external factor.
Unfortunately, since we are unable to reproduce your specific issue, it is impossible for us to investigate further.
Have you tried running the software as administrator (right-click the shortcut, select “Run as Administrator…”) ?
Also, is it possible for you to attempt this installation / activation on a different computer? Let us know if the same situation happens there.
Sincerely,
