TechNet changes

[Neb]

Anti-Piracy Policy Changes Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is the anti-piracy policy change?

A. Microsoft is committed to helping prevent software piracy, which often results in end users being the victims of software counterfeiters. Counterfeiters abuse product keys to create fake software packages and distribute these to the public. These packages are not licensed, do not have Microsoft support, and can also include dangerous malware and spyware. Therefore, Microsoft has decided to limit the number of product keys available through TechNet Subscriptions, for all products, to five for TechNet Professional and two for TechNet Standard. TechNet Subscriptions is intended to support software trial and evaluation, versus a production environment, and Microsoft offers other programs for volume software purchasing and installation. We believe this change maintains a sufficient number of product keys for the majority of our customers based on usage data, while greatly reducing the overall risk of piracy and counterfeiting. We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion that this action may have caused our subscribers.

Q. Why weren’t TechNet subscribers notified in advance?

A. Unfortunately, Microsoft was not able to communicate this policy change in advance because it would increase the programs exposure to piracy if it became widely known that key availability would become limited. Having said this, as soon as the change was made we updated the TechNet Subscription user portal messaging, FAQ, and notified our Call Centers to ensure customer issues and concerns would be addressed appropriately. We regret this may have caused any inconvenience or confusion to legitimate subscribers.

Q. What will happen if I’ve already downloaded more product keys than the newly established key limits? Will those key still work?

A. Yes. Product keys in excess of the new key limits that were downloaded prior to the new key limits going into effect will continue to work. Note in the event of piracy detection Microsoft reserves the right to cancel un-activated product keys at any time.

Q. Will my product keys still work after my TechNet Subscription ends?

A. Yes. Product keys downloaded during the subscription period will continue to work after the subscription period has ended. Note in the event of piracy detection Microsoft reserves the right to cancel un-activated product keys at any time.

Q. Given the new key access limits how many keys do I get as part of my TechNet Subscription?

A. If you purchased directly from Microsoft, or through a reseller, the following applies:

TechNet Professional (RETAIL): Current policy is that subscribers may access a maximum allocation of five keys from the download portal for software evaluation purposes.
TechNet Standard (RETAIL):Current policy is that subscribers may access a maximum allocation of two keys from the download portal for software evaluation purposes.
If you purchased a TechNet Subscription through a Microsoft Volume License agreement you will continue to receive Volume Licensing keys for the products that require them. Please consult your Microsoft Volume Licensing agreement for details.

Q. How many times can each product key be used?

A. Product keys supplied via TechNet Subscriptions do not allow unlimited activations of a product. Product key activations vary by product, and are required for certain products. Note only the subscription owner may install and use the software for evaluation, even if a server license has been obtained.

Q. Given the new key limits if I don't have enough keys and/or activations to evaluate the software on all of my machines what should do I do?

A. There are trial versions of Microsoft software available from the TechNet Software Evaluation Center located at http://technet.microsoft.com/evalcenter/default.aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/gg243426.aspx

 

[Deadjasper]

Seriously, there needs to be CL filed against MS. They did this solely for their benefit and never considered the value their customers thought they were receiving in exchange for their money.

 

[pc1x1]

To be honest, while I support fighting piracy, their justification and execution were very poor. They are responsible to have systems in check to prevent piracy, not reduce my subscription. I hope in some ways many people don't renew to send them a message. I still like Tech Net, and hope to get it back, but can't support the decision right now. Also I miss the physical Tech Net newsletter. They been reducing costs every since I joined a couple years ago.

 

[Modred189]

Seriously, there needs to be CL filed against MS. They did this solely for their benefit and never considered the value their customers thought they were receiving in exchange for their money.

CL?

 

[heelix]

Just spent an hour on the phone with them. For those who did request all 10 keys, all 10 are usable. Do yourselves a favor and print those keys, if you have not yet. I fully expect them to jack around with the website some more.

I foresee major issues in the testlab equipment for any Microsoft based server. Personally, if I can move 5 servers to RHEL I'll consider things even from a karma perspective. (for as much influence as a test jockey can assert)

 

[Deadjasper]

CL?

Sorry, meant CA for Class Action.

 

[Deadjasper]

Just spent an hour on the phone with them. For those who did request all 10 keys, all 10 are usable. Do yourselves a favor and print those keys, if you have not yet. I fully expect them to jack around with the website some more.

I foresee major issues in the testlab equipment for any Microsoft based server. Personally, if I can move 5 servers to RHEL I'll consider things even from a karma perspective. (for as much influence as a test jockey can assert)

This makes it even more unfair to those who didn't believing they would always be available. Had I known this was coming I certainly would have requested all the keys I was entitled to.

 

[DeaconFrost]

This all makes me glad I requested all the keys right away. No reason to wait on them, to be honest.

 

[Omegas]

*nm*

 

[lgestle]

I'm still confused by this change. They are saying they are combating piracy, but in the same message they indicate keys will not expire when you terminate your technet account. What prevents people from pirating by creating multiple accounts?

The whole thing stinks of bad planning. My guess is that they had a good chunk of users switch from Professional to Standard. At the time there was no difference outside of lack of enterprise software and free MS support credits, with the bonus of saving $100 per year. I'm sure this new plan created more of a piracy concern due to the lower price with same benefits of reselling Windows 7 and other popular consumer based products.

I still stand by the suggestion they should have Technet Subscriptions only accessible to MCPs. If you abuse the policy your technet and certifications are revoked. The keys you obtained from Technet expire when your enrollment ends.

Any other method they impose that restricts everyone (including people that use technet for legit purposes), when the cost of reselling > investment, will continue to result in piracy especially when there's no pre-requisites or long term impact.

 

[elleana]

I dont think they'll go as far as to take away keys that have been requested, right??

 

[DriZzLe]

Thank god I downloaded keys for all the products I needed prior to these changes.

 

[heelix]

I'm still confused by this change. They are saying they are combating piracy, but in the same message they indicate keys will not expire when you terminate your technet account. What prevents people from pirating by creating multiple accounts?

Spent some quality time on the phone with them. I encourage you to do the same, as the more calls they get, the better the chance to fix this.

What I understand is the keys will not expire or turn off if the subscription expires, but they won't *activate* again. You get a key, tie it to hardware or a hard drive, replace whatever component causes activation, you are boned.

 

[lgestle]

Spent some quality time on the phone with them. I encourage you to do the same, as the more calls they get, the better the chance to fix this.

What I understand is the keys will not expire or turn off if the subscription expires, but they won't *activate* again. You get a key, tie it to hardware or a hard drive, replace whatever component causes activation, you are boned.

I actually did that same morning and expressed my concerns. They restated the reason was they had to do something to curb the rapant policy, however I indicated as long as the cost for technet is < resale value they will continue to have this problem. On the flip side MS will continue to upset legit IT peopel with these decisions.

He did indicate certain keys allow for multiple activations, I have yet to test this, but he also mentioned I can open a request for additional keys if I find I require more for my tests. I'm unsure of the validity of both statements, and I plan on testing both before my next renewal.

Personally I wish the keys would expire with the termination of technet. How does the user know they were sold an invalid key (ebay, forums, and etc)? It appears in this case they would not until they attempt to re-register with either a re-install or hardware change (which can be months). If it happened quickly enough these buyers may have other options to get a refund (example ebay or paypal) and the person selling these keys would be more visible. Also deactivating the keys prevents people from purchasing multiple accounts to gain more keys for resale purposes.

I still have yet to receive an email regarding this change, and I was only aware of it via this forum. I was, like many, only requesting keys for what I was currently using in test scenarios. Only did I activate all the server products when I read about them curbing the client side.

 

[SockMan!]

Looks like I should snatch up all the keys that I can now in case they reduce it again in the future. I didn't before because I didn't want to look like I was hoarding them but now I'm regretting it.

 

[CaptNumbNutz]

Spent some quality time on the phone with them. I encourage you to do the same, as the more calls they get, the better the chance to fix this.

What I understand is the keys will not expire or turn off if the subscription expires, but they won't *activate* again. You get a key, tie it to hardware or a hard drive, replace whatever component causes activation, you are boned.

WHAT?!?!?

So each time I have to do a re-install after my technet subscription expires, I won't be able to activate the software again?

 

[ShepsCrook]

I made the mistake of my technet expiring and I didn't pull all the keys before it did. So I can never activate new keys as needed up to the number I had when my account was active. I find that rather annoying.

 

[arcturus]

Didn't pull the keys for Vista but oddly am not irritated

 

[Iching]

I have just received my special renewal offer for $269 including tax. I do not really know if I should extended it.

 

[heelix]

WHAT?!?!?

So each time I have to do a re-install after my technet subscription expires, I won't be able to activate the software again?

That is how I understand it. Not that they were telling the truth... or even know themselves what marketing plans to do next week.

 

[Low Roller]

I had a couple phone conversations with them. I had asked for a full refund and they insisted only a prorated amount would be refunded. Well, without coming to agreement, they told me a supervisor would be contacting me to discuss the matter further.

I never received a phone call, but this morning a credit from MS Technet appeared on my CC in the full amount of my sub.

 

[pc1x1]

I had a couple phone conversations with them. I had asked for a full refund and they insisted only a prorated amount would be refunded. Well, without coming to agreement they told me a supervisor would be contacting me to discuss the matter further.

I never received a phone call, but this morning a credit from MS Technet appeared on my CC in the full amount of my sub.

Is this for a newly made account and or renewal, or they refunded from something that expired?

 

[Low Roller]

Is this for a newly made account and or renewal, or they refunded from something that expired?

I renewed in July, and MS fully refunded my renewal fee.($159.07 tax included) That's all I was asking for. The CSR's kept telling me my refund would be prorated, so basically I would only get 3/4 of my $ back. I put up a fuss and apparently the supervisor was more agreeable to my request than the CSR's.

BTW, I am no longer even able to view the keys I had claimed when I log into Technet. Good thing I had copied all my keys before I canceled my sub.

I can confirm the keys still work as I just installed and activated Office 2010 Standard on my PC using one of the keys I had claimed a while back.(I was still running 2007)


I think I'll use that $159 credit and purchase a new Technet Professional sub. Using the 25% off coupon for new subscriptions, I'll only have to fork over a hundred bucks. While not as appealing as it used to be, its still a good deal for 5 more keys of every version of all MS client apps and OS's. I'll just be sure to claim and copy all my keys right away this time.

 

[pc1x1]

I renewed in July, and MS fully refunded my renewal fee.($159.07 tax included) That's all I was asking for. The CSR's kept telling me my refund would be prorated, so basically I would only get 3/4 of my $ back. I put up a fuss and apparently the supervisor was more agreeable to my request than the CSR's.

BTW, I am no longer even able to view the keys I had claimed when I log into Technet. Good thing I had copied all my keys before I canceled my sub.

I can confirm the keys still work as I just installed and activated Office 2010 Standard on my PC using one of the keys I had claimed a while back.(I was still running 2007)


I think I'll use that $159 credit and purchase a new Technet Professional sub. Using the 25% off coupon for new subscriptions, I'll only have to fork over a hundred bucks. While not as appealing as it used to be, its still a good deal for 5 more keys of every version of all MS client apps and OS's. I'll just be sure to claim and copy all my keys right away this time.

Good to know, thanks.

 

[Deadjasper]

Glad to see MS get some feedback over this shafting.

 

[GushpinBob]

Looks like all Vista keys recently have been reduced from 10 to 2. :\

 

[elleana]

And you want 10 copies of vista because...???

 

[GushpinBob]

And you want 10 copies of vista because...???

Where in my post did I say that I would want 10 copies of Vista? I'm just pointing out the change from 10 to 2 available licenses, especially since it was 10 for the longest time. I'm as baffled as you are as to why MS would bother reducing the number of keys for Vista. Heck, I'm just as baffled as to why they would reduce the number of keys for Vista/7 Starter editions and XP Home.

 

[bastage]

Yea I am going to have a hard time not buying a sub when vail comes out. For now though I have 2 legit copies of Win 7 (1 oem & 1 student) so I am good on it. But my Server running windows 7 is kinda creepy (but sage seems to run well on it)

 

[heelix]

So I did a couple phone calls in, took an on-line survey, and got another call back from them to talk about the poor survey results. (imagine that). Also mentioned I replace 5 2003 servers with Linux - you know, to combat piracy... Not like Weblogic actually cares what the underlying OS is, from what I can tell.

Anyhow - noticed something interesting. They will keep calling till you 'close' the issue. My issue is they did not bother to notify me they were trashing the subscription. (Well, one of several issues) If you call them - the magic words are 'don't close this'. I've just crossed the 3 hours of talking to a human mark. Figure the best way to make them understand the error of their ways is to burn up the reps time.

 

[Kettchxxii]

This is a follow up email regarding the refund request submitted for order number XXXXXXXXXXX.

We would like to inform you that our Finance team has processed the refund request and a credit has been issued for the above mentioned order. Please be advised that though the credit has been issued by our Finance team, it can take up to one complete billing cycle for the credit to be reflected on your account.

Since our finance department was able to complete the credit on our end, you case is now being closed.

If you have any further questions or concerns regarding your refund, please contact our office at 1-800-344-2121 from 5:30am to 5:30pm PST, Monday through Friday. When calling, please reference case ID XXXXXXXXXXX

Thank god they did this within 30 days of my renew.

 

[chrcoluk]

Looks like I should snatch up all the keys that I can now in case they reduce it again in the future. I didn't before because I didn't want to look like I was hoarding them but now I'm regretting it.

you and me both.

my subscription is in grace period, so I can still login on my pro account.

my keys available are 5 with 5 claimed, I had 5 unclaimed.

like yourself I didnt want to look suspicous without reason so I only claimed keys when they were needed, if the news also about reactivation is true then that would be a second change as previously you could re activate after expiry.

the truth is they shot themselves in the foot with the this new cheaper standard package and now getting their own back.

what will happen now in terms of revenue and sales is less people will buy technet to resell (less money for microsoft) and people who are determined not to buy a legit licence will just get a cracked version that didnt originate from technet. We all know technet was abused but it was at least some revenue for microsoft better than nothing.

since I have yet to renew I may give them a call and offer to renew over the phone if I were to get the 10 keys reinstated and see what they say to that.

I have just claimed over 50 odd keys for various stuff such as win7 enterprise, pro home premium etc. since I have now lost all trust in my business relationship with microsoft. The keys are unlikely to all be used but they could be yanked at a future date even if I renew.

 

[westrock2000]

So when I renew my subscription does it add more licences to my list? or does it replace my old subscription with new ones?

Like if I redeemed 6/10 of Widows 7 Ultimate x64 and then renewed will I now have 6/16 or 0/10?

Technet is freaking awsome. You be surprised the uses you'll find for this stuff once its just there and available. I've set up virtualizations of Windows within Windows. I setup a Windows Home Server. I now have torn down the WHS and now setting up a Server 2008. Just because. And I'm learning stuff at the same time.

 

[Deadjasper]

So when I renew my subscription does it add more licences to my list? or does it replace my old subscription with new ones?

Like if I redeemed 6/10 of Widows 7 Ultimate x64 and then renewed will I now have 6/16 or 0/10?

Technet is freaking awsome. You be surprised the uses you'll find for this stuff once its just there and available. I've set up virtualizations of Windows within Windows. I setup a Windows Home Server. I now have torn down the WHS and now setting up a Server 2008. Just because. And I'm learning stuff at the same time.

Renewing your subscription does nothing to your keys. They don't add new ones. That together with the unannounced reduce in the number of keys means I won't be renewing. MS has shot themselves in the foot as far as I'm concerned.

 

[ShepsCrook]

I'm not renewing. Back to finding things elsewhere I guess... Maybe I'll explore linux more.

 

[Neb]

I'm not renewing. Back to finding things elsewhere I guess... Maybe I'll explore linux more.

Wait....if you're using it for testing purposes why would losing technet cause you to switch to linux?


[/couldn't resist]

 

[Modred189]

Wait....if you're using it for testing purposes why would losing technet cause you to switch to linux?


[/couldn't resist]

Because one of the benefits of technet WAS the ability to test all kinds of systems at once, in different scenarios etc.Now, instead of being able to test 10 machines at once, you can test 2. Suddenly the returns on the expense have become significantly less appealing.

 

[Neb]

Because one of the benefits of technet WAS the ability to test all kinds of systems at once, in different scenarios etc.Now, instead of being able to test 10 machines at once, you can test 2. Suddenly the returns on the expense have become significantly less appealing.

Certainly true and I don't argue that the value has definitely dropped after the change, but if you're testing so many machines at once, that would imply that you have a windows infrastructure that wouldn't be so easy to switch the entirety to linux. Just coming from a test lab standpoint, I don't see how the value dropping will suddenly make me tell the rest of the dept. that we're switching to Linux, hence my comment. Of course I'm sure there are different situations out there but that comment gave me an odd mental image.

 

[pc1x1]

Well, they called me again, and I mentioned I would not renew, due to the changes without telling us. And standard with 2 keys is too restrictive. Hopefully they will keep that in mind, if to many people do it.

 

[Neb]

I'm contemplating dropping technet as well and instead restarting my action pack subscription. It comes with free technet, so I won't lose much aside from paying a bunch more money.