Ableton provides two authorizations per license for use on a studio and a portable machine. If you have recently switched computers and reached your limit:

Ableton’s authorization system is designed to tether a license to a specific "hardware fingerprint"—a unique ID derived from your motherboard, hard drive, and network adapters. When you double-click an .auz (Ableton Unlock) file, Live compares the hardware ID inside that file to the current hardware ID of your machine.

Before you panic and contact support (or worse, consider a shady crack that could introduce malware), understand this: It does not necessarily mean your license key is fake or that your computer is broken.

If online fails, select "Authorize Offline," copy your hardware ID, and download a fresh .auz file from the Ableton Offline Authorization page . 📂 Advanced Troubleshooting Clear Hidden License Files