License restricted mode and the grace period

The three license states#

Tools & Settings › License Information shows one of three states:

State	When	What works
Licensed	The last check succeeded and has not expired	Everything
Grace period	The license server could not be reached, the last good answer has expired, and the grace period is running	Everything; every administrator page shows a Licence: banner with the date the panel keeps working until
Restricted	No key accepted yet, the license server refused the key, or the grace period ran out	Hosting keeps running; the administrator panel is limited (below)

The grace period is for outages, not refusals. If the license server answers that the key is suspended, expired, unknown or bound to another server, the panel becomes restricted at once.

The panel checks once every 24 hours. When the license server cannot be reached, it tries again after an hour and then every 6 hours, so a short outage at either end clears by itself.

What restricted mode does and does not do#

StackRegent never stops hosted services over a license. In restricted mode:

Keeps working

websites, application pools and PHP,
mail, webmail and the spam filter,
DNS, FTP and databases,
scheduled tasks and backups,
the customer and reseller panels, where users manage what they already have.

Is limited

administrators can open only the License Information page (and sign out),
no new customers, resellers, subscriptions or domains can be created, by anyone,
the administrator part of the REST API answers only the license pages,
updates are not installed.

So your customers notice nothing unless they try to add a domain. This also means a restricted panel cannot take part in a server-to-server migration, because the migration uses the administrator API.

Do not confuse this with Restricted Mode Settings under Tools & Settings, which limit what restricted administrator accounts may change. That is about staff permissions, not the license.

How to get out of restricted mode#

Read the message next to State and the Last problem field. Then:

The key was refused as expired or suspended#

The license's invoice is probably unpaid. Pay it in the client area, then click Check now. See renew or upgrade your license.

The key is bound to another server#

You moved the panel or reinstalled Windows. Reissue the license on its service page in the client area, then click Check now on this server. See move a license to a new server.

The license server could not be reached#

Check from the server:

Test-NetConnection panel.stackregent.com -Port 443
& "C:\Program Files\StackRegent\bin\stackregent.exe" license-check

Look for an outbound firewall rule, a proxy or a DNS problem. Check the clock under Tools & Settings › System Time: a clock set back by more than an hour against the last time the panel ran counts as restricted, so setting the date back cannot keep an old answer alive. Once the connection works, click Check now.

No key has been entered#

Click Enter key and enter it; see activate your license.

The subscription limit is reached#

This is not restricted mode: the panel works, but new subscriptions are refused with a message naming the limit. Move to a plan with more subscriptions.

If none of this helps, open a ticket in the client area with the message shown on the License Information page.

Frequently asked questions

Do my websites stop if my StackRegent license expires?

No. Websites, mail, DNS, databases, FTP, scheduled tasks, backups and the customer panels keep running. Only the administrator panel is limited to the license page, and no new accounts can be created until the license is put right.

How long is the StackRegent grace period?

The License Information page shows the exact date under Works until while the grace period runs, and every administrator page shows a banner with it. The grace period applies only when the license server cannot be reached, not when it refuses the key.

Can resellers create accounts while the panel is restricted?

No. Resellers and customers can still log in and manage what they have, but no new customers, subscriptions or domains can be created until the license is in order.