# How to activate your licence key (and where to find it)

> Click the licence label in the title bar (Trial · 14d), paste the key from your email or account into Licence key and press Activate. It needs internet once.

Source: https://firelet.media/help/activate-licence-key
Published: 2026-08-28 · Updated: 2026-08-28
Applies to: Windows, Your account

To activate your licence key in firelet.media Gallery, click the licence label at the top right of the title bar (it reads "Trial · 14d" during the trial), paste your key into **Licence key** and press **Activate**. Your key is in the receipt email and in your account under Licences. Activation needs the internet once, and your library stays exactly as it is.

## Where your key is

You can find your key in three places:

- **The email** titled "Your firelet.media Gallery licence key", sent the moment your payment is confirmed.
- **The page you see right after paying**, which shows the key.
- **Your account** at [firelet.media/app](https://firelet.media/app/account/licences), under **Licences**. The full key is shown with **Copy key** and **Email me this key**.

Buying creates your account automatically and emails you a temporary password; you choose your own at first sign-in. If you have lost it, the "Forgot password" link is valid for 60 minutes. Bought under a different email address? Sign in with your usual account and paste the key into **Add a licence** on the Licences page to keep everything together.

Keys look like `FMGA-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX`. As the app says: "Dashes and capitals do not matter."

## Steps: click the title-bar licence label and activate

1. Open firelet.media Gallery on the computer you want to license.
2. Click the licence label at the top right of the title bar, for example **Trial · 14d** or **Trial over**. The **Licence** window opens.
3. Copy your key from the email or from your account with **Copy key**.
4. Paste it into the **Licence key** box.
5. Press **Activate**.
6. Wait a moment for "Activated. Everything is unlocked — your library is untouched and needs no rescan."

![The Licence window with the Licence key box, its hint From your receipt email. Dashes and capitals do not matter., and the Activate button](https://firelet.media/help/media/shot-licence-window-trial.webp "Paste the key into Licence key, then press Activate")

> [!NOTE]
> The Windows app has no Help menu. The licence label in the title bar is always the way into the Licence window.

## What activation sends and why it needs internet once

Activation registers this computer against one seat of your key, so the gallery needs to reach firelet.media once. It sends:

- your key;
- a machine fingerprint, as a salted hash;
- the app version;
- the Windows computer name, used as the machine's label in your account.

You can rename the machine later in your account under **Devices** (up to 60 characters). Your photos, library and searches are never sent. The licence that comes back is signed, checked on your PC without going online, and stored encrypted.

After that, the gallery checks in about every 30 days and keeps working for 90 days without internet. [What firelet.media Gallery sends over the internet](https://firelet.media/help/what-data-is-sent) lists every connection it makes.

## After activation: Licensed in the title bar

The label now reads **Licensed**, and the Licence window shows when the licence last checked in and when the next check is due. Everything is unlocked, nothing is reinstalled and your library is not scanned again.

![Close-up of the title bar showing the licence label, the version v2026.10 and the theme button](https://firelet.media/help/media/shot-title-bar-trial.webp "The same label reads Licensed once the key is active")

If your trial had already ended and some pictures were held back, the message instead asks you to press **Rescan** in the main window. That adds the waiting pictures without reading the rest of the library again.

> [!TIP]
> Activating in the middle of the trial loses nothing. The remaining trial days no longer matter, and every album, star and edit stays exactly where it was.

## If activation fails

| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| "Enter the key from your receipt." | The box is empty. Paste the key and press **Activate** again. |
| "That key was not recognised. Check for a mistyped character and try again." | Copy the key with **Copy key** in your account rather than typing it. Check you are not pasting an order number. |
| "Could not reach firelet.media…" | Check your internet connection, then try again. Nothing has been changed. |
| "This licence is already active on N machines, which is its limit. Release one from your account page at firelet.media/app, then try again." | Every seat is taken. Release a computer you no longer use; see [how to move your licence to a new computer](https://firelet.media/help/move-licence-to-new-computer). |

If you reset a leaked key under **Security → Reset a leaked licence key**, the old key stops working at once and every computer must activate with the new one.

Still stuck? Click the version label (**v2026.10**) in the title bar, press **Copy diagnostics** and paste the result into a message to support. [How to contact support](https://firelet.media/help/contact-support) explains where to send it. For other labels such as **Check-in needed** or **Another PC's licence**, see [licence messages explained](https://firelet.media/help/licence-messages-explained).

## Questions

### Where do I find my licence key?

In the email sent after you buy, titled Your firelet.media Gallery licence key, and in your account at firelet.media/app under Licences. Dashes and capitals do not matter when you type it.

### Does activation need the internet?

Yes, once, to register this computer against your key. After that the gallery checks in about once a month and keeps working for up to three months offline.

### How many computers can use one key?

One computer at a time per seat. A key can carry several seats, bought at $160 per computer; each computer you activate takes one.