Skip to Content

How to fix Visual Studio Community license has expired or evaluation period has ended issue?

By: Author Alex Lim

Posted on  - Last updated:

Categories Troubleshooting

Visual Studio Community is a free and powerful IDE for developers, but it requires a license to use it. Sometimes, you may encounter an error message that says “Your license has expired” or “Your evaluation period has ended” when you launch Visual Studio Community. This can be frustrating and prevent you from working on your projects. In this article, you will learn how to fix this issue and continue using Visual Studio Community without any problems.

Problem

Visual Studio 2019 Community Edition showing the post-install message “Your license has expired” or “Your evaluation period has ended”. Follow the below solution to resolve this problem and continue to use it.

[Solved] Visual Studio Community Edition "Your license has expired" or "Your evaluation period has ended"

[Solved] Visual Studio Community Edition "Your license has expired" or "Your evaluation period has ended"

[Solved] Visual Studio Community Edition "Your license has expired" or "Your evaluation period has ended"

What Causes Visual Studio Community License Expired Issue?

There are several possible reasons why Visual Studio Community may show the license expired error. Some of them are:

  • Your system is behind a proxy server that blocks the communication with the Microsoft activation server.
  • Your firewall or antivirus software is blocking the access to the Microsoft activation server.
  • Your Internet Explorer 11 settings are not configured properly to allow the access to the Microsoft activation server.
  • Your Microsoft account is not signed in or has some issues with the authentication.
  • Your Visual Studio installation is corrupted or outdated.
  • The Microsoft activation server is down or unavailable.

How to Fix Visual Studio Community License Expired Issue?

Depending on the cause of the issue, you may need to try different solutions to fix it. Here are some of the most common and effective solutions that you can try:

Solution 1: Check Proxy Configuration

It is important to determine whether your system is behind a proxy server. If unsure, please contact your administrator. If your system is behind a proxy server, you may need to modify the proxy settings for Windows HTTP clients.

You can do this by following these steps:

  1. Open the Command Prompt as administrator.
  2. Type the following command and press Enter: netsh winhttp show proxy
  3. If you see a proxy server address and port, note them down. If you see “Direct access (no proxy server)”, skip this solution.
  4. Open the Control Panel and go to Internet Options.
  5. Click on the Connections tab and then click on the LAN settings button.
  6. Check the box that says “Use a proxy server for your LAN” and enter the proxy server address and port that you noted down earlier.
  7. Click OK to save the changes and close the windows.
  8. Restart Visual Studio and try to sign in again.

Solution 2: Check Firewall

It is recommended to verify if a firewall is present. If so, disable the firewall or adjust the settings to allow access to the standard Microsoft websites. You can do this by following these steps:

  1. Open your firewall or antivirus software and go to its settings.
  2. Look for an option that allows you to manage the rules or exceptions for the network traffic.
  3. Add the following sites to the allow list:
  4. Save the changes and close the software.
  5. Restart Visual Studio and try to sign in again.

Solution 3: Check Internet Explorer 11 Configuration

If your Internet Explorer 11 settings are not configured properly to allow the access to the Microsoft activation server, you need to update them and add some trusted sites. You can do this by following these steps:

  1. Update to Internet Explorer 11.
  2. Set Internet Explorer 11 as the default browser.
  3. Add the following sites to IE trusted site. Open IE 11, go to Internet options > Security tab > Click on Trusted Sites > Click on the Sites button.
  4. Clean up the history data. Open IE 11, go to safety > Delete browsing history > Check all histories for all topics > Click Delete button. Restart IE 11.

Solution 4: Create New Microsoft Account to Sign In

If your Microsoft account is not signed in or has some issues with the authentication, you may need to create a new Microsoft account and use it to sign in to Visual Studio. You can do this by following these steps:

  1. Visit the Microsoft Account Sign Up page and create a new Microsoft account.
  2. Use the newly created Microsoft account to sign in Visual Studio.
  3. If you have any projects or settings associated with your previous Microsoft account, you may need to transfer them to the new account.

Solution 5: Run as Administrator

Run the Visual Studio Community Edition 2015 as the administrator, it will help us to excludes the permission issue. You can do this by following these steps:

  1. Right-click on the Visual Studio shortcut on your desktop or start menu and select Properties.
  2. Click on the Compatibility tab and check the box that says “Run this program as an administrator”.
  3. Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
  4. Double-click on the Visual Studio shortcut to launch it as administrator and try to sign in again.

Solution 6: Run Visual Studio in Safe Mode

If running Visual Studio as administrator does not work, you may need to run it in safe mode to disable any extensions or add-ons that may interfere with the activation process. You can do this by following these steps:

  1. Open an administrative CMD window and go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 11.0\Common7\IDE.
  2. Execute commands: devenv.exe /safemode.
  3. If it works fine that means the installed extensions may be corrupted the Visual Studio, go to Tool > Extensions and Updates, remove all installed extensions one by one to find the culprit.

Solution 7: Click Check for updated license hyperlink

Visual Studio Community Edition 2019 is still free. The 30 day evaluation period means you have 30 days to sign in with your Microsoft account to activate it.

Community edition is free to use. We use the same infrastructure that allows you to unlock VS w/ an online subscription to manage the requirement of signing into Community edition so some of our strings overlap cross these scenarios. Trial here means the period you can use the community edition before you must sign in to fully unlock the IDE.

You will get that message even if you are signed it. Basically you just need to click on the Check for an updated license hyperlink, and it will update the license for you. In case your Community edition installation prompts you for a license, you might have to sign in to unlock the IDE.

  1. Open IE 11 instead of Microsoft Edge.
  2. Sign out Microsoft account, then sign in again.
  3. Clicked Check for updated license hyperlink.

Solution 8: Reset User Data and Settings

If none of the above solutions work, you may need to reset your user data and settings for Visual Studio to clear any corrupted or outdated files that may cause the issue. You can do this by following these steps:

  1. Open an administrative CMD window.
  2. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\IDE.
  3. Run the command: devenv.exe /resetuserdata to reset the user data in Visual Studio.
  4. Run the command: devenv.exe /resetsettings to reset the settings in Visual Studio.
  5. Reopen Visual Studio, then sign in with Microsoft account again.

Solution 9: Remove Cache

If resetting your user data and settings does not work, you may need to remove the cache files for Visual Studio to clear any temporary or cached files that may cause the issue. You can do this by following these steps:

  1. Close any instance of Visual Studio.
  2. Delete the following file: %localappdata%\.identityservice\IdentityServiceAdalCache.cache
  3. Restart Visual Studio.

Solution 10: Fix or Update Visual Studio

If removing the cache files does not work, you may need to fix or update your Visual Studio installation to repair any damaged or missing files that may cause the issue. You can do this by following these steps:

  1. Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features > Select Visual Studio in the program list > Click Uninstall.
  2. When the dialog box appeared, press the Update (or Fix) button.
  3. Restart the computer.

Solution 11: Check Activation Server Status

Since many users meet the similar issue, maybe the related activation server was temporarily unavailable, please wait awhile and try again later to sign in and update the license by clicking Check for updated license hyperlink.

Solution 12: Contact Visual Studio Subscription Support

If none of the above solutions work, you may need to contact the Visual Studio Subscription Support team to get help with your license activation issue. You can do this by visiting the Visual Studio Subscription Support page and choosing the appropriate option for your subscription type. You may need to provide some information about your issue and your Visual Studio installation to get assistance.

  1. If this issue persists, execute the command: devenv.exe /log in the evaluated command prompt.
  2. Upload the activity file (%APPDATA%\Microsoft\VisualStudio\Version\ActivityLog.xml) to OneDrive.
  3. Contact Visual Studio Subscription Support and share the link to download the activity log.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are some frequently asked questions related to the Visual Studio Community license expired issue:

Question: How long does the Visual Studio Community license last?

Answer: The Visual Studio Community license lasts for one year from the date of activation. You need to renew your license every year by signing in with your Microsoft account.

Question: How many devices can I use Visual Studio Community on?

Answer: You can use Visual Studio Community on up to five devices with the same Microsoft account.

Question: Can I use Visual Studio Community for commercial purposes?

Answer: You can use Visual Studio Community for commercial purposes if you meet the eligibility criteria for the Community edition. You can find more details about the eligibility criteria on the Visual Studio Community License Terms page.

Question: What is the difference between Visual Studio Community and Visual Studio Professional?

Answer: Visual Studio Community and Visual Studio Professional are both full-featured IDEs for developers, but they have some differences in terms of licensing, support, and features. Visual Studio Community is free for individual developers, open source projects, academic research, education, and small teams. Visual Studio Professional is a paid subscription that offers more benefits and services, such as Azure DevOps, Azure credits, technical support, and additional features, such as CodeLens, Live Unit Testing, and IntelliTrace. You can compare the features and benefits of different Visual Studio editions on the [Visual Studio Pricing] page.

Question: How can I get a Visual Studio Professional license?

Answer: You can get a Visual Studio Professional license by purchasing a Visual Studio Professional subscription or a Visual Studio Enterprise subscription. You can choose between monthly or annual billing options, or pay once for a perpetual license. You can find more details about the pricing and purchasing options on the [Visual Studio Pricing] page.

Summary

In this article, you learned how to fix the Visual Studio Community license expired issue and continue using the free and powerful IDE for your development projects. You learned about the possible causes of the issue and the solutions to resolve them. You also learned about some FAQs related to the Visual Studio Community license and the differences between Visual Studio Community and Visual Studio Professional editions.