No Cost Student PT12 Upgrades (4 Year Plan)

[Anthony Jr.]

Hey all,

About three years ago, I purchased the ProTools 10 Student Upgrade that came with 4 years of free upgrades (prior to Avid changing the cost to $99 per student upgrade). I delayed purchasing ProTools 12 during the subscription promotion, awaiting what I had assumed would be my final upgrade of my four years of freedom. (I'm still having trouble wanting to pay for this upgrade yet anyway.)

After hearing nothing from Avid about the upgrade via the DUC or support FAQs, I finally decided to call. For all those nearing the end of their 4 years of free upgrades I was told this by a customer service rep (whom spoke with his manager):

- Avid is still in discussion over whether the people who purchased a student version with four years of free upgrades should have to pay for an upgrade or not.

- Avid sees ProTools 12 as a "new product"... and therefore they do not see it in line with previous upgrades. They're on the fence about believing it should be charged as such.

- Avid will be announcing their decision soon, by e-mail or by their website FAQ documentation.

While the four years of free upgrades were rather generous, I'm still a little bummed by the fact that they need to discuss whether the offered free upgrades should be paid for. I'm also a little bummed that I missed the promotional half-a-year service extension on purchasing an upgrade to PT12 while waiting for this "no charge" upgrade.

It's just a sad day all around. Trying not to sound like a brat about the information given, but figured it was worth offering to those with similar questions.

[jeffro]

This doesn't add up... please hang on while I look into it.

[closing the thread temporarily while I investigate]

[nigelpry]

Jeffro, Anthony ...

The Pro Tools 12 licensing FAQ, last updated on 3rd April 2015, still clearly says that if you are still within the four year window, you will get the free upgrade.

[jeffro]

I still need to speak with the Avid rep that handled that case to understand what was said/meant.

For now I at least wanted to set the record straight... For those who purchased an EDU copy when we were including 4 years of no cost upgrades, we will continue to honor that. This is covered in the FAQ which was published back in October 2014:
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/f...4-Offer-FAQ#24

The EDU upgrades are still being processed, so please be patient while we complete these.

Thank you.

[jeffro]

Originally Posted by nigelpry

Jeffro, Anthony ...

The Pro Tools 12 licensing FAQ, last updated on 3rd April 2015, still clearly says that if you are still within the four year window, you will get the free upgrade.

Correct, and I've been referring customers to that info.

My reason for temporarily closing this thread was not to get an answer about our EDU upgrade policy (which was communicated in that FAQ back in Oct), but to find out where this particular case went sideways.

[nigelpry]

Thanks Jeffro, thanks for clarifying. I only commented because I was concerned that hares might be set running while you were investigating, and this is one area of policy that Avid has been clear about.

One thing though, I replied to you in the other thread that I started, without realising it had been moved to the General Discussion section.

Could you please have a look at my last post in that thread ...

http://duc.avid.com/showpost.php?p=2250572&postcount=9

The post is self-explanatory and I'm hoping you might be able to clear up uncertainty regarding the issues raised in other threads that I linked to in that post. They involve some genuine questions regarding student licences that remain uncertain at the moment.

[nigelpry]

Bump so that it hopefully is on Jeffro's radar.

[jeffro]

Thanks for your patience. I reviewed the case and based on your post and the info in that case it appears your were given incorrect info. Looks like the rep already followed up with you to correct that, but for the benefit of others...

Originally Posted by Anthony Jr.

Avid is still in discussion over whether the people who purchased a student version with four years of free upgrades should have to pay for an upgrade or not.

Nothing to discuss here since anyone that bought an Academic copy of Pro Tools Software when we were including 4 years of free upgrades gets free upgrades for 4 years from your date of purchase.

Originally Posted by Anthony Jr.

Avid sees ProTools 12 as a "new product"... and therefore they do not see it in line with previous upgrades. They're on the fence about believing it should be charged as such.

Part of the confusion here might have been about the Upgrade and Support Plan which was introduced late last year. v12 is an upgrade from previous versions of Pro Tools Software.

Originally Posted by Anthony Jr.

Avid will be announcing their decision soon, by e-mail or by their website FAQ documentation.

This was already announced/documented in the FAQ this past October:
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/f...4-Offer-FAQ#24

Very sorry for the confusion this caused, and hope this post (and the reply to your case) clarifies things.

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If you do not yet have your upgrade, please see the Where Is My Pro Tools 12 Upgrade? thread.