Show Controls License Check: Connecting Your Tablet Every 90 Days

Starting with Control Panel Gen 2 version 12.316, your tablet needs to connect to the internet at least once every 90 days to keep Show Controls active. This article explains how the check works, what you will see as the deadline approaches, and what to do if the window closes while you are at a shoot site with no internet.

How the 90-day window works

Show Controls is a licensed feature tied to your specific tablet. Whenever your tablet has an internet connection, Control Panel Gen 2 checks your license in the background, records the date, and starts a new 90-day window. This happens on its own. You do not need to open the app, and there is nothing to tap.

If your tablet is offline, the countdown continues from the last successful check. Getting the tablet online at any point during those 90 days resets the clock automatically.

How to check your remaining time

Once you are inside the final 30 days, Control Panel Gen 2 posts your remaining days to the Android status bar. Swipe down from the top of the screen to see the current count without opening the app.

What you will see as the deadline approaches

If the window closes

Opening the app after the 90 days have passed shows a popup with two buttons.

I've Connected to the Internet

Tap this once your tablet is on a network. The app checks your license, renews it, and returns Show Controls to normal. Nothing else is required.

24 Hours Extension

Tap this if you are at a site with no internet and need to run your show tonight. Show Controls stays available for the next 24 hours.

Once the extension runs out, you will see a daily reminder to reconnect, and opening Show Controls while still offline displays a message asking you to check your internet connection and try again.

What stays available offline

The 90-day check applies only to Show Controls. Features that do not require a paid license, including the device list, stay available whether or not your license check is current.

Recommended practice

1. Connect before you travel. Get the tablet on wifi or a phone hotspot before leaving for a show. The check runs by itself once the tablet is online. This single step prevents every problem in this article.
2. Build it into your dry run. If you already do a dry run before show night, connect the tablet at the same time.
3. Validate each tablet separately. The license check is per device, so connecting one tablet does not cover the others.
4. Connect monthly if the tablet lives offline. A tablet used only for shows can sit past 90 days without anyone noticing.

Troubleshooting

I connected but Show Controls is still locked

Open the app while connected and tap I've Connected to the Internet. If it stays locked, load any web page in the tablet's browser to confirm the connection is actually passing traffic. Venue and hotel wifi often shows as connected while sitting behind a sign-in page.

I already used my extension and I am still offline

Show Controls cannot be unlocked without a connection. A hotspot from your phone is enough, since the check is small and takes a few seconds.

I connect regularly but still get reminders

The check runs in the background, so reminders should stop on their own shortly after the tablet goes online. If they continue, the tablet is most likely joining a network that is not passing traffic. Open a web page in the tablet's browser to confirm the connection is working, then check the status bar again.

Validation fails because the tablet is not on my license

Contact us with your tablet details so we can review your license.

Need more help?

If you are locked out ahead of a show and the steps above have not resolved it, submit a request to COBRA Hardware Support. Include your tablet model, the app version from the Control Panel settings screen, and the exact message you are seeing.