Helperbird Subscription Not Activating - How to Fix

Troubleshoot when your Helperbird subscription shows as Free or No active subscription even though you have a valid license. Learn how to reset and resync your subscription.

Is your Helperbird subscription showing as "Free" or "No active subscription" even though you have a valid subscription key or license? This can happen when the subscription data gets stuck during an update. Here's how to fix it.


Step 1: Check Subscription

First, try resyncing your subscription by clicking the Check subscription button.

  1. Open Helperbird by clicking the Helperbird icon in the browser.
  2. Click the Settings icon (the gear icon in the top left corner).
  3. In the Options menu, click Check subscription.

This will resync your subscription with the server. If it shows as active after that, you're all set!


Step 2: Check for Firewall Issues

If checking the subscription didn't work, make sure your network isn't blocking Helperbird's servers.

Visit https://engine.helperbird.app/firewall/ in the browser where Helperbird is installed.

If it says you're blocked, your school or organization's firewall may be preventing Helperbird from activating. Ask your IT admin to allowlist engine.helperbird.app. You can also share our firewall troubleshooting guide with them.

If it says you're not blocked, move on to the next step.


Step 3: Try Entering Your Subscription Key

If you're using email login, try switching to a subscription key instead.

  1. Open Helperbird Settings.
  2. Find the subscription key field.
  3. Enter your subscription key and click Apply.

If you don't know your subscription key, ask your school admin or email us at [email protected].


Step 4: Reset All Data

If the subscription is still stuck, a full reset will clear any corrupted data and give Helperbird a fresh start.

  1. Open Helperbird and click the Settings icon (gear icon in the top left).
  2. In the Options menu, click Settings.
  3. Scroll down to the Data & Storage section.
  4. Click the Reset all data button.
  5. Close Chrome completely and reopen it.

After the reset, enter your subscription key or log in again. Your subscription should now activate correctly.

Note: Resetting all data will clear your personalized Helperbird settings, so you will need to set up your preferences again.


Step 5: Use a JSON Policy for School Deployments

If you're a school admin deploying Helperbird to many students, you can set the subscription key automatically using a JSON policy. This way students don't need to enter a key at all.

Learn how to set a Helperbird JSON policy for your user group.


Video Tutorial

Coming soon


Need Additional Help?

Still having trouble activating your subscription? Reach out to our Helperbird support team and we'll get you sorted!

What People Are Saying

Join over 1,000,000 people who use Helperbird every day.

My son has dyslexia and has been struggling with parts of distant learning over the last year. We recently discovered this software and he is loving everything about it, especially with the ease of following directions and completing his assignments! We have used several other tools but this has everything a dyslexia person needs all in one bundle! The upgrade is definitely worth it to make our daily struggles, on the computer, run much smoother. I also greatly appreciate customer support (helpdesk). They went above and beyond to make sure we were all set up on the computer for my son to most successful.

Melissa Motz

Melissa Motz

Teacher

Helperbird helps enhance my studying and research efforts by allowing me to add sticky notes and highlight important stuff on websites, or e-books. I can also easily remember to read articles later.

Jared B.

Jared B.

Marketing Director

It's easy to use with every webpage since it's just an extension. You can access lots of different functions to declutter a page (show only the relevant text and not ads, for example). You can add post it notes to annotate, and it has things like text-to-speech.

Harmony M.

Harmony M.

Program Manager

Immersive Reader from Microsoft is amazing, but my friends in Google districts were missing out until I found Helperbird. Great for proofreading! Simply highlight the text and have it read back to you, change the spacing in your view, highlight parts of speech, even translate by word or by document to have it read to you and adjust the speed! So amazing that I posted a YouTube tutorial within days of installing it. Plus, unlike many extensions, it didn't ask for obnoxious permissions like asking to delete everything in my Google Drive. #Winner #a11y

GK Techies

GK Techies

Helperbird user

This extension has been an absolute lifesaver. I have that fantastic combo of ADHD and Dyslexia while trying to go through college. I have difficulty keeping letters in order, seeing the gaps between words, and with ADHD on top, I lose focus A LOT. The immersive reader has been my new best friend. It drowns out the rest of the content on the page, changes the font to something I can read, and highlights the word as it reads to me. My eyes are forced to keep going in the right direction. I can slow down and pay attention to what I'm reading. I don't even have to go back and read the same paragraph 5 times to understand it! The screen overlay has been outstanding for eye strain and being able to distinguish between words and spaces. The custom font and spacing for research articles have been an enormous advantage! I can actually read the research papers now and not have this daunting 2 column fine print page to squint over.All around, this has been the best purchase I've ever had. I use this every day, with every assignment. I don't even struggle with story-based questions anymore. The immersive reader helps me read, listen, and understand the question all at once. I am still exploring what I can use this with and how it can make my academic career, and I keep getting impressed with every new way I find to use it. Seriously, try it out. You won't regret it at all. Even if you don't have dyslexia or ADHD, just try it out. You might find that it helps you understand the content you're trying to learn even better!

Mason Hunter

Mason Hunter

Helperbird user

It works Amazing!

A Google User

A Google User

Helperbird user

Helperbird logo: Stylized owl with large yellow eyes and a beige face, against a green background.

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