For IT administrators, this message is a showstopper. Without a valid license, Horizon 7, 8, or 8.x will either shut down after a 60-day evaluation period or refuse to allow new connections. But here is the secret: 90% of the time, the key is valid—something else is wrong.

If your key is valid but shows invalid after an upgrade:

The Horizon admin console is sensitive to hidden characters.

If the above steps don't resolve the issue, you may need to perform more advanced troubleshooting:

net stop "VMware Horizon Connection Server" net start "VMware Horizon Connection Server"

Remember: When in doubt, open a notepad. Type the key by hand. Verify the product edition. Reboot the service. If none of that works, your key may need to be converted by Broadcom support.