Hello,
I am a teaching assistant for a university course that relies on PSIM for simulation-based classes.
We are currently experiencing the same PSIM Student Edition licensing issue on multiple student PCs. This is now disrupting laboratory sessions and preventing students from completing assignments.
Problem
License activation appears to complete successfully, and the local .lic file is created.
However, on the affected PCs:
- New Page does not open
- Example files can be opened, but simulations do not run
- Help > About… shows no local license path, expiration information, or active features
- Options > License Setup is often missing entirely
- When License Setup does appear, manually connecting the license usually fails
- In a few cases, the license is recognized temporarily, but within approximately 30 minutes the connection is lost and PSIM shuts down
One recurring error message is:
“Connection to the license server is lost. The application will shut down.”
Troubleshooting already attempted
We have already tried the following on the affected PCs:
- Running PSIM and Altair License Utility as Administrator
- Deactivating and reactivating the license
- Requesting and activating a newly issued Student Edition license
- Completely uninstalling and reinstalling PSIM and related Altair software
- Installing and testing an older version, including PSIM 2025
- Checking the PCs for Windows/hardware-related issues
- Confirming that license activation succeeds and that the
.lic file exists locally - Checking the Ethernet/MAC HostID and confirming that it matches the HostID information in the license file
- Testing the license through License Setup when that menu is available
The issue still persists.
In addition, two students are unable to proceed normally even at the Altair account login stage. Their accounts exist, but when they attempt to log in, they receive a message instructing them to contact Altair support.
They have already contacted Altair regarding this login issue, but have not yet received a response. Because they cannot even access their accounts properly, they are unable to proceed with license activation or use PSIM at all. This delay is further disrupting the course.
Expected behavior
After successful Student Edition activation, PSIM should recognize the local license and allow students to create schematics and run simulations normally.
On a working PC, Help > About… displays information such as:
- LOCAL license
- License file path
- License expiration
- Active Features
On the affected PCs, this information is completely missing.
Questions
Could the Altair/PSIM team please help us determine:
- Why successfully activated local
.lic files are not being recognized by PSIM? - Whether there is currently an issue with Student Edition licensing or activation?
- Whether the affected licenses or entitlements need to be reset or checked on the server side?
- Why some licenses are recognized temporarily and then lose connection shortly afterward?
- Why some student accounts cannot log in despite already existing?
- Is there a stable workaround that can be applied to multiple affected student PCs?
We would especially appreciate a solution beyond general reinstallation or reactivation instructions, because those steps have already been attempted multiple times.
This issue is currently affecting an ongoing university course, so any urgent assistance would be greatly appreciated.
I can provide screenshots of the following if needed:
- Altair License Utility
- HostID information
.lic file information- Help > About…
- License Setup
- Error messages
Thank you.
