Previous versions of Autocad Civil 3D

[Anonymous]

Good afternoon,

We renewed 4 Network concurrent , licences, of Autocad Civil 3D, 2019, we can use previous versions 2018, 2017,2016, we installed 2017, cause 2019 demands more ram and computer resources that we didnt have for now. My question is,  in case we dont renew these licences next year, can we still use 2017, version, i ask this because someone told us that we coudnt use the previous licences in case we didnt renew. Can you please clarify this to me.

Best regards,

Paulo Neto

[grzegorz.cwiek · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous

If you have Maintenance Plan, then you'll be able to keep using the newest activated Civil 3D version (in your case 2017) even if you don't renew those licenses.

In Subscription plan you can use the products only as long as you renew the the licenses.

[Anonymous]

Hello,

Thank you for you answer, we got old autocad licences (network licences, managed by a licence server), before subscription plan existed so must be maintenence plan. The agents that suport Autocad here are saying we can only have the last version available, that means 2019, in case we dont renew next year. For me it doesnt make any sense. what you are saying is diferente. Are our agentes wrong?

Best regards,

[Mark.Lancaster · Accepted solution]

@Anonymous

For a maintenance plan..  When you don't renew  that plan you are only entitled to the released version that's out at the time when your plan expires.   Update:  So if you don't renew next year you would only be entitled to the 2020 version.  What you were told is correct because you lose the ability to run legacy versions.

[natasha.l · Accepted solution]

Hello @Anonymous, 

I have located our documentation on this so you can find out what license type you have & review the information: 

What if I previously licensed a product—how many copies can I use?

You may continue to use previous versions of software previously licensed, installed and accessed, which are not listed on the previous version list, provided they were previously licensed, installed and accessed as part of your subscription or maintenance plan—and you do not exceed the number of licenses previously licensed by you, or the number of your current licenses of that product covered by your active contract (whichever is lower). Additionally, you can continue access if you remain active on subscription or on a maintenance plan. See applicable Autodesk Terms and Conditions for additional details.

For example:
You originally purchased ten licenses of an AutoCAD 2014 subscription. You then installed and accessed all ten licenses. You continued renewing your subscription for these ten licenses. When the current version becomes available, you decide to purchase five (5) more AutoCAD subscriptions. Now you have a total of 15 licenses.

Given the example above, how many copies of previous versions can you now install and access?*

• Up to 15 versions provided they are on the previous version list.
• Up to ten licenses of 2014 (which are no longer on the eligible list).

* You cannot exceed the use of more than 15 licenses at any given time.

Let us know if you have anymore questions. 

Please "Accept Solution" if a reply or replies have helped resolve the issue or answered your question, to help others in the community.

[Anonymous]

Good morning,

The knowledge Database says:

"

What happens to my Previous Version Rights if my maintenance plan or subscription expires?

Previous Version Rights terminate when the applicable maintenance plan or subscription terminates, or expires for any reason. Upon expiration of a maintenance plan, you can only use the last activated version of the software and uninstall any other previous version.  After a subscription expires, all previously licensed, installed and accessed versions are no longer eligible for use, and must be uninstalled."

what is the last activated version, its the last version is available for the client to download that he is in titled to? Or the activated version that client has got installed? Meaning if the last version available is 2019, and client has got 2017 installed , what one is the last activated, in case of not renewing the maintenece plan next year?

Best regards,

[michele.mk]

Hello @Anonymous,

If you have a maintenance plan and decide not to renew, then you will get a permanent license in the newest version of the product after expiration of your contract. Meaning: if your contract ends today, you will have from  tomorrow on a permanent version of AutoCAD Civil 3D 2019. There will be no possibility to use the 3 previous versions again.

EXCEPT if you never used the 2018 or 2019 version at all (no download, no activation). Then you will get the permanent version of 2017.

If you have a subscription, after your subscription ends, you don't have access to the software any more unless you subscribe again.

I hope this helps clarifying the situation.

[Anonymous]

Hello @michele.mk ,

so far is the most reliable answer i got, but our local dealer and most people at this forum say i can only use the last version and there is no "Except", there seems to be a lot of confusion on this, i do think maybe Autodesk should clearfy this in a better way, however your explanation seems logical, cause if the client used 2017 and never downloaded or activated any version above, its logical he stays with 2017. The knowledge database satets the last activated licence, so your explanation makes sense. Can you tell me if this applies also to old Network concorrent licences , or just to individual licences? On concorrent network licences , there is a licence server with 4 lines f(current version and the 3 older ones) or each product for the same serial number, so i am not sure they arent all activated by definition.  Can you confirm me this applies to network licences?

Best regards,

Paulo Neto

[Mark.Lancaster]

@Anonymous

Yes there's 2 statements about this..

Once off the maintenance plan

#1.  You are only entitled to the release version that's out at the time when the plan has expired.

-or-

#2.  You are entitled to the last version you activated.

My experience (over 5 years) in this manner,  I've seen #1 as the ruling, since all your legacy serial #s become invalid at that point.   Not saying I'm right but that's how I've always seen it.

[michele.mk]

Hello @Anonymous,

you can rely here on Marcs answer. Most common is you get the current version. If you wish to have the latest activated one, you need to specify it before the contract expires either to your reseller or to the correct support team at Autodesk. 

If you have for example a network license with one serial number and 4 seats (4 users at the same time), then you will get one version of the product (either latest activated, or newest). You need to be sure, no one used this serial number with another version than the 2017. If one user used this serial number with 2018 or 2019, you will automatically get the latest version or 2018.

If you have a network license with 4 seats and 4 different serial numbers all under the same contract, than it is a little bit different. Each serial number will turn into a perpetual license from the latest activated version  or the newest version of the product (i.e. seat 1 &2 v2017, seat 3 v2018, seat 4 v2019).

BUT you could also get a new serial number for the perpetual one with 4 seats and ONE version of the product... 

At this point I would recommend you to call our Sales specialists. Please let me know where you are located, so that I can give you the correct phone number.