Unable to assign ESXI host licenses fails with "Cannot add the following license keys. Existing Licenses Fix or remove these license keys to proceed."

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to resolve ESXi host license issue .

Symptoms:

When assigning the licenses to ESXI host  you see the following error:

 

"Cannot add the following license keys. Existing Licenses: ####### Fix or remove these license keys to proceed."

Cause

The issue occurs when you are assigning a higher version license to a lower version of the host .

Example : 

• • A license for vSphere 8.0U2b and above , can only be assigned to the ESXi host which are running above version 8.0U2b.
  • A license for vSphere 8.0U2b and above , Can not be assigned to the host running at 8.0.0a .

Resolution

To resolve the issue :

In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to Administration > Licensing > Licenses.

Check if the Valid license has been added on vcenter .

 

 

If the added license is valid , Please go ahead and check if the license has been assigned on the ESXi host .

                  Administration > Licensing > Licenses > Hosts

You will see the ESXi hosts that are assigned to the license .

 

If the hosts are not assigned with any licenses , You may see as below .

 

 

Check from ESXi host .

Inventory > ESXi Host > Configure > Licensing 

Check whether a valid license is assigned . You might see Evaluation license in case no license has been assigned on the host .

 

If no license has been assigned , then try and assign the license on to the host .

Click on ESXI Host > Configure > Licensing > Asign License > New License . A new dialogue box appears ,

Now enter the license key that was provided to you by Broadcom .

When you click on OK , If you see the following error 

"Cannot add the following license keys. Existing Licenses: #########  Fix or remove these license keys to proceed."

 

 

Then verify , If the ESXi has the required version to satisfy the license .

For example :

A license for vSphere 8.0U2b and above , can only be assigned to the ESXi host which are running on and above version 8.0U2b.

A license for vSphere 8.0U2b and above , Can not be assigned to the host running at 8.0.0a .

 

 

If the above conditions are met, you have the following options available to you:

 

Option 1:

Upgrading an ESXi host/hosts to the appropriate licensing version that has been provided by Broadcom .

 

Option 2:

Downgrade the license to the lowest version of the ESXi host .

When downgrading vSphere licenses, you can only downgrade one version level at a time.

1.A license for vSphere 8.0U2b, can only be immediately downgraded to 8.0.0a.
2.If your license is for 8.0.0a, you can only downgrade to 7.0.

If you are unsure about how to downgrade the license, please create a service request with Broadcom for further assistance.

 

Additional Information

You may refer the following KB article to Upgrade and Downgrade VMware License Keys : 
Upgrade and Downgrade VMware License Keys

Create a Non Technical case for Support Portal / License / Contract related issues