Licensing and Activation

Note: For SmarterMail HA, activation only needs to be done once, on the first hub, and licensing is managed from the hub rather than from this page. All SmarterMail HA installations are licensed for unlimited mailboxes, all nodes run as SmarterMail Enterprise, and HA licenses include the MAPI & EWS add-on. For details, see SmarterMail HA Licensing.

The Licensing page (found under Settings > Activation > Licensing) is where a system administrator manages the SmarterMail license key, activates or reactivates the installation, and tracks the status of any add-ons, such as ActiveSync, MAPI & EWS, Cyren Premium Antispam, Cyren Premium Antivirus, Message Sniffer and SpamFoo. Understanding how activation, reactivation, and trials work is important for keeping an installation in good standing, especially when mailbox counts change or hardware is replaced.

Initial Licensing at Installation

During the installation process for SmarterMail, you're asked to input a license key, which defines the Edition and mailbox count that is activated once the installation completes. If you so desire, you can install SmarterMail as the Free Edition, which is good for use with 1 domain and up to 10 mailboxes.

The Free Edition's restrictions go beyond the 10-mailbox and 1-domain caps. Even while an installation stays under those limits, Free Edition cannot use Enterprise-tier features and add-ons, including ActiveSync, MAPI & EWS, Cyren Premium Antispam, Cyren Premium Antivirus, and Message Sniffer — these require at least a Professional or Enterprise license, depending on the feature. Free Edition also cannot be used as part of a SmarterMail High Availability (HA) cluster; HA requires a valid HA license on every node.

Example: A small business installs SmarterMail Free to evaluate it internally. They configure a single domain, example.com, and create 10 mailboxes for staff. This fits comfortably within the Free Edition limits, but if they want to test Cyren Premium Antivirus or set up ActiveSync for mobile devices, they'll need to license the installation as Professional or Enterprise first — Free Edition alone won't unlock those add-ons even though mailbox usage is within bounds.
Example: An admin running SmarterMail Free tries to add an 11th mailbox or a second domain. Both actions are blocked until the installation is licensed with a paid key that supports the additional domain or mailbox count.

Upgrading and Add-ons

To upgrade to a paid version and unlock additional mailboxes and/or gain access to use purchased SmarterMail Add-ons, a license key must be activated. Furthermore, if the SmarterMail installation is moved to another server or upgraded to a different version or product level, the product will need to be activated again. System administrators can use the Licensing section to activate SmarterMail or view current licensing information and limits.

It's worth distinguishing between changes that require a full Activate versus those that only require a Reactivate (both actions are covered in detail below). Moving the installation to new hardware, restoring it onto a different server, or changing the licensed product edition (for example, moving from Professional to Enterprise) all require activating the license key again from scratch. Simpler changes — such as increasing the mailbox limit on an existing key, renewing Maintenance and Support, or purchasing an add-on for a license that's already activated — typically only require a Reactivate to pull down the updated entitlements.

Note: Activation of a license key requires the server to contact SmarterTools over port 443 (HTTPS). Please ensure that any firewall or internet security software you have installed allows an outgoing TCP port 443 request to SmarterTools' licensing servers. If the server cannot connect for security reasons or due to internet connectivity restrictions, please contact sales@smartertools.com to request steps for a manual activation. A manual activation requires the server's hostname, which is shown as the machine name in the Manual Activation window (see Available Actions below). It can also be found by entering 'hostname' into the server's command prompt. If running SmarterMail in a Docker container, use "DOCKER" as the hostname.

The Licensing View

The top of the Licensing page shows three summary cards for the SmarterMail license itself. Below them, a table lists each add-on and its current status.

Summary Cards

Server license - The licensed edition (Enterprise, Professional or Free), its status and the license key. The status reads Active License, Active Trial, Active Lease or Not Activated. Use the copy button next to the key to copy it to the clipboard, which is handy when contacting SmarterTools or activating the key on another server. Free Edition installations also show a note that the Free Edition uses a perpetual license and does not expire.
Mailboxes - The number of mailboxes in use out of the number the license allows, for example 142 of 250. Licenses with no mailbox cap show Unlimited as the limit.
Maintenance and Support - The date Maintenance and Support (M&S) expires for a paid license. For a trial license, this card shows the trial's expiration date instead, and for a leased or SmarterMail HA license, it shows the date the lease is valid until. The card also shows how many days remain, and it's highlighted once 30 or fewer days are left or the date has passed.

Add-ons Table

The add-ons table has one row each for ActiveSync, MAPI & EWS, Cyren Premium Antispam, Cyren Premium Antivirus, Message Sniffer and SpamFoo. Columns can be sorted by clicking their headers. Each row shows:

Add-on - The name and icon of the add-on.
Status - Active, Active Trial, Active Beta or Not Activated.
Mailboxes - For ActiveSync, the number of mailboxes using ActiveSync out of the licensed cap. Other add-ons show Unlimited, since they aren't licensed per mailbox.
Expiration - The date a trial or subscription ends, or Does not expire. As with the summary cards, the date is highlighted with the number of days left once it's within 30 days, and marked Expired once it has passed.

On narrow screens, such as a phone, the Mailboxes and Expiration columns are hidden. That information is still available in the add-on's details window.

SpamFoo appears as a single row that covers both SpamFoo Antispam and SpamFoo Classification. SpamFoo Classification, which sorts legitimate messages into Primary, Promotions, Updates and Transactions, is included with every SmarterMail installation. If an installation has Classification but not Antispam, the row's status reads Active (Classification Only). Once SpamFoo Antispam is purchased or trialed, the row shows the Antispam status and expiration date.

Add-on Details

Click any row in the add-ons table to open a details window for that add-on. The window describes what the add-on does and repeats its status, mailbox usage and expiration date. When they apply, it also shows the add-on's Plan and Subscription status. If the add-on isn't active, the window explains why, for example Requires SmarterMail Enterprise, No License Activated, or a note that the trial has expired. If a trial is available, the window includes a Start Trial button.

Available Actions

The following actions are available in the toolbar at the top of the page:

Activate - Select this option to activate a new SmarterMail license key. Enter the license key and click Next. If the key belongs to a purchased ("owned") license, SmarterMail then asks for the email address and password of the SmarterTools account associated with the purchase. Trial license keys are activated right away without that step, since no purchase is tied to them.
Reactivate - Select this option to refresh the limits of the SmarterMail installation. This will cause SmarterMail to call back to the SmarterTools servers to refresh the limits of the license key and should be used after purchasing an add-on, upgrading to the Enterprise edition, renewing Maintenance and Support, or increasing the mailbox limit. Reactivating is immediate and does not require authentication with the SmarterTools account credentials. This option only appears once a license key has been activated.
Purchase - Select this option to be taken to the SmarterTools website where you can purchase a new license key or add-on.
Manual Activation - Found in the Actions (⋮) menu, this option is for servers that can't reach SmarterTools' licensing servers. Paste the activation text that SmarterTools Support sent you and click Activate. The window also displays the server's machine name, which Support needs in order to create the activation text.

To start an add-on trial, click the add-on's row, then click Start Trial in the details window and confirm. A trial lets you test the add-on for 30 days. A trial can only be activated one time per add-on. To continue using the service after the trial, the add-on must be purchased. Trials also require an existing license key already on file, which is part of why trials are not available on Free Editions of SmarterMail: a Free Edition installation has no purchased key to attach the trial to.

Note: The ActiveSync trial is limited to 25 mailboxes.

Example: An administrator running SmarterMail Professional wants to evaluate Message Sniffer before committing to a purchase. They click the Message Sniffer row on the Licensing page, select Start Trial in the details window and get 30 days of full functionality. If they decide to keep it, they use Purchase before the trial ends. Otherwise, the add-on becomes unavailable again once the 30 days elapse.
Example: An administrator who already ran the ActiveSync trial once, let it lapse, and later wants to trial it again on the same license key will find that the ActiveSync details window no longer offers Start Trial. Each add-on trial is a one-time offer per license key and doesn't reset automatically.

Note: On SmarterMail HA nodes, the Licensing page is read-only. A banner explains that licensing is configured on the High Availability hub, Activate and Reactivate are disabled, and Purchase is hidden. Manage the license from the hub instead.

Reactivate vs. Activate: Practical Scenarios

Scenario — adding mailboxes: An administrator's organization grows and they purchase an increase from 100 to 150 mailboxes on their existing Enterprise license. After completing the purchase, they return to the Licensing page and select Reactivate. SmarterMail immediately calls back to SmarterTools, pulls down the new 150-mailbox entitlement, and no account credentials are required.
Scenario — moving hardware: The same organization later migrates their entire SmarterMail installation to a new physical server as part of a hardware refresh. Because the installation is now running on different hardware, the license key must be activated again from scratch using Activate, which prompts for the SmarterTools account credentials associated with the purchase (since this is a paid, "owned" key).

Expiration Behavior

It's important to distinguish between two different kinds of expiration that appear on the Licensing page:

Maintenance and Support (M&S) expiration: When M&S lapses on a paid license, SmarterMail continues to run normally with all currently licensed features and mailbox limits intact — the product does not stop working or revert to Free Edition. What's lost is eligibility for free updates and upgrades to newer SmarterMail versions and continued access to standard support channels until M&S is renewed.
Trial expiration: If you are running a trial version of SmarterMail, it will automatically revert to SmarterMail Free when the trial expires. Any mailbox count or domain count above the Free Edition's 1 domain / 10 mailbox limits, or use of add-ons that require a paid license, may become unavailable until a paid key is activated.

Trial expiration isn't the only thing that can trigger an automatic reversion to Free Edition. If a license key is remotely revoked by SmarterTools — for example, due to a chargeback or a fraud-related billing issue — the installation will automatically revert to Free Edition and the administrator will be alerted, just as if a trial had run out.

Example: An administrator's Enterprise license M&S expires while they're mid-renewal with their reseller. Mail flow, mailbox access, and all previously licensed add-ons keep working uninterrupted; the only practical effect is that a newer SmarterMail build released during the lapse won't be eligible for install until M&S is renewed and the license is reactivated. By contrast, if that same administrator had instead been running a 30-day trial of SmarterMail Enterprise and let it expire without purchasing, the installation would automatically drop back to Free Edition limits — 1 domain and 10 mailboxes — and any usage beyond that would need to be addressed by purchasing and activating a paid key.