You installed the plugin. It is asking you to activate, or to register, or to enter a license key. Nothing is wrong.
Go and use the plugin. In almost every case it already works, and that prompt is the developer inviting you to subscribe to their updates and support. It is not a lock on the software.
That is the short answer. Here is the longer one, because that prompt can mean three different things.
Which one are you looking at?
| What is happening | What to do | |
|---|---|---|
| A | The plugin nags for a license key and works fine without one. This is most of the catalog | Ignore it. Go build |
| B | The plugin will not unlock its features until you click Activate, and the field accepts any value | Click Activate and put your 99Plugs update key in it, so you have one key to keep track of instead of two |
| C | You need a free license from the developer before the premium version will run | Sign up for the developer’s free license, then install ours. Wordfence works this way |
Most people reading this are in A. Close the notice and carry on.
Your update key is not an activation key
Two keys, two jobs. Mixing them up is what sends most people to this page.
Your 99Plugs update key goes in the 99Plugs Update Manager. That is what makes updates show up in your WordPress dashboard. You will find your keys in the Update Keys section of your account dashboard on 99plugs.com.
A developer’s license key is a subscription to their updates and their support desk. It was never permission to run the software, and it does not switch features on or off in the code sitting on your server right now.
Pattern B is the one exception, and it is worth knowing why. A few plugins hold their premium features behind an Activate button, and the field accepts any value you give it. Something has to go in there. Rather than have you invent a string and write it on a sticky note, we point you at a key you already have. That field is not connected to us and it does not control your updates. CartFlows and WPML are the two customers meet most often.
Why the key was never a lock
Everything we sell is licensed under the GPL. That license is what makes the code free to use and redistribute, on as many websites as you like. Developers then sell keys around that code, for updates and support. It is good business and it is what funds the plugin. It is not a gate on functionality.
If you have ever wondered whether any of this is above board, the full explanation is here, including the parts that are genuinely arguable.
The notice is still there
Nothing breaks if you leave it. If seeing it every time you open your dashboard bothers you, hide it.
When a product is genuinely limited
A small number of products lean on the developer’s own servers for template libraries, demo content or AI features. Those pieces need the developer’s own active license and will not work through us. The plugin itself does. Known Limitations has the list.
And if your plugin genuinely does not work, that is a different problem and we want to hear about it. Open a ticket. We will install that product on our test server and reproduce it.