Activation Failed Error
There are several potential issues that could cause activation to fail. The description following "Activation Failed" in your error message gives you a clue about how to troubleshoot your activation failure.
Getting the "Activation Failed: Invalid HTTP response: 401" error
This is caused by your network's HTTP proxy intercepting the update request and blocking it. Try connecting without a proxy or activate Metasploit from different network. Once Metasploit is activated, you can use it behind a proxy.
Offline activations are available for qualified Metasploit Pro customers. We regret that we cannot offer offline activations to trial or freeware users.
Getting the "Activation Failed: A connection attempt failed because the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time, or established connection failed because connected host has failed to respond. - connect(2)" error
You're having trouble reaching the licensing server through your network connection. Try connecting to a different network and activate the license.
Getting the "Activation Failed: Failed Decode" error
You're having trouble reaching the licensing server through your network connection. Try connecting to a different network and activate the license.
Getting the "Activation Failed: The requested address is not valid in its context. - connect(2).*" error
This is usually a DNS resolution problem that is preventing Metasploit from reaching the updates server. Verify that you can resolve and access http://updates.metasploit.com/.
If you try to reach it in your browser, you should see the message "Success: The Metasploit Update Server is reachable."
If the success message is not displayed, try accessing it by IP address: http://184.154.104.2. After accessing using the IP address, you should see the success message. If you can see the success message, the issue is with the DNS resolution, and you should add the IP address to your local host file.(https://support.rackspace.com/how-to/modify-your-hosts-file/).
After you have verified you can reach updates.metasploit.com, restart the Metasploit services.
Getting the "Activation Failed: Hostname not known: updates.metasploit.com" error
Verify that you can resolve and access http://updates.metasploit.com/.
If you try to reach it in your browser, you should see the message "Success: The Metasploit Update Server is reachable."
If the success message is not displayed, try accessing it by IP address: http://184.154.104.2. After accessing using the IP address, you should see the success message. If you can see the success message, the issue is with the DNS resolution, and you should add the IP address to your local host file.(https://support.rackspace.com/how-to/modify-your-hosts-file/).
After you have verified you can reach updates.metasploit.com, restart the Metasploit services.
On Linux
Go to the the Metasploit installation directory (usually /opt/metasploit) and type:
On Windows
Click on the Start Menu, and then All Programs. Click on the Metasploit folder, and then click on the Services sub-folder. From here click on Stop Services. Wait 10 seconds and then go back to this same location and click Start Services.
After the services have restarted, try refreshing the screen in the browser.
Getting the “Activation Failed: Connection reset by peer - SSL_connect Your license Has expired” error
- Make sure there is no firewall or proxy on your network. A firewall or proxy can interfere with the activation process.
- Confirm that you have not already activated Metasploit and are attempting to use the same key. If this is the case, reach out to customer support to reset your license.
- Verify that you can connect to https://updates.metasploit.com over port 443.
- If you cannot connect to https://updates.metasploit.com, check that there is no SSL stripping or inspection.