MikroTik RouterOS License Commands

Viewing Your License and Software ID

/system/license/print

Example Output

software-id: 4C56-9F21
      level: 4
  features:

The software-id field is what you provide when buying a license — see our Software ID Guide for where else this shows up (Winbox, WebFig). The level field shows your current license tier; on new hardware or a fresh trial install this may show a low level or trial state until a key is imported.

Importing a Purchased Key

/system/license/import file-name=your-license.key

This applies a license key file to the router. The file must first be uploaded to the router’s file storage (via the Winbox file manager, FTP, or SFTP) — the terminal command references it by name, it doesn’t fetch it from your computer directly. If we sent your key as plain text rather than a file, use the update command with the key text instead:

/system/license/update key=YOUR_LICENSE_KEY_TEXT

Practical Example: Full Activation

1. Find your Software ID

   Run /system/license/print and copy the software-id value exactly.

2. Buy your license

   Enter that Software ID at checkout on the product page for your required level.

3. Upload the key file

   Drag the .key file we email you into the Winbox file list, or upload via FTP/SFTP.

4. Import it

   Run /system/license/import file-name=your-license.key.

5. Verify

   Run /system/license/print again — level should now show your new tier.

Troubleshooting

• “key doesn’t match this device” — the key was generated against a different Software ID than the one currently on this router. Don’t attempt to force it; contact support with your order number rather than trying the key on a different device.
• Level unchanged after import — some license changes require a reboot to take effect. Save your configuration, reboot, then check /system/license/print again.
• File not found on import — confirm the exact filename with /file/print; the file-name parameter is case-sensitive and must match exactly, including the .key extension.

RouterOS v6/v7 Differences

Licensing commands are unchanged in structure between v6 and v7 — /system/license/print and /system/license/import work the same way on both. As elsewhere, v7 accepts the slash-path form shown here; v6 more commonly used space-separated navigation (/system license print), and both are accepted regardless of the RouterOS version you’re running.