What adjustments do I need to make in my WinCC OA system so that WinCC OA can continue to communicate with the new licensing portal?

When is it needed to adjust my WinCC OA System? 

As soon as the new License Portal is released, every existing and unpatched WinCC OA Installation will not be able anymore to trigger license actions like “activate”, “deactivate” or “update” (neither from the License Information Panel nor by using the WCCOAtoolCMActivation tool via command line). 

We’ll provide special patches for every affected WinCC OA version (see below) and as soon as the patches have been installed, WinCC OA will be able to trigger license actions again (communicating with the new License Portal). 

If you’re not able or allowed to install official patches on running facilities, but there is a need to get the License Overview Panel / WCCOAtoolCMActivation running correctly again, we’ll provide special zip-packages, which only affect the needed adjustments and which do not force you to stop and restart your project due to patch installation steps. 

The packages can be found here (below every WinCC OA version category): Downloads 

Which Adjustments will be done at the WinCC OA System? 

To be able to use the functionality of the new licensing portal from within WinCC OA, the following steps in your affected WinCC OA installations have to be done: 

1. Update of the "WCCOAtoolCMActivation" Tool
   Please replace the WCCOAtoolCMActivation tool in the bin directory of your WinCC OA product installation. This ensures that your system communicates correctly with the new licensing portal.
2. Adjustement of the License Information Panel
   We recommend that you also adapt the License Information Panel (and underlying libraries) in WinCC OA. This way, you can view and operate the content and information of the new licensing portal directly within your familiar graphical environment.

Which WinCC OA versions are affected?
These adjustments are necessary for all WinCC OA versions that use Codemeter for licensing. This includes the following versions:

• WinCC OA 3.17
• WinCC OA 3.18
• WinCC OA 3.19
• WinCC OA 3.20
• As well as all future WinCC OA versions

Schedule for the Provision of Updates
The provision of the necessary adjustments will be staggered, offering you flexibility:

From October 21, 2025 (Licensing Portal Release):

• The updated tool (WCCOAtoolCMActivation) and the adapted panel (including libraries) will be immediately available for download in the WinCC OA World. This applies to versions 3.17, 3.18, 3.19, and 3.20. 
• Your advantage: You can integrate these changes manually, even if you currently cannot or do not want to install a patch.

Patch Availability for Mainline Versions:
The changes will also be included in the following patches for our current mainline versions, so that (if these are installed) no manual integrations will be necessary.

• From end of October 2025, all necessary adjustments will be automatically included within the following patches: 
  • Patch 3.18.33
  • Patch 3.19.22.1
  • Patch 3.20.10

Important Note for WinCC OA 3.17:
Since WinCC OA 3.17 is no longer part of the current mainline, there will be no official patch for it. However, the required files will be available for download for this version from October 21, 2025, as described above.

For the upcoming Version 3.21:
Of course, all necessary adjustments will be directly included in the release of the new WinCC OA 3.21 version (planned for December).