Self Hosted Comet Server is shown as offline: FATAL: Couldn't validate license key (Licensing authority denied our request.). Server will shut down.

Symptoms

Unable to access Self Hosted Server with the error message below in the logs:

Cause

This error occurs when the Comet Server cannot successfully validate or renew its license lease with the central Comet Auth servers. Common triggers include:

• Hardware or IP changes: The host machine's hardware ID, internal environment, or external public IP address has been changed.

• Duplicate Instances: The same license serial number is actively running on more than one machine at the same time.

• Time Desynchronization: The local server's system clock has drifted too far out of sync with real-world time.

• Account Issues: The partner account has an invalid balance or zero credit.

Resolution

Before resetting the license, double-check the local environment to prevent the issue from immediately recurring:

• Check Account Balance: Log into the Comet Account Dashboard and ensure your account has sufficient credit.

• Sync System Time: Force a time synchronisation against a reliable NTP clock (e.g., time.windows.com or pool.ntp.org) to ensure the clock is accurate.

• Ensure no old or duplicate instances of Comet Server are running on the same network or on a decommissioned staging server using the same key.

If the server environment has changed (e.g., a VM migration, hardware upgrade, or external IP swap), the license must be unlinked from the old hardware profile.

1. Navigate to Comet Account Dashboard.

2. Locate the specific serial number assigned to this self-hosted server.

3. Click Relax (or reset) on the serial number to clear its hardware/IP lock.

4. Restart the Comet Server service on your local machine to force it to request a clean, new license lease.