arnlocke

I have the same problem. Here is the answer from PMDG, which didn't help me: This error means that something between your computer and our server is actually blocking the activation window's connection attempt. The activation window attempts to connect to license.precisionmanuals.com on port 8888. There are a few possible sources of this that you can look for: 1. A software or router firewall is blocking the connection on your computer or network. In the case of the software firewall, you need to allow the PMDG activation utility through (it should appear in your list of blocked applications if this is the cause). In the case of the hardware router, you'll need to find the section in it labeled "port forwarding" or something similar - all routers are different and I can't give exact instructions - check its manual. You want to forward port 8888 to your computer's local IP on the router's network - this is usually something like 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.1.100 etc depending on how your router is set to assign IP addresses. Here is a video that shows you how to find your computer's LAN IP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t7ov7J3lcM 2. Your Internet Service Provider is blocking port 8888 at the origination point for your connection inside their servers. This is very common if you're using a connection that's on a university or corporate network. If this is the case, you can probably call their IT support department (assuming installing an entertainment/game product is even something you're allowed to do on the network) and ask them to open that port for you so that you can install. Just tell them you need to be able to make connections to "license.precisionmanuals.com on port 8888" to activate a software install - they'll know what that means. 3. There may be a problem in the wider internet such as a failed backbone router that's preventing you from reaching our servers. If you can't reach the PMDG main website or store as well, there's a good chance this is the issue. There's really nothing that can be done about this unfortunately - it's completely out of either side's hands - you'll just have to wait for the problem to be fixed. Here are a few possible workarounds we've seen other users use successfully: a. If your computer is a laptop, take it to a place that has a different internet connection/network - we've had people go to coffee shops and other places with free WiFi that outside of a campus or corporate network and get it to successfully activate that way. b. If you have a smartphone or tablet such as an iPhone or iPad or an Android device, there's usually a way to "tether" your computer to the device's cellular internet connection. We've had users report success by doing this - the device will be on a separate ISP's network and shouldn't have the same blocked issue the one the computer's normally attached to has. Once you get it activated, you shouldn't need to make the connection again unless you change the system's hardware in a major way (motherboard, CPU, GPU etc). Paul Gollnick Technical SupportPMDG Simulations, LLC www.precisionmanuals.com If you have been able to fix your problem, please let me know. I have tried everything that PMDG suggests. Arne Lockert