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E_APPLICATION_TRIAL_LICENSE_EXPIRED
The installed application’s trial entitlement has expired
E_APPLICATION_TRIAL_LICENSE_EXPIRED is HRESULT 0x8027025D (signed decimal -2144927139, unsigned decimal 2150040157). The value has failure severity, facility 39 (FACILITY_SHELL), and code field 0x025D. AllStat records the direct SDK message: “This app failed to launch because its trial license has expired.”
This is an entitlement state, not a startup crash
Windows determined that the application is operating under a trial license and that the trial is no longer active. Legacy LicenseInformation documentation explains that IsActive remains true while a trial is valid and that IsTrial identifies trial status. Modern Store APIs expose equivalent active/trial information through StoreAppLicense. Because the shell blocks launch, application code may not get an opportunity to display its own upgrade page.
Conditions to verify
- The signed-in Store account is the account that obtained the trial or purchased the full license.
- The installed package corresponds to the expected Store product and not a test/sideload build with different identity.
- The device clock and trusted-time state are correct; a gross time error can complicate license interpretation.
- A full license purchase, subscription assignment, or enterprise entitlement has actually synchronized to this device.
- The product still offers a supported upgrade path and has not been retired or replaced by another package identity.
Evidence to collect
- Package family/full name, version, publisher, Store product ID, user account, and device identifier appropriate for support.
- License state returned by supported Store APIs when accessible from a companion/diagnostic context.
- Purchase or assignment timestamp and non-sensitive transaction/support correlation identifier.
- Store and licensing events showing entitlement refresh after purchase or account change.
- Whether the failure reproduces online, after Store sign-in refresh, and for the purchasing user.
Recovery paths
- For a legitimately expired trial, obtain or assign the full license through the product’s supported Store or enterprise channel.
- If a full license already exists, refresh the correct Store account and verify that package identity matches the purchased product.
- Allow entitlement synchronization to complete, then perform a bounded launch retry.
- Escalate with product and transaction identifiers if the Store shows ownership but Windows still reports trial expiration.
- Preserve user data during any uninstall/reinstall step; reinstall is not the primary remedy for a valid expired trial.
Retry semantics
An unchanged retry cannot extend a finished trial. Retry is meaningful only after a full entitlement is acquired/assigned or after an existing entitlement has been refreshed. Avoid repeated prompts that imply a temporary outage; the user needs a clear licensing decision and a supported purchase or support path.
Difference from a temporary licensing issue
E_APPLICATION_TEMPORARY_LICENSE_ERROR explicitly invites a later retry because validation encountered a transient issue. This code records an expired trial state. Network recovery alone will not make an honestly expired trial active, although connectivity may be needed to synchronize a subsequent purchase.
Practical scenario
A user installs a time-limited trial and returns after its expiration date. Shell activation returns E_APPLICATION_TRIAL_LICENSE_EXPIRED before the app can show its main window. Purchasing the full product under the same Store identity and allowing license synchronization restores launch; clearing application data would not extend the trial.
Official Microsoft references
- Microsoft: COM error codes for security and setup
- Microsoft: LicenseInformation trial behavior
- Microsoft: StoreAppLicense active and trial state
- Microsoft: trial versions and feature limits
- Microsoft: packaged application activation
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