Troubleshoot QCBM Authorized Domain and Entitlement Problems

Current QCBM releases use QuantaCade Authorized Domains for paid entitlement. When the effective tier is wrong, a paid control is locked, or entitlement verification warns, start with the Status tab and determine whether the problem is domain assignment, automatic task health, communication, expiry, or an old legacy-key state.

Do not paste or rotate old license keys as the first fix. The current paid-access path is Authorized Domain verification.

Read the Current Entitlement Card First

Open Status → Current Entitlement and record Status, Base tier, Effective tier, Verification, Domain, Access until, Last checked, and Next automatic check.

If the card is in communication grace, also note the grace end. Those fields tell you whether QCBM has a domain problem, an expired entitlement, a stale/failed validation, or simply a Basic base tier working as expected.

Confirm the Correct Authorized Domain

Use Manage Authorized Domains and confirm the domain shown by QCBM is assigned to QC Backup Manager under the appropriate QuantaCade subscription/entitlement.

Authorize the actual site identity QCBM reports. Do not assume a staging host, unrelated subdomain, old hostname, or migrated domain automatically inherits authorization from another installation.

Refresh Entitlement

After correcting the Authorized Domain assignment, return to QCBM and select Refresh Entitlement. QCBM performs its keyless verification and updates the status card.

Current QCBM can use a short-lived Joomla-site proof file under media/com_qcbackupmanager during Authorized Domain validation. If QCBM reports that it cannot create the temporary verification file, correct Joomla file ownership/write permissions rather than changing the subscription.

Check Entitlement Automation Integrity

Paid entitlement and an active Max Preview require the canonical QC Backup Manager Entitlement Revalidation task to remain healthy. QCBM expects the task plugin to be installed/enabled and exactly one published canonical task to run at least every 60 minutes.

If the task is disabled, missing, duplicated, unpublished, or slowed beyond the allowed cadence, QCBM resolves to Basic until automation is healthy again. A Super User can use Repair Entitlement Task from Status when repair is available.

Understand the 24-Hour Communication Grace

A temporary QuantaCade communication failure is different from an invalid entitlement. A previously confirmed paid entitlement can remain available only within QCBM's bounded 24-hour communication grace and never beyond a known access expiration.

Grace does not permanently extend paid access, and an entitlement that has not been successfully confirmed within the required window falls back to Basic.

Legacy License Key Is Historical, Not the Normal Fix

If Legacy license key appears, the installation retained a key from an older QCBM release. Current QuantaCade releases do not require a key for the Authorized Domain model.

After the correct Authorized Domain is configured, you can use the supported Clear Saved Key action if desired. QCBM immediately rechecks Authorized Domain entitlement; if none exists, the installation remains/returns to Basic. Clearing the key does not delete QCBM settings or backup data.

If Refresh Still Returns Basic

  • Confirm the Status card domain matches the domain authorized in your QuantaCade account.
  • Confirm the paid subscription or All Access entitlement is active and not past its access expiration.
  • Repair Entitlement Automation Integrity if it is unhealthy.
  • Check outbound HTTPS/DNS/firewall access if QCBM cannot reach QuantaCade.
  • Check Joomla write permissions if Authorized Domain proof creation fails.
  • Record the exact QCBM entitlement message before changing anything else.

Verify the Fix

A successful correction should update Effective tier, Verification, and Last checked, and should leave Entitlement Automation Integrity healthy with a valid next execution. Then reopen the previously locked feature and confirm its control is available to a Joomla user who also has the required ACL permission.

Community Discussion

Want to compare workflows, share practical tips, or discuss how you use this QCBM feature? Visit the QC Backup Manager Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific issues, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.