Prism alert: "Connection problem. You are currently offline. Prism must connect to the internet at least once every 30 days to validate your license. Please connect to the internet and launch Prism again."

The message is self-explanatory. Prism needs to connect to the internet after a certain periods of time or a certain number of launches to validate your Prism license. This happens automatically, with no need for you to do anything.

Starting with Prism 6.07 and 6.0g, you needed to connect to the internet at least every 30 days or 20 launches, whichever comes first. If you are not connected to the internet, you will need to launch Prism while connected. Starting with version 9, in addition to connecting once per 30 days or 20 launches, Prism will attempt to connect to the server every 24 hours if the application is not closed.

If you are getting this message even though your computer is connected to the internet, here are things to try:

• The first thing to do is reboot the computer which usually solves lots of strange issues.

• Make sure your firewall doesn't prevent Prism from communicating with the internet. Prism uses port 443, which is the same port that web browsers use when browsing securely (https), but it is possible that a firewall is configured (perhaps by an IT department) that allows web browsers (and email programs...) but not Prism to use that port. If that is the case, change the firewall settings (or contact IT to have these settings changed). 

• Test web browsing:

  • Windows 10 and 11. Test web browsing using Microsoft Edge. To do so, open the GraphPad server status page https://licenses.graphpad.com/status in the Microsoft Edge browser (be sure not to use a different browser). Check the response that you get. You should see the message “OK“. Prism uses Windows system settings to connect to the Internet. And if you do not get the response “OK“, you may want to try Windows Networks and Internet Control Panel to fuss with settings until you get “OK“ in response. If it does not help and you get a different response - please contact us.

  • Windows 8 and older. Test web browsing using Internet Explorer (IE). Connect to https://licenses.graphpad.com/status using IE (be sure not to use a different browser). Check the response that you get. You should see the message “OK“. Prism uses Windows system settings to connect to the internet. And if you do not get the response “OK“, use the Internet Options control panel to fuss with settings until IE works. If your version of IE is ancient, it may also help to update it. If you still get a different response - please contact us.

  • macOS. Test web browsing using Safari. Open the GraphPad server status page https://licenses.graphpad.com/status in Safari and check, what response you get. You should see “OK“. Prism uses system settings to connect to the internet. And if you do not get “OK“, try to solve internet connection problems on Mac . If you still get a different response - please contact us.

• (Windows only). Make sure Transport Layer Security (TLS) is turned on. TLS is a protocol that uses cryptographic algorithms to secure the communication between 2 computers.

  • To turn on TLS, go to the Control Panel, open Network and Internet, then choose Internet Options, and then choose the Advanced tab in the Internet Properties dialog. Make sure that TLS is turned on, and that TLS version 1.0 or newer is selected. See the screenshot:

• Try launching Prism using a different user account on your computer (you may need to create a new one). If Prism launches normally using this other account, try comparing the system settings, installed software, etc. to help understand what may be causing the issue. Instructions for creating another user account can be found here
• Try starting Windows in Safe Mode with Networking to possibly determine what is causing the issue. Instructions can be found here
• If none of these other options have helped, you may try removing the Prism preferences file and clearing the contents of the folder C:\Users\[User]\AppData\Roaming\GraphPad Software\Prism\10.0\Data. After performing this step, you may need to reactivate Prism upon the next launch.

If none of the suggestions above resolve the issue, please create a log file and send it to us.

If you open the log file, which is plain text, you might see some errors in this format: “HttpSendRequest failed. Error code < you will see the number here >: < Will be a message, describing the issue>.”
Here is the list of errors and possible solutions that you may try:

• HttpSendRequest failed. Error code 2: The system cannot find the file specified
  We suspect, there is something wrong with the internal TLS settings on your computer. Make sure Transport Layer Security (TLS) is turned on. You may also try contacting system administrators to check, if there are settings or any other software, that could prevent from connecting.

• HttpSendRequest failed. Error code 12045: The certificate authority is invalid or incorrect
  It appears, that the trusted root certificate that Prism requires is absent on your computer or it is incorrect. To fix that - update Windows

• HttpSendRequest failed. Error code 12029: A connection with the server could not be established
  It means that there is something wrong with the internet settings or network issue, perhaps a firewall or proxy settings. To fix that - try the suggestions above.

• HttpSendRequest failed. Error code 12007: The server name or address could not be resolved
  It indicates an issue with the Internet, specifically a DNS issue or URL that Prism tries to connect to. To fix that - try the suggestions above.

• HttpSendRequest failed. Error code 12002: Timeout for send request has expired
  Something unusual occurs to the network, as the GraphPad server is up and running correctly. The default timeout is 60 seconds. It should be enough in usual cases for Prism to connect to the server and get a response.

• HttpSendRequest failed. Error code 12157: An error occurred in the secure channel support
  This error indicates an issue with a web browser access or local/networked firewall. Most probably, the connection is blocked by an antivirus or a firewall or this may be an issue with the SSL and TSL options. To fix that - try the suggestions above about a firewall.

Additional potential problems and solutions:

• Firewall or antivirus software. Try disabling any active firewalls or antivirus software temporarily to see if it helps. If it does, be sure to add Prism to the exceptions list so that these services do not block Prism communication with the server.

• (Windows 8 and older) If you use an old version of Internet Explorer (IE 10 or earlier) and have it set to offline mode. This option is not available with Internet Explorer version 11 and its updates.

  • To check this, in Internet Explorer, open the File menu and see if the Work offline command is checked. If it is, uncheck it. 

• (Windows only) If you selected "Use a Proxy Server for your LAN" checked in the system's Internet Options, but didn't actually specify a proxy server. If so, use this solution:

1. Open Control Panel
2. Open Network and Internet
3. Open Internet Options
4. Click the Connections tab.
5. There should be a button labeled LAN Settings near the bottom. Click it.
6. Under the Proxy Server section, uncheck Use a proxy server for your LAN
7. Click OK to confirm the changes, restart Windows, and try launching Prism again.

If none of these suggestions help - please contact us and let us know.