Microsoft Clearinghouse server connection issues + phone line is dead end

[kwester-ebbinghaus-business]

We see a rising number of customers having issues installing or reinstalling their RDS Licenses via automatic connection.

According to volume licensing support reinstalling licensing should not work this way any longer and requires customers to contact the RDS activation hotline which is +49 800 5077777 for Germany.

If you dial through the menu and reach the RDS Licensing support, for weeks it is not possible to get through speaking with any agent. Instead the phone computer asks for your phone number and to enter it via your phone (DTMF). Whatever the way you enter a number like +492212343434 or 02212343434 it ends up that the voice computer says the number cannot be recognized. 


I guess that the Microsoft Clearinghouse server has issues with TLS 1.2 and some ciphers but we cannot pin it down even with the networking guys.

Here are some possible messages:

Customer A:

Cannot install licenses, the server is correctly activated and can also be reactived successfully

Customer B:

Cannot install licenses, server ist correctly activated but can only be reactivated via web.

Interestingly activating or reactivating the RDS CAL Server itself works fine on some customers
On Other customers even this is not successful anymore due to connection issues.

I began to see this last year when customers began to use Windows Server 2019 RDS CAL Servers, while Windows Server 2016 and 2012 R2 were unaffected. 

We have tried to setup a fresh Windows Server but no help.


So 3 things causing a combined issue and blocker:

- the RDS CAL phone support is unavailable in Germany

- Automatic activation installing new licenses does not work (but is required for RDS via CSP)

- Automatic activation re-installing already activated licenses does no longer work according to VL Support as

- Automatic activation for Activation / Reactivation of a Server does not work anymore for some customers due to connection issues

[#2]

You can't call the number of the Dutch CAL phone support? (31) (20) 713 9240

[#3]

@Harm_Veenstra I could try this, at higher rates tho. I hope that my appointment with a MS partner representative can initiate a fix on this matter at the end of the week.

[#4]

This number should always be available for issues in all countries, didn't have to call it that much in the past but it was always available..

[#5]

well, it is not like the number for Germany is unavailable, but you will be stuck on the process having the machine to connect you with the RDS CAL support team.

[#6]

I only had to type in a new key by phone in the past, was easier

[#7]

The situation has improved a bit. A SR is still in progress for this.
Now you are asked for a telephone number and after 3 times it will not disconnect any longer but connect to the RDS licensing agents.