These errors indicate that something is keeping your computer from connecting to the activation server, even though it’s on the Internet.

Error code 0 means that your computer is not connected to the internet and you need to check your connection.

Turn off any and all firewalls

It may be a firewall or something else. First try turning off any and all firewalls then try again. If that does not do it, try all of the steps below.

Disable background processes and add trusted zone

  1. Restart your computer.
  2. Turn off stuff in the background:
    • Near your clock in the bottom-right corner in the taskbar are a bunch of mini icons representing some of the programs that are open and could be interfering. Right-click as many as possible and choose the option that sounds most like:
      • Exit
      • Turn Off
      • Shut Down
      • Close
      • Snooze for ___ minutes
    • You won’t be able to turn off your monitor, mouse, or sound.
    • Be sure you turn off your anti-virus… those are usually the worst culprits.
  3. Click START > Control Panel.
  4. Double-click Internet Options.
  5. Click the Privacy tab.
  6. Click the Sites button.
  7. Type or paste in: softwarekey.com
  8. Click Allow.
  9. Click OK.
  10. At the top, click the Advanced tab (not the button at the bottom).
  11. Scroll to the bottom of the list (second from the bottom).
  12. If “Warn if changing between secure and not secure mode” is checked, uncheck it.
  13. Make sure TLS 1.0, SSL 2.0, and SSL 3.0 are all checked.
  14. Click OK.
  15. Now try the activation again.

Add exception to a firewall

  1. Restart your computer.
  2. Connect to the internet if necessary.
  3. Open a web browser and see if you can reach: https://secure.softwarekey.com/solo/customers/

If you can reach this web page using a web browser, there is no reason why the activation could not reach the server unless you have some sort of personal firewall software blocking the activation (many of them block programs by default).

We have had customers whose Norton Firewall was blocking the above link from displaying. They would get a “Encrypted page blah blah blah” pop-up. When they turned off Norton and re-did the activation, it worked.

If you can turn your firewall off temporarily or if there is a place to enter exceptions, please put your EQ software on the list

  • (C:\Program Files\Electric Quilt Company\EQ7\EQ7.exe) for EQ7.
  • (%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Electric Quilt Company\Electric Quilt 8\EqApp2.exe)_ for EQ8

See: Add exceptions to your firewall for EQ7

  1. Disable all anti-virus software and system utility programs,
    including all their services. (Right-click all the mini-icons near your
    clock and turn them off or exit out of as many as possible.)
  2. Retry the activation by double-clicking the EQ7 or EQ8 icon.
  3. Type your password into Notepad (START -> All Programs ->
    Accessories -> Notepad).
  4. Double-click in the middle of the password to select the entire thing and choose Edit -> Copy from the top menu to copy it.
  5. Switch back to the activation screen and type in your License ID but paste your password.
  6. If it fails and gives you a code again, close the activation and retry step 2. If you get a pop-up from your firewall, allow EQ7 or EQ8 access.
  7. Once this is all finished and registered, restart your computer to turn on all those things you turned off before. If anything has a red X through it or looks like it is still turned off, right-click to re-enable it.

Temporarily Disable your Anti-Virus

See: Disable Common Anti-Virus Programs

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