Getting Started
Activate your licence
Activate your AETHER key on your computer and sort out licence errors when they happen.
Activate your key#
Open AETHER
A gate with the logo and aPaste your AETHER keyfield covers the window. The rest of the app stays locked until a key is accepted.Paste your key and press Activate
Pressing Enter works too. Your key is on your dashboard at aetheraio.com under Key, and in the email sent when it was issued.Wait for the gate to fade
The app waits for its first real data, so the app window is fully loaded when the gate goes.
On later launches you see a progress bar instead of the key field. Your key is stored, so the app does not ask again.
To see your key, open Settings. The General pane opens first, and its first group is Account. The Licence key row has two icon buttons, Show the key and Copy the key.
The red Deactivate button sits on the row above, next to your name and plan. It asks Log out of AETHER on this machine? You will need your license key to get back in. It then clears the key stored in this app. It does not free the key from this computer.
Once your key is accepted, go to Setup. Most tasks need an inbox, and some need an account group or a profile, before they can run. A proxy list is optional. With Localhost — this PC's IP, no proxy picked, a task runs from this computer's own IP.
Move to another computer#
Your key binds to the first computer that checks it.
Press Reset machine on your dashboard
This gives you a new key. The old key is retired at once. The app using it signs itself out within about a minute and asks for the new key.Paste the new key on the computer you want to use
Deactivate in Settings does not move your key. The key stays bound to this computer until you press Reset machine.
AETHER builds an ID from your computer's hardware and hashes it, so nothing raw leaves your computer. It saves the result as machine-id in your data folder. From then on, that file decides which computer the key belongs to. Reinstalling, updating or clearing the app's local storage does not change which computer the key is bound to.
Retries and offline use#
- At startup, if the first check fails for what looks like a temporary reason, the app tries five more times over about 21 seconds. The progress bar reads
Reconnecting to the license server…while it retries. Only then does the gate show a message, so a short blip never reaches you. - If the licence server cannot be reached at all while the app is open, the app keeps working for up to 24 hours after its last good check. Setting your system clock back does not extend this.
- The last good check is kept only while the app is open. If you reopen the app while offline, there is no grace period. After the retries, the gate asks you to check your connection.
- The grace period does not cover a server that answers with an error or with a reply the app cannot trust.
- A good answer is kept for 60 seconds. A cancelled membership or a Reset machine takes effect within about a minute while the app is open, even when you are not using it.
Connection problems vs. refusals#
If the app cannot reach the licence server, nothing is decided. Your key is kept and nothing is deactivated. The next good check fixes it on its own.
Only a final answer from the server ends your key. The message on the gate tells you which case you are in.
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
Could not reach the license server. at startup, Cannot reach the license server. after you press Activate, or Could not verify your license right now. while you work | Nothing was decided. You are offline, or there was a timeout, rate limiting, a server error or a licence-server rollout. Your key is still stored. Press Activate again, or reopen the app later. |
That license key was not accepted. | A refusal the app has no specific message for. It could be a typo, a key from the wrong place, or a reason this version does not recognise. Your key is kept. |
Your AETHER membership has ended or Your licence has expired. | A final answer. The key is cleared and the gate starts fresh. Sort out your membership at aetheraio.com, then activate again. |
This key is already in use in another AETHER app or on another computer | The key is bound to a different computer. Your key stays stored. Press Reset machine on the dashboard to get a key for this one. |
Whop keys stopped working on September 21. | Your key is an old Whop key from before September 21, and it no longer works. It stays stored. Get your new key at aetheraio.com. |
This key was replaced with Reset machine | Someone pressed Reset machine, so this key was retired. Paste the new key. It is on your dashboard and in your email. |
If the gate comes back while you work#
If your licence stops checking out, every protected request in the app returns 402 with license required. The app watches for this and shows the gate again.
Three final answers stop your running tasks: a membership that ended, an expired licence, and a key replaced with Reset machine. The app then signs you out and shows the reason on screen.
A key in use on another computer brings the gate back with that message. Your running tasks are not stopped, and your key stays stored.
If your connection drops while the app is open, the 24-hour grace period keeps it working, so the gate does not come back. The gate comes back once the grace period runs out. It also comes back when the server answers with an error or with a reply the app cannot trust.
In those cases the gate shows Could not verify your license right now. The app puts your stored key back in the field. Press Activate once, or reopen the app, to get back in.