License has been used on too many computers

cadmunkey · 9 Jun 2015, 17:34

My motherboard died with a bang yesterday, ordered a new one and rebuilt the machine today.
Now SU is complaining "This SketchUp Pro license has been used on too many computers".
Obviously I didn't have chance to deactivate the licence on the old motherboard.
Anyway around this? deleting the old licence file doesn't work.
SU2015 Pro.

slbaumgartner · 9 Jun 2015, 17:35

I think you have to contact Trimble tech support to get the license restored.

cadmunkey · 9 Jun 2015, 17:43

@slbaumgartner said:

I think you have to contact Trimble tech support to get the license restored.

OK cheers.

cadmunkey · 10 Jun 2015, 15:04

Wow, a bit taken aback with Trimbles 'support'. Was basically told tough and given a link to purchase extra licences!

juju · 10 Jun 2015, 15:43

that really doesn't sound like they're willing to help, ask to speak to a manager of the tech support person that got back to you

slbaumgartner · 10 Jun 2015, 16:12

Whoa! Not at all what I would have expected!

driven · 10 Jun 2015, 20:15

Complain in public over a the 'official' forum...
http://forums.sketchup.com

at the start of your topic add @jbacus, @jody, @AlexB, @tt_su, @Barry
that will ping some of the staff, which may help...

if you have an email from tech support, post it, shaming works...

john

cadmunkey · 10 Jun 2015, 20:20

I've sent them another email to give them another chance. Their last response was almost like a 'stock' answer and didn't really address my problem of the motherboard dying. This is the problem with this kind of activation licence system, tying it to a machine rather than a user.

Garry K · 11 Jun 2015, 00:14

I tie my software to a computer - however - I offer the ability to reset the account. Then the next computer that runs the software with the user id and password locks to the license. This allows for upgrading / dying motherboards and prevents the user from running it on 2 machines.

The other thing to note is that my software ranges from 20.00 Canadian to 50.00 depending on what you are getting. Also I have a few hundred licensed customers - not upwards of millions.

cadmunkey · 11 Jun 2015, 09:30

@garry k said:

I tie my software to a computer - however - I offer the ability to reset the account. Then the next computer that runs the software with the user id and password locks to the license. This allows for upgrading / dying motherboards and prevents the user from running it on 2 machines.

The other thing to note is that my software ranges from 20.00 Canadian to 50.00 depending on what you are getting. Also I have a few hundred licensed customers - not upwards of millions.

That's the way to manage licences Garry so I commend you on that.

sketch3d.de · 11 Jun 2015, 10:30

a SU Pro license is allowed to install and activate on 2 systems of the licensee (using it alternating of course).

how often did you have activated this license on differing systems already?

Bob James · 11 Jun 2015, 18:12

@sketch3d.de said:

a SU Pro license is allowed to install and activate on 2 systems of the licensee (using it alternating of course).

how often did you have activated this license on differing systems already?

Doesn't fit real world use
Home Desktop
Work Desktop
Laptop (when I'm working away from home/office)

sketch3d.de · 12 Jun 2015, 08:49

@bob james said:

Doesn't fit real world use

maybe but the license agreement is typically defined by the licensor and not the licensee, if you don't wanna adhere to the license terms just ignoring them and using as you want might lead to a situation as described above.

Bob James · 12 Jun 2015, 16:30

Ah, what a wonderful corporate attitude: who cares what the customers need?

sketchup guide jody · 12 Jun 2015, 19:58

@garry k said:

I tie my software to a computer - however - I offer the ability to reset the account. Then the next computer that runs the software with the user id and password locks to the license. This allows for upgrading / dying motherboards and prevents the user from running it on 2 machines.

The other thing to note is that my software ranges from 20.00 Canadian to 50.00 depending on what you are getting. Also I have a few hundred licensed customers - not upwards of millions.

This is actually how the SketchUp license works as well. If you're able to use SketchUp (which obviously doesn't work with a dead motherboard) then you can go into the License manager and unset a license. You will only bump into a message that the number has been exceeded if the license has been applied to multiple computers. While we aspire to meet what the customer needs, there must be a line in the sand somewhere or people will just install SketchUp on every computer they touch, leading to unintended uses.

Cadmunkey, if you contact support via our form and explain the computers you currently have it set up on and why you need an additional seat the team should be able to help you out, noting that there are the restrictions which sketch3d.de mentioned from the license agreement.

There isn't really a case where we'll add more seats if you're trying to outfit a lab full of computers with one license or even on more computers than expected for a lone individual.

driven · 12 Jun 2015, 20:54

@jody
here's a question...
the license is valid for two computers, one dies, could I go to the license on the survivor and 'unset the licence' for the dead computer???
john

sketchup guide jody · 12 Jun 2015, 21:40

@driven said:

@jody
here's a question...
the license is valid for two computers, one dies, could I go to the license on the survivor and 'unset the licence' for the dead computer???
john

Hi John,

For a dead computer there isn't really a way to re-claim that license, it's tied specifically to that computer. If you end up with a dead computer as cadmunkey did then you'd need to contact us to get your seat count adjusted. I did check with the rest of the support team and it sounds like we already got him straightened out which must be why he hasn't revisited this thread. It's a pretty quick fix on our end, it's just not automatic so might be a bit cumbersome when you're in the middle of a project.

driven · 12 Jun 2015, 21:47

cheers jody,
just asking to help advise the next victim...
john

cruelcomedy · 20 Jul 2015, 07:10

I uninstalled my license to transfer it to my new computer, but the "license has been used on too many computers" popped up. I always make sure I uninstall my license when I move from PC to PC.

I'm worried that they'll respond to me by giving me a link to purchase more seats. how did this happen? did it not notify the servers that I uninstalled my license?

Rich