Stale VS2019 Credentials

Question

I keep getting a warning about stale credentials for my VS2019 system. I have 4 days left to fix the license. I am not successful at resolving the situation. I need to continue using the system

Answer 1

A stale Visual Studio license usually means the license token was not refreshed, most commonly because Visual Studio was signed out or the machine was offline for an extended period.

To fix it in Visual Studio 2019:

1. Open Visual Studio.
2. Go to File > Account Settings.
3. Re-enter credentials for the account that has the Visual Studio subscription.
4. If the account has access to multiple Microsoft Entra ID tenants, use File > Account Settings > ellipsis button (...) > Apply filter to filter out nonessential tenants.
5. If re-authentication shows directories with access issues, filter those out in the Re-enter your credentials dialog.

If the license has already expired instead of only being stale:

1. Go to File > Account Settings.
2. Review the license information on the right side.
3. Either:
   • add another account that has a valid subscription by selecting +Add, or
   • select Unlock with a Product Key and enter a valid product key.

Important:

• If Visual Studio is used for long periods with limited or no internet access, use a product key to avoid future interruptions.
• Visual Studio can also unlock automatically if the signed-in account has an associated online subscription, including when connected to an Azure DevOps organization from Team Explorer.

If re-signing in does not resolve it, check whether Conditional Access or MFA is affecting sign-in, because those policies can prevent the license token from refreshing.

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References:

• Extend a trial version or update a license
• Set up Visual Studio with Azure DevOps FAQs