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Linux
Windows
This document shows you how to resolve issues related to importing and migrating
virtual machine (VM) instances to Compute Engine that have a misapplied
license.
For example, learn how to resolve issues with a VM that has an on-demand license
instead of a bring your own license (BYOL). For information about the different
types of licenses, see About licenses.
Mitigate incorrect license imports or migrations
If you tried to import or migrate a VM into Compute Engine with a BYOL or BYOS
license, but the VM's license string
is not appended with byol or byos, then your license was not successfully
imported or migrated with the VM.
To resolve this issue, do one of the following depending on how you imported or
migrated the VM:
If you migrated the VM using Migrate to Virtual Machines, contact
Cloud Customer Care to help you resolve the issue. For more information, see
Getting support with Cloud Customer Care.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-26 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThis document outlines how to fix issues when virtual machine (VM) licenses are incorrectly imported or migrated to Compute Engine.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIf a VM was imported or migrated with an on-demand license instead of a bring your own license (BYOL), the license was not applied properly.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eTo resolve this, re-import the VM using the correct \u003ccode\u003egcloud\u003c/code\u003e command and include the appropriate \u003ccode\u003e--os\u003c/code\u003e or \u003ccode\u003e--byol\u003c/code\u003e flag to signify the BYOL OS.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFor VMs migrated using Migrate to Virtual Machines, you should contact Cloud Customer Care to resolve the licensing issue.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Troubleshooting licenses\n\nLinux Windows\n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\nThis document shows you how to resolve issues related to importing and migrating\nvirtual machine (VM) instances to Compute Engine that have a misapplied\nlicense.\n\nFor example, learn how to resolve issues with a VM that has an on-demand license\ninstead of a bring your own license (BYOL). For information about the different\ntypes of licenses, see [About licenses](/compute/docs/licenses/about).\n\nMitigate incorrect license imports or migrations\n------------------------------------------------\n\nIf you tried to import or migrate a VM into Compute Engine with a BYOL or BYOS\nlicense, but the VM's [license string](/compute/docs/images/os-details#license-strings)\nis not appended with `byol` or `byos`, then your license was not successfully\nimported or migrated with the VM.\n\nTo resolve this issue, do one of the following depending on how you imported or\nmigrated the VM:\n\n- If you imported the VM using the\n [`gcloud compute instances import` command](/sdk/gcloud/reference/compute/instances/import)\n or the Cloud Build API, import the VM again, and specify the\n [`--os` flag](/sdk/gcloud/reference/compute/instances/import#--os) with the\n `byol` version of the OS.\n\n- If you imported the VM using the\n [`gcloud beta compute machine-images import` command](/sdk/gcloud/reference/beta/compute/machine-images/import),\n import the VM again, and specify the\n [`--byol` flag](/sdk/gcloud/reference/beta/compute/machine-images/import#--byol).\n\n- If you imported the VM using the\n [`gcloud beta compute images import` command](/sdk/gcloud/reference/beta/compute/images/import),\n import the VM again, and specify the\n [`--byol` flag](/sdk/gcloud/reference/beta/compute/images/import#--byol).\n\n- If you migrated the VM using Migrate to Virtual Machines, contact\n Cloud Customer Care to help you resolve the issue. For more information, see\n [Getting support with Cloud Customer Care](/support/docs).\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- [Learn how to view and append license strings](/compute/docs/licenses/view-append)"]]
