How user licenses work
Concurrent seats, the newest-login-wins rule and the message evicted users see, where the license panel lives now, and why there's no key to type anymore.
By the end of this page you'll know how seats are counted, what actually happens when they run out — nobody is refused; somebody is evicted — and where licensing lives now that there's no key to type.
Seats and sessions
Licensing counts concurrent signed-in sessions against your licensed user count (named-user licensing also exists; concurrent is the common arrangement). The practical units:
- One browser = one session = one seat, however many tabs.
- A second browser or second machine = a second session.
- Idle sessions hold their seat until they end — which is why a sensible inactivity logout is the best licensing lever you have.
What happens when seats run out
Not what most people expect: the login is never refused. The newest login always succeeds, and the system signs out someone else's oldest evictable session to make room. The person evicted learns on their next click:
"You were signed out because another user needed a license. You can sign back in below."
— on the login page, in as many words. Administrators are notified too ("User Licenses Exceeded"), naming who was logged out and when. So the symptom of a seat shortage isn't "I can't log in" — it's other people reporting mystery sign-outs. When those reports cluster, count your afternoon overlap against Users Licensed.
Where licensing lives
Configuration Manager (on the server) > License. The panel is read-only and answers the questions that matter:
- License Status: — Licensed with its subscription date, Trial, or a state naming its fix ("Contact Ademero Support").
- Users Licensed: — the seat count, e.g. "25 concurrent user(s)".
- Machine ID: — click it to copy; support asks for this when adjusting your license.
Why there's no key to type
Older versions had a license-key screen; current versions don't — licensing is tied to your Ademero account and activates itself, which is why the panel above is read-only. Adding seats, renewing, or moving servers is a support conversation (bring the Machine ID), not a settings change. If documentation or memory tells you to "enter the new key," that's the old world.
Success check: open the License panel and read Users Licensed against your realistic peak of simultaneous users. If the numbers are close, you've just explained any mystery sign-outs — and know what to ask support for.