Who is this article for?

  Users experiencing error-401 when signing in or using the application, and Administrators managing user licences and access

  Administrator permissions are required to resolve the issue.

Overview

Error-401 occurs when the system cannot authorise a user to access the application. This typically happens when:

• A user attempts to log in but has not been assigned a licence (or to an instance)
• A user appears to be correctly configured but still receives the error

Scenario 1: Cannot log in – no licence assigned, licence assignment too recent or instance not assigned

Issue

When a user attempts to log in:

• They successfully authenticate using username/password or single sign-on
• They are then blocked with an error page displaying:
  • Unauthorised error
    Sorry, your request could not be processed.
     

Causes

This typically occurs in the following situations:

• A new user has been created but has not yet been assigned a licence
• A new user has been assigned a licence, but the licence service has not yet synchronised (can take up to one minute)
• A user's licence assignment has been changed, and they attempt to log in within one minute of the change
• A new instance has been added to an existing tenant, and existing users have not been granted access to the new instance

Solution for Administrators

To grant access to a new tenant instance:

• Go to the User Management screen (example URL:  https://tenant.stack.arc.ideagen.com/user-management/)
• Find the user and click View
• Click Edit User
• In the Edit user details pane, click the Product Instance(s) dropdown
• Tick the required instance(s)
• Click Save

To assign or check a licence:

• Navigate to the Licence Management page (example URL:  https://tenant.stack.arc.ideagen.com/user-management/licensing)
• Select the correct Licence Type
• Select the user from the list
• Click Assign license
• Confirm the licence has been assigned (the column for the licence type will be ticked)

Once assigned, wait approximately one minute for the licence service to synchronise before the user attempts to log in again.

Solution for Users

Once your administrator has assigned the licence, wait approximately one minute before attempting to log in again.

Scenario 2: User Appears Configured Correctly But Still Gets Error-401

Issue

A user appears to be correctly configured:

• Their instance and licence have been assigned
• However, they still receive the error-401 when attempting to log in

Cause

In some cases, even though the user's licence and instance are assigned and appear correct in the system, there may be an issue that prevents proper authorisation.

Solution for Administrators

• Navigate to the Licence Management page (example URL:  https://tenant.stack.arc.ideagen.com/user-management/licensing)
• Revoke the licence for the affected user
• Wait a few seconds
• Assign the licence again

This forces the system to resynchronise the user's licence and should resolve the issue. The user should then be able to log in successfully.

Troubleshooting Checklist for Administrators

If a user is experiencing error-401:

• Verify the instance is assigned on the User Management page (example URL:  https://tenant.stack.arc.ideagen.com/user-management/), assign here if required.
• Verify the licence is assigned on the Licence Management page (example URL:  https://tenant.stack.arc.ideagen.com/user-management/licensing)
• If not assigned, assign the appropriate licence type
  • Wait 1 minute for synchronisation, try the login again
• If the licence is already assigned but the error persists, revoke and reassign the licence
  • Wait 1 minute for synchronisation, try the login again
• If the issue persists after these steps, open a support ticket with Ideagen support

Need Further Help?

If you continue to experience issues:

• Users: Contact your administrator to verify your licence status
• Administrators: Open a support ticket with Ideagen support

Historic Issue – Token Expiration Error (v1.15 and earlier)

Note: This information is provided for historical reference only. As this is a SaaS product, all users have been automatically upgraded to versions that resolved this issue. This section is included for documentation purposes and should not affect current users.

Historic Issue

In v1.15 and earlier, while working in the application:

• A user could be logged in and working normally
• They would suddenly see the message "Unauthorised error" with error-401 in the address bar
• After a period of time, they could log back in and continue working

Cause (Resolved)

Two internal system components failed to correctly communicate with each other once an internal token expired, causing the system to incorrectly think the user was no longer authorised, even though their licence was still active.