Licensing & Activation
Licensing & Activation
How ZeroTrace licensing works, what a hardware ID is, and the one-time step that licenses your device forever, with no account and no subscription.
ZeroTrace licensing is built around one idea: the hardware is the license. There is no account to create, no subscription to renew, and no server your device has to phone home to. You activate each device once, and it stays licensed for the life of the unit.
This page explains what the pieces are, what a hardware ID is, and how activation works on each device.
The one idea
A ZeroTrace device proves it is licensed entirely on its own. The proof lives on the device, not on your phone, your computer, or a ZeroTrace server. That is why you can delete the app, switch phones, reinstall, or re-pair, and the device is still licensed.
The license is written to the device's own flash memory. It is not tied to a phone, a login, or a subscription. The hardware key is the credential, and it stays with the device.
What is what
Three terms cause most of the confusion. Here is what each one means, in plain terms.
| Term | What it is | Looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware ID | Who the device is. A fingerprint each unit builds from its own permanent chip identifiers. Unique to that one physical device, set at the factory, and impossible to copy onto another. | Values split by pipes, often with a short model prefix: ZT-7421156|16842752|A1B2C3D4E5F6|… |
| License key | Proof the device is licensed. A code mathematically tied to one device's hardware ID. A key only works on the exact device it was issued for. | Five groups split by dashes: XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX |
| Activation | The one-time step that joins the two. Entering the key on the device writes it to the device's flash, so the unit can verify itself from then on, offline and forever. | A one-time action, not a code. |
So the chain is simple: the hardware ID identifies the device, the license key is bound to that hardware ID, and activation stores the key on the device.
The separator tells you which is which. Split by pipes (|) is a hardware ID, the device describing itself. Split by dashes (-) into even groups is a license key, the credential you enter. You read the hardware ID off the device; you type the license key in.
What a hardware ID is
Every ZeroTrace unit has a hardware ID. The device computes it from permanent identifiers baked into its chip at the factory, so it is unique to that one physical device and cannot be changed or transferred to another unit. When the device reports it, you see a few values joined by pipes, usually behind a short model prefix:
ZT-7421156|16842752|A1B2C3D4E5F6|2814792716779524
You do not normally type this in. The app, the desktop Companion, and the device's own info screen read it for you, and it shows up in support diagnostics. The prefix (ZT-, ZTP-, ZTM-, ZTG-) just marks which model it is.
Your license key is tied to this hardware ID. That binding is the whole point: it lets the device check its own license locally, with nothing to look up on a server and no account to sign in to. The check runs on the device, so it works fully offline.
It is used on the device to verify the key, in keeping with ZeroTrace's no-logs, no-telemetry stance. You never have to hand it over in a form that identifies you, and the diagnostics the apps generate strip identifiers and secrets first.
Where your key comes from
A license key is five groups of letters and numbers, sometimes with a symbol or two, joined by dashes:
XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX
Depending on how you set the device up, you meet the key in one of two ways.
- It ships with the device. Most units arrive with a license key as a QR code, and the same key is in your order confirmation and your ZeroTrace dashboard. You enter it during activation.
- The device requests it. Some devices generate a short request code from their hardware ID. You submit that code, which registers and activates that exact unit. The device then stores its key.
Either way, activation is a one-time step per device.
How to activate
ZeroTrace HID and ZeroTrace AirLeak activate through ZeroTrace Mobile over Bluetooth.
- Pair the device in the app.
- When prompted for the license key, enter it by scanning the QR, typing it, or pasting the key from your order or dashboard.
- The key is written to the device flash. Done.
Full walkthrough: Activation.
Switching phones, reinstalling, or re-pairing
Nothing to re-buy and nothing to re-activate. Because the license lives on the device:
- Delete and reinstall the app: the device stays licensed.
- Move to a brand-new phone and re-pair: the device stays licensed.
- Use the same device from more than one phone or machine: still licensed, no per-device login.
There is no account and no per-machine limit. Install the app or Companion on every machine where you use a ZeroTrace device.
Using more than one device
Licensing is per device, not per account. Each unit carries its own key bound to its own hardware ID, so a key from one device will not activate another. Pair as many devices as you own; the app lists them all and can drive them together. To manage a group on one screen, link them into the TraceNet mesh.
When a key is rejected
A rejected key returns a plain-English reason rather than a cryptic code:
- Wrong device, the key belongs to a different unit. Check you are activating the device the key was issued for.
- Expired, the key is no longer valid.
- Already used, the key has already been activated on another device.
A one-tap action copies a redacted diagnostic you can send to support. As with the debug log, it strips identifiers and secrets first, so you are never handing over anything sensitive.
Privacy
Activation does not create an account, and the license check runs on the device, offline. The apps send no telemetry, and your pairings, logs, and captures stay on your own hardware. The license proves the device is yours; it does not track you.