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Devices & activations

A device is one computer running one of your apps. Each TEC app license has a number of seats, and each seat can be occupied by one device at a time.

This page covers how activation works, how to release a seat, and what to do when your hardware changes.

How activation works, in plain words

When you paste your license key into a TEC app for the first time on a given computer:

  1. The app asks TEC ID, "Is this key valid? And are there any seats free?"
  2. If yes, TEC ID reserves a seat for that computer and sends back a small token of permission.
  3. The app saves that token locally, in an encrypted form, so it doesn't need to ask again every time you launch.
  4. Every once in a while (typically once a day), the app quietly re-checks with TEC ID. If anything's changed — you released the seat, the subscription lapsed, the license was refunded — the app reacts accordingly.

The whole thing takes about a second. You usually only notice it on first activation.

We don't read anything off your computer beyond a small fingerprint that lets us recognize the same machine on the next check-in. We don't know your hostname, your network, what files you have, or anything else.

Seeing your activated devices

Sign in at id.tec.design, open the license card for the product, and scroll to Devices. You'll see a row per device, with:

  • A nickname (the app picks one — usually your computer's user-friendly name like "Dylan's MacBook"; you can rename it any time)
  • The operating system
  • The date it was first activated
  • The date it last checked in
  • A Release seat button

[Screenshot: Devices list showing two activated machines]

Releasing a seat

You can release a seat at any time, for any reason — most commonly because:

  • You're selling or replacing the computer
  • The computer broke and you can't release it from there
  • You want to switch from your laptop to your desktop for the day
  • You activated by mistake on a computer you don't want to use

Click Release seat on the device row and confirm. Within a minute, that seat is free, and you can use it to activate another device.

The app on the released computer will notice the change the next time it checks in (and at the latest, the next time it launches). It will fall back to its inactive state and prompt for a license key.

[Screenshot: Release-seat confirmation modal]

Switching computers

A common case: you bought a license, activated your laptop, and now you want to use the app on your desktop instead.

  1. Go to your dashboard and release the seat on the laptop (you don't need to be on the laptop to do this).
  2. On the desktop, open the app and paste your license key.
  3. The app activates against the now-free seat.

Total time: about thirty seconds.

If both machines are within reach, you can also let the desktop activation automatically displace an older one — when you activate beyond your seat count, the app will offer to bump the device that's been idle the longest. Useful when an old computer's been gone for months and you forgot it had a seat.

My computer died and I can't release it

This happens. A dead machine isn't a special case for you to worry about — just release the seat from the web dashboard. You don't need physical access to the old computer.

If the seat appears stuck (rare), email support@tec.design and we'll release it manually.

I upgraded my hardware (motherboard, SSD, fresh OS install)

The app identifies your computer by a stable fingerprint that combines a few hardware and OS characteristics. Most small upgrades don't change the fingerprint — adding RAM, swapping a GPU, or installing a new SSD usually leaves it the same. Big changes (replacing the motherboard, reinstalling the OS from scratch, or moving the install to a different computer entirely) usually do change it.

If the fingerprint changes, the app sees itself as a "new" device the next time it launches and tries to claim a new seat. If you've still got a free seat, that just works. If not, you'll get a prompt to release a seat from the dashboard — either the old fingerprint that's no longer valid, or one of your other devices.

You'll never get permanently locked out from a hardware change. At worst, you spend a minute in the dashboard.

Time and clock

The activation token your computer holds is time-bound — it has a short expiry, and the app refreshes it on each check-in. For that reason, the app expects your computer's clock to be roughly accurate. If your system clock is dramatically off (weeks or years in the past or future), activation may fail.

If you see a clock-related error on activation, the fix is to enable automatic time-sync in your operating system. Details in Troubleshooting.

Offline use

Once an app is activated, it doesn't need a constant internet connection. It can run for several days without checking in.

After a long offline stretch (typically about a week, varies by app), the app will refuse to start until it can re-verify with TEC ID. Connect to the internet, launch the app, and it'll silently refresh. See each app's page for its specific offline grace period: