Error 403 or "Activation Error - Cannot connect to the Activation server!" when running activation tool a for web-activated license can be generated in a situation when the affected computer is behind a Proxy/Caching proxy or has proxy settings that are preventing direct access to CSI license activation server on ports 8080 and 8443.
The license activation server ports are 8080 and 8443. If either of these ports is blocked, they need to be opened, otherwise license activation will not be possible.
Troubleshooting
To troubleshoot the error, the users should check if they have any Proxy settings or a "caching proxy server" that they are using and/or the Firewall they are using if they are not using any proxy server. This will help to determine if this is a network issue or if this is a computer issue.
If users have a Socks proxy server, such as IBM WebSphere Application server setup as a proxy server, they should check it has been set to only allow access to SSL port 443.
