[Solved] Looking for another 12 months of updates. How long does it usually take for the upgrade option to appear?

[cookepuss]

I know. Pilgway isn't in the business of selling maintenance. I also know that you must meet certain conditions first before you can upgrade. I've already read the threads.

1. The maintenance period of your license must expire first. CHECK. Mine just expired yesterday (7/20/2023).
2. There must be a stable build to upgrade to, newer than the last stable build you upgraded to. CHECK. I upgraded last year at this time from v2021 to v2022. The current stable build is v2023.25.

As far as I can see, I meet both criteria and would like to upgrade from my 2022 license (ending July 20, 2023) so that I can get another 12 months of support, updates.

I'm not expecting the option to be instantaneously available to me at the stroke of midnight. However, I remember that numerous people had problems last year. I want to avoid that.

I was just curious whether or not the option to upgrade is done automatically or whether we have to request it from sales first, which I didn't need to do last July, fwiw.

I've been using 3DCoat for 14 years now. I upgrade from v3 to v4, from v4 to v2021, and from v2021 to v2022. With my license perpetual, but no longer eligible for maintenance past July 20, 2023, I'd like to keep my streak going. Happy to pay. Just need the option to do so. :)

[cookepuss]

Well. It's been nearly 4 weeks now.

For those of you who are wondering if/how this situation actually got resolved, here's a quick recap of events and the various problems, solutions along the way. (SPOILER: I got no help and ultimately had to go with my "doomsday option" and spend extra money.)

ORIGINAL PROBLEM:
The date was July 21st and my maintenance had run out the day before, July 20th. As you might guess, I wanted to upgrade and get my fresh license. Unfortunately, there was no upgrade button on my account.

I posted here and e-mailed Pilgway numerous times. Pilgway's original solution was for me to just rent for another year. I had a permanent license and rental was not what I was trying to do.

More e-mails. More posts. More waiting. Eventually, Pilgway got back to me and told me that I had to wait for a new downloadable version to be made available before the upgrade button would appear on my account. Fine. Seems pretty solved, right? I just had to wait some more. I was okay with that.

PROBLEM PART II
After noticing how people with similar license dates had gotten their upgrade button already, I checked my account to see if it had appeared on mine too. Nope. No upgrade button yet.

Wait. Hold on a second. There's a fresh updated license file on my account?!? Sounds solved, but I didn't pay my 45€ though. The license just... appeared.

I'm no thief. I was NOT going to use a license file that I didn't pay for. So, naturally, I posted here and sent even MORE e-mails to Pilgway. My intention (at the time) was to find a way to pay them the 45€ that I was to originally pay for the upgraded license. No such thing as a free ride, right?

Wait. Wait. ... Wait some more. ... I e-mailed Pilgway again. Nothing. Total silence. Meanwhile, more betas and fixes are coming out.

MY SOLUTION
I didn't want to, but I had to shell out another 379€ for a fresh license, on a different account as to not create further problems/entanglements on the original. With NO help coming my way, this was the only way for me to get my 12 months and actually pay Pilgway.

So.... fresh license on a fresh account. That was my solution, like it or not.

Regarding my old license.... As far as I'm concerned, I'm keeping it frozen at v2023.25 and I'll probably just give it to my niece in that state. Maybe. Haven't decided yet. That "accidental fix" of a license that was put on my account, but didn't pay for doesn't exist in my mind.

FINAL THOUGHTS

To reiterate... I will NOT use the new/fresh license that was erroneously put on my account without me having paid the upgrade fee for it. That would be wrong, which is why I was trying to pay Pilgway in the first place. I'm done trying to explore that avenue, resolution though. Leave it frozen to v2023.25, the "problem" on that account unresolved in a way that is beneficial to both parties, and keep the party bus moving. Done.

Too honest of me? Maybe. Again, I know that Andrew & Co work hard for their money. I had no intention of taking food from their mouths.

So, as far as I'm concerned, this problem is solved. Pilgway got paid, about 7x more than I had intended, but it's done. ~fini~

My old license, from my perspective, is frozen at v2023.25 and my niece will probably inherit it in that state. No upgrading that particular account/license beyond that. Let her learn digital sculpting on my dime.

Now, I've got my 12 months - on a fresh license AND on a new account. It "only" set me back by 379€.

TBH, I've paid more for less so I'm not THAT annoyed. I'm just extra grumpy that I had to resolve the problem myself when it would've cost me 45€ instead. I don't expect to receive support 5 minutes after I click "send" on my e-mail, but waiting 3-4 weeks, jumping through hoops, and STILL getting no definitive help from Pilgway... Frustrating at the least.

GOING FORWARD... If I end up having this same problem in August 2024, I'm just going to explore 3rd party alternatives. Simple as that I love 3DCoat and have been a user for 14 years (since 2009), but I don't think I can put myself through another month's worth of e-mails, posts, and broken "solutions". Certainly not another 379€ for what should have been a 45€ upgrade.

Again, to my satisfaction, this problem is solved. No further intervention required. I just won't go through this drama again next year if I get a whiff that it'll happen. Not at all. I'll cross/burn that bridge August 2024.

[AbnRanger]

On 7/21/2023 at 6:47 AM, cookepuss said:

I know. Pilgway isn't in the business of selling maintenance. I also know that you must meet certain conditions first before you can upgrade. I've already read the threads.

1. The maintenance period of your license must expire first. CHECK. Mine just expired yesterday (7/20/2023).
2. There must be a stable build to upgrade to, newer than the last stable build you upgraded to. CHECK. I upgraded last year at this time from v2021 to v2022. The current stable build is v2023.25.

As far as I can see, I meet both criteria and would like to upgrade from my 2022 license (ending July 20, 2023) so that I can get another 12 months of support, updates.

I'm not expecting the option to be instantaneously available to me at the stroke of midnight. However, I remember that numerous people had problems last year. I want to avoid that.

I was just curious whether or not the option to upgrade is done automatically or whether we have to request it from sales first, which I didn't need to do last July, fwiw.

I've been using 3DCoat for 14 years now. I upgrade from v3 to v4, from v4 to v2021, and from v2021 to v2022. With my license perpetual, but no longer eligible for maintenance past July 20, 2023, I'd like to keep my streak going. Happy to pay. Just need the option to do so.

I think the main thing is that Pilgway is not going to accept payment for an upgrade before the current or past one expires. They probably just feel it is the ethical thing to do. Once it has expired, you should be able to just log in to your account on pilgway.com and see the upgrade option appear. As for the 12 month subscription thing, I suspect there was some kind of misunderstanding on their part (as to what you wanted). Glad you did not let your head explode prematurely. LOL

 

[stas3dc]

18 hours ago, cookepuss said:

It's a permanent license. Of course it's still working. However, since the update period ended on the 20th of July, I'll no longer be able to use updates past v2023.25 which was released during that period of eligibility.

As you well know, because Pilgway's official stance is that they're not in the business of selling maintenance, permanent license holders need to purchase an upgrade to prolong that 12 month period. That's why the absence of the upgrade button on my account page is so frustrating. It worked fine for me last year, moving from v2021 to v2022. Just not this year.

For now, I'm still okay in the sense that I can keep working via v2023.25. A permanent license is a permanent license. I just can't go past that v2023.25 version to receive new features or bug fixes until I resolve the upgrade issue.

I would REALLY prefer to avoid spending 379€ on a fresh license to accomplish the same thing as going with an upgrade. If I had to then I would, but it's not my first choice of solutions. It's that danged gnarly upgrade button. Grrr.

I am sorry for the delay in answering. The situation is very simple - you do not have the upgrade button because we did not make any new version after the 20th of July in the Download section. We put v2023.25 on 19 July to Download section and that is the reason you can use it. But we did not make any new version in the Download section after 20th of July. Please understand the logic - in order to make the upgade for some money (45 Euros), you need to have some new version to upgrade to. Because the last version v2023.25 is already available for you for free. When we will put the next version in the Download section (it can be  v2023.26 or  v2023.27 or v2023.28...  and not just new beta on the Forum) AFTER your free upgrades date -  the 20th of July - THEN the upgrade button will appear in your account. It can take even two or three weeks after your date - the 20th of July - but only after that the Upgrade button will appear. You lose nothing - you can still use the latest version available in the Download section. And when the new version appears in the Download section after your 12 months free upgrades period expires - then the Upgrade button will appear in your account.

[stas3dc]

1 hour ago, Stefka said:

Hi to everybody, especially to @stas3dc, @Carlosan

I am really happy to see that some people are happy that they got their updates in time and for the price of 45€ (as is offered in the contract).

I am just in the situation to update my 3DCoat version which I bought in Jan. 2023 to the latest stable version 2024.13

I do have the possibility to load the update, but it´s a learning version and limited to only some days.

The company sent me an update link for 300€!!

I´m still looking for the link for the update of 45€, because I am, of course, willing to pay the 45€.

But beside this, it may be not known by Pilgway that starting from 2022, there are new legal regulations about selling software in Europe. These regulations clearly say that the vendor is responsible for providing a stable and error-free software. Because error-free software is not possible, the manufacturer is obliged to provide free updates to the users to guarantee error-free and safe software. The manufacturer is not obliged to provide free additional functionality to the users.

Here is the corresponding link. The link is from the "Europäische Verbraucher Zentrale".

https://www.evz.de/einkaufen-internet/gewaehrleistung-und-garantie/was-versteht-man-unter-digitalen-produkten-und-digitalen-dienstleistungen-evzde.html

As well the corresponding paragraph in German language.

"Was versteht man unter der Aktualisierungs- bzw. Updatepflicht?

Eine besondere Neuerung liegt in der Verpflichtung der Verkäuferin oder des Verkäufers zur Aktualisierung digitaler Produkte. Danach ist die Verkäuferin bzw. der Verkäufer verpflichtet, Aktualisierungen bereitzustellen, damit die digitalen Produkte durch regelmäßige Updates funktionsfähig bleiben und Sicherheitslücken geschlossen werden."

I do hope that my translation above is correct, concerning the content. (I am not a professional translator and this is not any legal advice, it is for information only)

So, regarding the legal basis, there should not be any charge applied for a necessary update. But as I said, if anybody could tell me how to update and get another year of free updates for 45€, please let me know.

Best regards

Walter

PS: So, right now I updated to the latest available version 2023.12. Sorry to say, it´s still very buggy, especially when importing objects with multi layers in Paint room, when working with Paint room, UV room and Modeling room in conjunction. (However, this not the topic at hand here, nor is it the time to go into this issue any deeper)

Hello, please write an email to sales@3dcoat.com and indicate which email did you use for the purchase of 3DCoat. We will solve problems with the upgrade for 45 Euro. There should not be problems.

 

Concerning free updates. In all our 3DCoat versions there can be some bugs, and we try to solve that problems. We have this disclaimer in our EULA:

5. DISCLAIMER

 

ANDREW SHPAGIN PROVIDES THE SOFTWARE AS-IS WITH ALL DEFECTS AND FAULTS. ANDREW SHPAGIN DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES TO ANY MATTER. ANDREW SHPAGIN IS NOT LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS, DAMAGE OR DETRIMENT. THIS CLAUSE OF THE EULA IS VALID ANY TIME AND IT WILL APPLY EVEN IN THE BREACH OF THE EULA.

 

I think any software has a disclaimer in the EULA. All customers should agree with the EULA if they use the software.

[Stefka]

Hi to all and specially to @stas3dc

Today all my problems got solved by the perfect and very fast support from sales@3dcoat.com

I´m completely satisfied!

Best regards

Walter

 

[Elemeno]

8 hours ago, cookepuss said:

I know. Pilgway isn't in the business of selling maintenance. I also know that you must meet certain conditions first before you can upgrade. I've already read the threads.

1. The maintenance period of your license must expire first. CHECK. Mine just expired yesterday (7/20/2023).
2. There must be a stable build to upgrade to, newer than the last stable build you upgraded to. CHECK. I upgraded last year at this time from v2021 to v2022. The current stable build is v2023.25.

As far as I can see, I meet both criteria and would like to upgrade from my 2022 license (ending July 20, 2023) so that I can get another 12 months of support, updates.

I'm not expecting the option to be instantaneously available to me at the stroke of midnight. However, I remember that numerous people had problems last year. I want to avoid that.

I was just curious whether or not the option to upgrade is done automatically or whether we have to request it from sales first, which I didn't need to do last July, fwiw.

I've been using 3DCoat for 14 years now. I upgrade from v3 to v4, from v4 to v2021, and from v2021 to v2022. With my license perpetual, but no longer eligible for maintenance past July 20, 2023, I'd like to keep my streak going. Happy to pay. Just need the option to do so.

missed the upgrade option?

[cookepuss]

You would think, right? Nah. The upgrade option isn't on my account. It wasn't a problem for me last year or with any version prior, but this year... Something about 3DCoat's upgrade system is wonky. It really does seem to be hit or miss with a lot of people. I noticed  that Werner_Z, for example, had the same exact issue just a few months ago.

I did reach out to Pilgway's sales team (sales@pilgway.com) moments ago and in advance of any official response here. Since I don't know how long sales will take to get back to me, I'd just wanted to get a jump on things now.

[Carlosan]

* Forwarded to license team

[cookepuss]

Thanks. Like I said, I contacted sales just to stay ahead of things and anticipation that you'd probably recommend that too.

[cookepuss]

Ugh! Still trying to sort this out with Sales.

I got a response, but I think that they're giving me the wrong information despite the fact that I was very clear.

My issue, again, is that I have a permanent/perpetual license and the upgrade option fails to appear on my Pilgway account. Sales, however, has directed me to pay for the 4x more expensive 1-year rental option, which makes NO sense. It solves the problem for 12 months, but then I lose the ability to use 3DCoat after that period is up. A rental is different than a perpetual license.

I've politely replied to sales and tried to point this issue out, but I'm losing faith here. This should be MUCH simpler than it is. A perpetual license is not a rental. All I'm asking for is an upgrade from 2022 to 2023. The "upgrade" option is missing from my Pilgway account.

Honestly? I can't believe that this is still an issue after all this time.

I need to take a moment, meditate, and keep my head from exploding. Maybe, it'll all get worked out after. Ooooohmmmmm lol

[cookepuss]

That's the thing. My maintenance period already expired. Days ago, actually. (July 20th). I'm due. Overdue, actually.

I know "the rules" and certainly wouldn't have attempted to upgrade before then. I definitely wouldn't have contacted Pilgway or posted here before that point either. My 12 months are already up. Gone. Done. Fini. POOF! You get the point.

Contacting them and getting a response telling me to go for the 1-year rental... Either there's a misunderstanding on their part or Pilgway is trying to push a rental/subscription model now. I'm just trying to get my perpetual license upgraded so that I can get another 12 months of updates.

Pilgway has repeatedly stated that they're not in the business of selling maintenance and that upgrading each year over the next is the only way to get the equivalent of maintenance. They even have specific pricing relating to this business model on the licensing page.

What SHOULD happen is that I'm supposed to login to my Pilgway account and a button labeled "upgrade" should appear under the "Licenses/Accounts" tab. It's missing.

I had no problem upgrading from v3 to v4. I had no problem upgrading from v4 to v2021. I had no problem upgrading from v2021 to v2022; That "upgrade" button actually did appear on my account page last year. No problem then. THIS year?!? The Pilgway licensing server seems possessed. LOL

Push comes to shove, if I'm backed into a corner, I'll pay for a brand new license if it's the only way that I can get 12 months AND a perpetual license. I would rather not pay 8x what I should though. That 1-year rental option is certainly a non-starter. Not even close. It's a rental. I'll get updates for a year, but will have to keep paying every year (at that higher rate) just to keep using 3DCoat. If I fail to re-rent, well, I lose all access to 3DCoat. That's not the case with a perpetual license, which gets version frozen at the point my 12-months expire, but still allows me to use that version indefinitely.

I've gotta be honest. I've never worked so hard in my life just trying to get people to take my money. I would just rather that they take it for the right product, the one I want/need.

Edited July 24, 2023 by cookepuss

[Skaties]

So I have already been helped twice by the very friendly webmaster. Send an email and look forward to it a little later...

[cookepuss]

In case I'm not being clear, I've attached the following screenshot (my license ID blocked for obvious reasons). I don't think that I can be any more clear than this.

[cookepuss]

3 minutes ago, Skaties said:

So I have already been helped twice by the very friendly webmaster. Send an email and look forward to it a little later...

I did that a few days ago, contacting sales as recommended. They directed me to 1-year rental, which isn't a solution for current perpetual license holders. It's just asking us to subscribe for 12 months, which is ludicrous. I contacted them again and hope to receive a more favorable response. I'd much rather not have to buy a fresh perpetual license at 379 Euro just to get those 12 months and perpetual license status. If I have to... I'd just rather not.

[Skaties]

The distributor cannot repair the broken web page, only the webmaster: web@3dcoat.com