Many professional software vendors (Avid, Steinberg, Autodesk) offer a Zero-Day Replacement policy.
Before fixing the problem, it helps to understand the components involved.
Why do companies use this? This system allows you to move the license between computers by physically moving the USB stick. However, it also introduces a single point of failure: the USB connection. Why do companies use this
Never attempt to format a security dongle. If you see a pop-up in Windows asking "Do you want to format this disk?" when you plug in your dongle, click Cancel. Formatting erases the encrypted license sector, rendering the dongle useless. You cannot recover a formatted dongle.
If you have tried all the above and still see "Please attach your dongle and restart" , your dongle may have suffered a logical failure. Never attempt to format a security dongle
Modern security software (especially McAfee, Bitdefender, and CrowdStrike) sometimes misidentifies licensing drivers as "vulnerable drivers" or "potentially unwanted programs" (PUPs). They may block the hasplms.exe service from starting.
Temporary fix:
The error message can also appear if you are trying to use a network dongle (shared over Ethernet) but the software updater is looking for a local USB dongle. Check your software license settings: