Technet accounts reduced to 5 keys per OS

[hclarkjr]

mine doesn't expire till February so i will be definately renewing it next year. well worth it to me for what i use

 

[wirednuts]

i wonder if the additional key request policy has changed then. whats to stop people for just buying the standard sub with 2 keys each and just asking for more keys?

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Well at least they separate the different versions, so those with a standard subscription could always get 2 keys for Win 7 Ult, 2 keys for Win 7 Pro, and so on and so forth. Then there's the "N" versions which essentially doubles up.

Just going to have to be more careful with my keys now :\

Thus far I only requested 3 keys for Win 7 (actually only meant to request two, just double clicked once so I got three) so it says I have 3 out of 2 lol.

Yet again the legitimate users get screwed

So the question now is do I just go and request as many keys as I can now before I get screwed any further? I know I probably wont need more than 2 or 3 keys but I hate not having that safety net

 

[hclarkjr]

i wonder if the additional key request policy has changed then. whats to stop people for just buying the standard sub with 2 keys each and just asking for more keys?

from what i read on the technet forums once your keys are used up from activations you need to buy another subscription. i am looking for that post now

 

[hclarkjr]

ok found it-

petsku- So what happens when those 2 keys / 20 activations are spent?

mike kinsman msft moderator - Thanks for your question Petsku. The way to get more product keys is to purchase another subscription. These limits are defined per subscription license.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[hclarkjr]

on another note for those that heard that the keys will expire if subscription expires --
There's no truth to that rumor Petsku.

However, I'm sure if some non-compliant behavior like piracy is discovered occurring with a specific keys or users in TechNet, that they will act on that information to limit the piracy activity as much as possible.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[bruceb]

While MS can change the number of keys it wants per account type, they should not be doing it to accounts that were bought when other terms were in effect. That is a non ethical and possibly illegal business practice. I can see them saying new sub numbers are in effect for renewals or new subs to Technet. That would be 100% legal & ethical. If they get away with this, what is to stop them in the future from saying say, your 100% bought copy of Windows either Retail or OEM is now only good for a specific time frame ? ? ? Or try to charge a yearly fee to make a program work ? ? ? This is just one of many reasons I will never use Cloud Computing, I want my programs and my data on my own computer with no way of losing access to them.

 

[hclarkjr]

wonder if a class action lawsuit is going to come out of this?

 

[doan]

So for the ones like Windows 7 Enterprise that on have one key that says "MultipleActivation", how many times can that one be used?

Also some like Exchange Server say "Static Activation Key" ???

 

[wirednuts]

what a mess. its pretty much confirmed the new rules are true.

i think if they do honor the "request more keys by email" still, then the situation isnt that big of a deal... but if you bought technet pro for $300 and you were allowed 100 activations plus more by request, and then thats changed without notice to 50 activations without any more possible, then that is a pretty shady move- even if 90% of us still wont use 50 activations.

bottom line is- would have i paid $300 for 5 keys? probably not, especially if i can just get 2 keys now for $200 (i dont use more then a few activations anyway). this is what upsets me, i dont think i would have signed this contract (and i didnt!)

 

[Emulex]

just call them and ask for more - they never say no. i have msdn with 3 technet and i've run into the limit doing vm work and testing.

obviously if you have 10 machines running a copy each - that is not really in the spirit of technet. you guys know that. it is for demo and testing. clearly 10 machines that have been hitting microsoft update for the last year is flagrant violation of the intended use - there are many other programs for development/iul that you can achieve if you need to.

 

[13Gigatons]

I was informed that due to abuse of the program all TechNet members were being dropped down to two keys. In addition if you need additional keys a simple phone call will no longer suffice as they need to escalate the issue and you have to be "approved" for additional keys.

...

 

[wirednuts]

this was pulled from somewhere-

"Dear idiot-

Due to the increasing abuse of the Technet Program, we at Microsoft have decided to punish those who have paid for legitimate reasons. Those who took every advantage and used all the loopholes already have all of their keys, so they will not be effected by this change. Please also note there will be no additional keys honored for you because of some people in the past, who are not you, have used the additional keys for illegal purposes.

Thank you for understanding, we are glad you chose to honor your side of the contract so we could change ours without having to do a lot of investigating. We will continue to look forward to things inside your wallet.

-Microconfusing, Inc. "

 

[vbuggy]

It is kinda ironic that pirates who probably claimed all their keys on the day they got their sub remain unaffected.

As usual, they probably shot themselves in the foot with this move.

Microsoft should honour existing *unclaimed* activations, since these are most likely the guys who actually bought it for testing uses - and rescind only the fully-claimed accounts.

 

[AlgaeEater]

These new rules suck for people who use Technet in its fullest implied potential. It doesn't affect the two people who Microsoft (I assume) was targeting; namely those who are trying to get around paying full retail prices for the operating system + office as well as the pirates.

Each key has 10 activations (by theory) but this is never true in practice. With a Pro plan you're still getting 5 legitimate keys with 10 activations for various software. Even if you religiously format and reinstall your OS to activate, that means one key per computer will still last you roughly a year if you format every month.

Pirates have their own set of rules, they live outside the normal boundries of DRM and logical distribution. I won't get into that subject, but this doesn't affect them in the slightest. It's like reasoning with a seasoned bank robber to "get a honest job", in which he will reply "but I can just rob a bank and have 1000x more money in 1000x less time".

Basically - people who really used Technet for what it was suppose to be used for is getting the short end of the stick. Makes me a sad Panda

 

[GrumpyMan]

As usual all the innocent are now made to pay for the mistakes of the few pirates out there. Just like music and games on the net.

 

[jjmIII]

wonder if a class action lawsuit is going to come out of this?

I really hope so.

 

[VirtualLarry]

is ms abusing their power again?

imagine if cell-phone companies pulled this crap. they would be in hot water immidiately.

 

[yinan]

Does this even matter? I use one key per OS to activate everything from a VM to physical hardware.

 

[hennessy1]

Article I found today

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Less-Product-Keys-Available-to-TechNet-Subscribers-158011.shtml

 

[wirednuts]

Article I found today

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Less-Product-Keys-Available-to-TechNet-Subscribers-158011.shtml

"
“We did not take away any keys. Just the amount of keys available ‘ad hoc’ via the portal has been reduced, all previously claimed keys are still available,” the company said, according to The Register"

and thats the problem. if youre going to let the pirates keep their keys, why not let the legit pre-existing subscribers keep theirs too? they say this is about preventing piracy, but all theyre doing is promoting it.

 

[hclarkjr]

just watch for the lawsuit that is sure to be coming :0

 

[htwingnut]

This really irritates me. I renewed in July to the Standard from Pro, because at the time you could still maintain your 10 keys. I only pulled keys on an "as-needed" basis and didn't pull all ten keys like so many other people did. Now I'm punished because I didn't abuse the system? But those that did get to keep all their keys? That kind of defeats the purpose of what they're trying to do. At least make it effective for new subscriptions, and let your previous keys carryover like they always have.

I called today to request additional keys and they flat out denied me. Then I asked what is meant in the FAQ about requesting additional keys and if they need to change that. She then said that they've been denying most requests. I'm really ticked about all this.

 

[Steltek]

If I decide to stay with Technet Pro (and granted, I haven't decided one way or the other what I'll do at this point), I definitely won't renew my subscription when the current one runs out.

Instead, I'll request all of my remaining keys on my existing subscription just before it expires. Then, I'll purchase a totally new subscription in lieu of renewing the prior one. It'll cost more, but I'll end up with more usable keys in the event that I need 'em.

And you can bet if I do it I'll generate every single key for the new subscription on the first day I can access it.

 

[Chiropteran]

I have an action pack subscription, which includes technet access. When i visit technet I can still claim 10 keys per product, just claimed 10 for windows 7 pro just to make sure it worked and had no issue.

Also, FYI, the multiple activation key for windows 7 enterprise allows for 500 activations, I'd just use that if I had any concerns about "running out" of keys.