Community
Please, read this if your license key doesn't work after upgrade
Links used in this discussion
Links used in this discussion
- https://www.remoteutilities.com/buy/upgrade-form.php
- https://www.remoteutilities.com/about/upgrade-policy.php#
- https://www.remoteutilities.com/download/older-versions.php
- https://www.remoteutilities.com/about/upgrade-policy.php
- https://www.remoteutilities.com/support/docs/license-types/#Free_vs._Trial
- https://www.remoteutilities.com/support/docs/portable-viewer/
- https://www.remoteutilities.com/support/docs/manual-import-export/
- https://www.remoteutilities.com/download/
![](/upload/forum/avatar/c42/2020_11_06_0000.png)
Pauline,
Support (Posts: 2830)
May 05, 2021 5:56:38 pm EDT
Hello Douglas,
Thank you for your feedback.
As we've mentioned in the previous replies, unfortunately, we didn't update the update mechanism in time to accommodate for major version upgrade and we apologize for any caused inconvenience.
Please note that we do not force any of our users to update to the next major version - we understand that we should put a more clear warning next time for a major version update, however, even if you've already updated to the version 7, you can always easily roll back your installation by deleting the program in the Windows Settings menu - this will keep your settings and address books intact. After this, you can simply download the previous version 6.10.10.0 from our Older versions page and run the installer. In addition, please note that your license key for the previous versions of RU are not expired, it's only not compatible with versions starting version 7, so you can use your license key with the previous version of the program for as long as you wish. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Hope that helps.
Thank you for your feedback.
As we've mentioned in the previous replies, unfortunately, we didn't update the update mechanism in time to accommodate for major version upgrade and we apologize for any caused inconvenience.
Please note that we do not force any of our users to update to the next major version - we understand that we should put a more clear warning next time for a major version update, however, even if you've already updated to the version 7, you can always easily roll back your installation by deleting the program in the Windows Settings menu - this will keep your settings and address books intact. After this, you can simply download the previous version 6.10.10.0 from our Older versions page and run the installer. In addition, please note that your license key for the previous versions of RU are not expired, it's only not compatible with versions starting version 7, so you can use your license key with the previous version of the program for as long as you wish. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Hope that helps.
Mike Greene,
User (Posts: 19)
May 11, 2021 3:54:05 pm EDT
Support level: Pro
At the risk of beating this dead horse, I'd have to agree the upgrade prompt caught me twice (actually 3 times!) today I figured I'd go ahead and upgrade, ugh, problems... which I posted earlier regarding address books. I ended up grepping the XML files and recreating all my entries, hopefully I won't encounter any more issues or ones that require quite the effort that was.
Uninstalling v7 and re-installing v6 on previous "click to update" whoops... wasn't a big deal for me but your download page doesn't provide a link to v6, you would have to come here to get that info. Thankfully I keep older installers for several programs (RU is one of them)
I do like this program but there are oddities that are frustrating and expose some programming issues within the UI and core software, having been on both sides of this coin (programmer and user) I am very familiar with the difficulties with anticipating the infinite number of variables you have to deal with.
I tend to deal with the problem directly and only post here to bring to light issues I've encountered, I don't really expect solutions to the issues because I've already been down that road enough times to know the drill (uninstall/reinstall, turn off FW, use run only agent, etc etc)
Uninstalling v7 and re-installing v6 on previous "click to update" whoops... wasn't a big deal for me but your download page doesn't provide a link to v6, you would have to come here to get that info. Thankfully I keep older installers for several programs (RU is one of them)
I do like this program but there are oddities that are frustrating and expose some programming issues within the UI and core software, having been on both sides of this coin (programmer and user) I am very familiar with the difficulties with anticipating the infinite number of variables you have to deal with.
I tend to deal with the problem directly and only post here to bring to light issues I've encountered, I don't really expect solutions to the issues because I've already been down that road enough times to know the drill (uninstall/reinstall, turn off FW, use run only agent, etc etc)
![](/upload/forum/avatar/c42/2020_11_06_0000.png)
Pauline,
Support (Posts: 2830)
May 11, 2021 5:11:49 pm EDT
Hello Mike,
Thank you for your feedback!
Hopefully, we will be able to improve the updating mechanism and prompts for the updates in the our next versions. Sorry for the inconvenience once again.
Please let us know if you have other questions.
Thank you for your feedback!
Hopefully, we will be able to improve the updating mechanism and prompts for the updates in the our next versions. Sorry for the inconvenience once again.
Please let us know if you have other questions.
Alan Halls,
User (Posts: 23)
May 26, 2021 11:43:18 am EDT
Support level: Pro
Honestly, I am on the fence. Like others, I was caught by surprise when this happened. At the same time, this is a critical part of my business, and I would love to keep it updated, but I am not sure how much value I would get out of the upgrade.
I went over the release notes and the biggest improvement that would help me would be the file transfer window operating faster, but I am not sure it is worth $500. I decided to just give it a try for a few days using the free license, and pay for the upgrade if it was worth it, but it limits me to 10, when I have 188.
I just posted about some new columns I would like to see, and I know I will never get those if I am not upgrading, but I have also suggested at least one extra column in about a year or two ago and it didn't seem like a priority.
From a sales perspective, I feel it would be good to grandfather your Pro users license for 1-3 months trial, so they can see what is new and get hooked so they want to buy.
The biggest challenge I see here would be the Viewers. I am not sure if people upgraded all the viewers to the new 7, if it would work with 6 if it didn't end up being worth it to someone.
I went over the release notes and the biggest improvement that would help me would be the file transfer window operating faster, but I am not sure it is worth $500. I decided to just give it a try for a few days using the free license, and pay for the upgrade if it was worth it, but it limits me to 10, when I have 188.
I just posted about some new columns I would like to see, and I know I will never get those if I am not upgrading, but I have also suggested at least one extra column in about a year or two ago and it didn't seem like a priority.
From a sales perspective, I feel it would be good to grandfather your Pro users license for 1-3 months trial, so they can see what is new and get hooked so they want to buy.
The biggest challenge I see here would be the Viewers. I am not sure if people upgraded all the viewers to the new 7, if it would work with 6 if it didn't end up being worth it to someone.
![](/upload/forum/avatar/c42/2020_11_06_0000.png)
Pauline,
Support (Posts: 2830)
May 26, 2021 2:08:13 pm EDT
Hello Alan,
Thank you for your feedback.
If you've already registered your Viewer of version 7 with a free license key, you can reset it back to the trial period by resetting Viewer's configuration:
1. Fully exit the Viewer File -> Exit.
2. Locate the file config_4.xml in the C:\Users\[Your_username]\AppData\Roaming\Remote Utilities Files\ folder.
Please note that the AppData folder might be hidden by default in which case you need to enable "Hidden files and folders" in Windows Explorer settings.
3. Remove the config_4.xml file from that folder.
This will reset the Viewer settings, including any current license key, so your Viewer is reset back to the trial period. Your address books won't be affected by this action.
This way, it's possible to test out the upgraded Viewer of version 7 to see if you want to purchase an upgraded license.
As an alternative, you can also download Portable Viewer of version 7 and import one of your address books or a few connections to it as described here to test it out in the trial mode.
Portable Viewer is available for download on this page as well.
Please note that in order for Remote Utilities to work properly, we recommend updating both Viewer and Host to the same version, as the version mismatch might lead to some features not working.
Hope that helps.
Thank you for your feedback.
Please note that all existing customers who purchased their licenses in 2019 and earlier are eligible for a 50% discount on upgrading their license key to version 7, so in case if you're updating a license key for 1-tech PRO license, the upgrade costs $250 with the discount applied, instead of $500. In addition, please note that you can test the upgraded Viewer within the 30-day trial period which is available after installing/upgrading your Viewer. For more information please see this page.I went over the release notes and the biggest improvement that would help me would be the file transfer window operating faster, but I am not sure it is worth $500. I decided to just give it a try for a few days using the free license, and pay for the upgrade if it was worth it, but it limits me to 10, when I have 188.
If you've already registered your Viewer of version 7 with a free license key, you can reset it back to the trial period by resetting Viewer's configuration:
1. Fully exit the Viewer File -> Exit.
2. Locate the file config_4.xml in the C:\Users\[Your_username]\AppData\Roaming\Remote Utilities Files\ folder.
Please note that the AppData folder might be hidden by default in which case you need to enable "Hidden files and folders" in Windows Explorer settings.
3. Remove the config_4.xml file from that folder.
This will reset the Viewer settings, including any current license key, so your Viewer is reset back to the trial period. Your address books won't be affected by this action.
This way, it's possible to test out the upgraded Viewer of version 7 to see if you want to purchase an upgraded license.
As an alternative, you can also download Portable Viewer of version 7 and import one of your address books or a few connections to it as described here to test it out in the trial mode.
Portable Viewer is available for download on this page as well.
Please note that in order for Remote Utilities to work properly, we recommend updating both Viewer and Host to the same version, as the version mismatch might lead to some features not working.
Hope that helps.
James Sutherland,
User (Posts: 6)
Jun 21, 2021 9:35:42 am EDT
Support level: Free or trial
Personally, the upgrade was a minor irritation - being a free user helps there I think, I just requested a new free licence since the old one wouldn't load. A bit of explanation and warning would have been nice, particularly for those who have to pay for the upgrade, and the way the Viewer hung for a minute (presumably while it downloaded the update, with no UI feedback?) wasn't great.
![](/upload/forum/avatar/c42/2020_11_06_0000.png)
Pauline,
Support (Posts: 2830)
Jun 21, 2021 4:50:42 pm EDT
Hello James,
Thank you for your feedback.
I will forward your input to our developers as well, so we can improve the updating process for our future releases. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Please let us know if you have more questions.
Thank you for your feedback.
I will forward your input to our developers as well, so we can improve the updating process for our future releases. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Please let us know if you have more questions.
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