Hello Saro,

To address your concern, I would like to share some information. MobiControl relies on Soti Services for most of its functionality. For every maintenance schedule, there is a license check that runs internally. If a license is expired, it almost renders MobiControl incompetent in such a way that existing configurations stays the same but you cannot push anything new updates to the devices.

If you have any concerns regarding the licensing model then please get in touch with your account manager.

It looks like an Agent upgrade is required. You would need to push that out first before any of the Profiles will install. The plugin is also hosted publicly on SOTI's website so you should be able to distribute that to your devices without the Plugin service. 

The agent is on the latest version.

Seems like I got my answer above: a perpetual licence is a waste of money.

What version is it on? This seems to indicate that an upgrade is available:

Agent version is 1.4.0.0 build 1579 installed directly from the Play Store.

The "Upgrade Agent" button is always shown (regardless of the agent's version) and does not actually do anything.

You know, my "account manager" was also clueless (or failed to mention) while they were trying to sell the additional seats & maintenance renewal:

I can't seem to find any mention of a perpetual licence becoming useless and crippling my MobiControl instance once the maintenance renewal expires. Soti's website makes no mention of this fact, neither does their online help system. In fact, a post from September 2017 makes no mention of it either and a further reference in December 2017 also does not mention anything of losing features I was originally granted.

Checking license.txt in my MobiControl installation directory offers no hints or clues that I'd be stuck with a useless instance.

Why the hell are you guys even selling perpetual licenses with such a downright unethical limitation? What's the point if I can't even unregister and re-register devices with my entitled seats? It made more sense to go with a subscription at a lower cost per device rather than end up with a useless instance.

Wow, I'm pretty sure a Canadian law is being challenged right now. I'm a software developer with a clear understand of licencing, entitlements & grants, but this is dirty to the core.

Here's the definition of the word perpetual:

To summarize: "never ending or changing" and "uninterrupted."

This contradicts with our perpetually-licensed MobiControl instance that stopped fully functioning after October 31st, 2019. I am no longer able to enroll devices with the 225 seats I was entitled/licensed for. The solution we paid for is now crippled, and we are unable to maximize the investment we placed into this software. Soti took away a feature that was integral to the normal functioning of this product, and that is unethical and illegal.

In Canada, the first law that comes to mind is false advertising and we're clearly crossing this line right now.

Hi Saro,

Apologies for this experience as there was an easy resolution here.  I have just sent you an email to connect and will ensure that your instance is up and running asap while you make your decision around the renewal of your maintenance.

Nadeem

Hello Saro, 

Thank you for requesting a response from SOTI Support Staff.

I see that you do not seem pleased with the fact you cannot connect to SOTI Services because you do not have a valid license.   I can imagine that your displeasure comes from your dependence on your MDM to perform the daily duties of your job.

I would like to say a simple renewal would have prevented this.  Nonetheless, your use case is rare and for those situations, our Account Managers have the flexibility to provide you with alternate solutions.  

In this case, the one provided by Nadeem in the above response should provide you with "trial" licensing until your organization can renew properly.  Please let us know if that solution worked for you so that we can update the thread.  Also, I will ensure to pass on the word about the lack of documentation as to how your perpetual installation will work if your subscription expires.  Perhaps this can help prepare others for situations like these. 

Regards,   

you do not seem pleased with the fact you cannot connect to SOTI Services because you do not have a valid license(..._ I would like to say a simple renewal would have prevented this.

Wow "Support Staff", condescend much??

I think he's not pleased because he purchased licenses and is unable to enroll devices using those purchased licenses.  If you're saying you can't enroll devices without connecting to SOTI services and you can't connect to SOTI services without a current maintenance agreement you should probably say you can't activate or use any existing unused licenses without an active maintenance agreement.

Back in the "good ol' days" you could purchase a product and if you chose not to purchase maintenance you could continue to use that product assuming you didn't require any support or need any software updates.  Now we're in the "software as a service" days and really you are just "renting" the software.  I haven't read the details of the license agreement but I wouldn't be surprised in the least to find weasel wording that details these facts.

If that is true then I agree with Saro that is total crap and SOTI should change their model and get rid of words like "purchase" and change them to "rent/lease".  At least everyone would be clear their is no ownership involved.

I'm not kidding here, but my blood is boiling right now. It was better if "SOTI Support Staff" didn't reply.

Please show me MobiControl v14 software licensing agreement. I have yet to see the necessary clauses that mention anything about "SOTI Services" and its requirements for a perpetual licence to function. Generally, such a licensing agreement is bundled with the software. I cannot seem to find it with my installation.

The solution to my problem is not solvable with a throwaway trial key. Either SOTI allows full MDM functionality to continue without relying on their services (e.g. I'll happily use my own Bing Maps API key) or I'm moving my business to VMware. It's that simple.

With the way this is looking right now, come December, I'm dumping this platform just for the principle of it all. Why spend another 15 grand for a "proper renewal" when I can spend less and deal with a company that doesn't have shady business practices?

What a joke.

Ah, here we go, nicely tucked in at the very end of 14.4.4's license.txt:

7. PRODUCT SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE SERVICES
Software support and maintenance services shall be governed by the most current SOTI MobiControl Service Level Terms ("Services") which is incorporated by reference into this Agreement and made available through the following http://www.soti.net/mcsla.pdf.

Services for on premise perpetual Software must be purchased for specific terms ("Service Contract"), at a minimum of no less than a period of twelve (12) months, from the date of activation or from the date of renewal of the Service Contract. SOTI shall perform for Licensee, Services with respect to the Software on the condition that the Licensee has a valid Service Contract with SOTI.

Services for subscription as a service and cloud versions of the Software are incorporated with purchase.

SOTI has the right to deny access to the Services should the Licensee fail to have an active Service Contract. It is understood that SOTI cannot guarantee the Services if Licensee tampers or modifies the SQL Database unless explicitly discussed and agreed to in writing with SOTI.

> http://www.soti.net/mcsla.pdf

The following items are considered "services":

• SOTI Standard Support Service
• SOTI Skin Catalogue Service
• SOTI Location Based Service
• Software Updates and Upgrades
• Software Issues (nice!)

I see Location Services becomes useless, but there's no mention of not being able to re-enroll devices once the "Service Contract" is over. Re-enrollment was never mentioned to be a "service" by SOTI.

Just wow. I've spent the last two years beta-testing this platform for a company that doesn't deserve my business.

I'm not from Soti, and just want to comment a few points here

1.  In the last few years, I  have asked Soti sales personnels multiple times about what will not be possible if my governmental customers stop paying maintenance for their purchased perpetual licenses.  Obviously, no technical support nor software services (such as location service using Bing Map, automatic skin catalogue update, Android antivirus/malware license, etc.) will be available.  The latter are totally justifiable as many are based on third-party components and Soti just cannot indefinitely pay any third-party for a customer who has discontinued maintenance for such services.  However, the situations for used and unused device licenses are more complicated.  Any remaining unused device license can still be used for enrollment of new device (I reckon one should use advanced enrollment techniques other than enrollment ID, which require Soti service that is not available if maintenance is discontinud).  For enrolled devices,  they can still be managed without any time-limit (I beleive Soti will still issue a new license key file with same reg-code but updated timestamp for manual installation every 2-3 years).  If an enrolled device gets deleted or factory-reset/wiped, enrolling it back to the server is possible only if there is still unused device license available.

(As none of my customers has ever discontinued maintenance while still using MobiControl for existing enrolled devices, I cannot verify on real system the above related to device license is 100% accurate)

2.  I've always explained to by corporate customers that buying perpetual licenses without continuing maintenance is unlikely to be possible for any serious MDM/EMM/UEM solution.  The main reason is that device hardware, firmware, device-platform features MDM features, 3rd party apps, etc. all are evolving at high speed all the time.   None of my customers risked losing control to their deployed mobile devices scattered everywhere by discontinuing maintenance.  My advice to them is that if they don't want to pay too much up-front, buy the subscription license,  otherwise go for the perpetual + maintenance purchase model.    In a 4- to 5- year time-frame, the total cost of either purchase model are more or less the same.   There is no free lunch.  It should be the same for all MDM/EMM/UEM solutions on the market, though some just offer subscription license while others are even more restricted to cloud-based solution.  

3.  Soti has in principle stopped selling perpetual licenses to new corporate customers for many months.  Only old customers or very special customers can buy new perpetual licenses.  So,  new customers should not get confused and come up with the unrealistic idea for buying perpetual licenses without continuing maintenance.

1. [...] However, the situations for used and unused device licenses are more complicated.  Any remaining unused device license can still be used for enrollment of new device (I reckon one should use advanced enrollment techniques other than enrollment ID, which require Soti service that is not available if maintenance is discontinud).  [...]. If an enrolled device gets deleted or factory-reset/wiped, enrolling it back to the server is possible only if there is still unused device license available.

I've been a guinea pig for the past two years and this is where the problem is: SOTI does not allow new (re-)enrollments with available licenses if the support & maintenance contract has expired. This is where I am right now and it's aggravating to say the least. We've invested thousands into the platform and it's crippled for the wrong reasons. I'm OK giving up support, updates, patches, location services, enrollment ID, support for future devices (e.g. Android versions) and any third-party services, but I've paid for device licences/seats and can no longer use them. Selling "perpetual licences" when in fact there's nothing perpetual about them is false advertising and federal law in Canada protects consumers in these circumstances.

I also 100% agree with your post.

I find it surprising I'm the first customer to discover this crippling limitation. We planned on renewing our "services contract" in December and just stumbled upon this unwanted situation. As a result, I'm currently evaluating VMware's solution.

If you haven't deleted an enrolled device, but only have it un-enrolled or factory-reset, then in principle the device can still be re-enrolled back without problem.  So, an enrolled device can be used perpetually for its lifetime unless it has been deleted from the server by an administrator.

However, if you want to retire an enrolled device and have its device license released and reused for the enrollment and subsequent management of another device, then you need an extra device license (if you still have one).

If the 3- to 4-year break-even point has been hit, it might make more sense to switch to the subscription model.   It should be noted that the very special nature of MDM/EMM software deserves special interpretation of the term "perpetual device license", which is very different from a normal software license (say of an OS, an office suite, etc.). 

Saro,

What are you using for enrollment? If you use an enrollment ID then that will leverage the centralized SOTI enrollment service to more or less perform a DNS lookup of sorts to route the enrollment to your instance. You could alternatively use the full path enrollment URL for your Enrollment rule directly rather than relying on that service and I almost think that would let you enroll again. This is basically how we've had to operate completely offline on-premise instances in the past. You can technically even create net new enrollment rules and then infer what the enrollment URL is because it is usually an auto-incremented number slug at the end of the url. 

Either way, RC is right about SOTI only selling subscription versions of their on premise software for the past several months. This is not news and I don't think you're going to find another EMM provider that isnt' going in the same direction if not already there. There are several very lightweight subscription only offerings starting to pop up. The world of on-premise === perpetual is ultimately going away. You can be angry about this general trend, sure. But SOTI is not alone in moving in that direction in a cloud first, subscription first world. 

If you use an enrollment ID then that will leverage the centralized SOTI enrollment service to more or less perform a DNS lookup of sorts to route the enrollment to your instance. You could alternatively use the full path enrollment URL for your Enrollment rule directly rather than relying on that service and I almost think that would let you enroll again.

I tried enrolling with the server's FQDN while on-premise. It didn't work.

Either way, RC is right about SOTI only selling subscription versions of their on premise software for the past several months. This is not news and I don't think you're going to find another EMM provider that isnt' going in the same direction if not already there. There are several very lightweight subscription only offerings starting to pop up. The world of on-premise === perpetual is ultimately going away. You can be angry about this general trend, sure. But SOTI is not alone in moving in that direction in a cloud first, subscription first world. 

They stopped selling perpetual licenses a few months ago (news to me) yet I purchased my first 150 perpetual seats two (2) years ago with another 50 last year and 25 earlier this year. The phrase "bait and switch" comes to mind. Had I known the on-premise was going to be crippled when we stopped paying, I'd simply consider the subscription model instead and let SOTI worry about hosting my instance. Even SOTI's resellers are clueless about what they're selling (and yes, they are still responsible) which doesn't surprise me as selling so-called perpetual licenses is misleading everyone.

In case it's not clear, let me rephrase my frustration: I'm angry right now because I can't enroll ANY devices even if I bypass SOTI's servers (re: Enrollment ID). I don't care about the remaining features that are part of the services contract. I just want to use ALL my available device licenses until I purchase more WITH the contract renewal.

There is absolutely NO NEED to go through SOTI's servers for device enrollment when my on-premise server is capable of handling the registration.

Hello Saro, 

Sorry to hear the solution provided to you by your Account Manager hasn't necessarily resolved your circumstances.

SOTI's Support Dept is tasked with resolving cases that may arise in a break-fix manner.  In an attempt at resolving this for you, we had suggested that solution in hopes of resolving your situation. 

I apologize if we offended anyone in the process.  

Perhaps we should have started with alternate solutions as Matt has beaten us to the punch.  You should have been able to enroll the device using the Enrollment URL in the Enrollment ID space without SOTI Services.

Another way this may work is to download the MCSetup.ini file (right click on the Add device rule used for enrollment -> Download Device agent -> Select the manufacturer of the device -> Download ini file) , sideload it to the device and place it where the Device agent .apk file is located (In Downloads(Internal storage) by default).  

* Please note* You might have some difficulties un-enrolling the device but we are available to you, to walk you through this process by creating a support case and having a Technician work with you to find a solution.  Just let us know if you are still experiencing difficulty after trying this.

Unfortunately, as we are the Support Department we are not equipped to discuss legalese of the T&C's, the pricing model and/or contract types.  These would need to be done VIA your Account Manager or our legal dept by contacting us at legal@soti.net. 

Regards,

I WOULD be curious to know if using the mcsetup.ini method works for you.  In fact, that's how we enroll ALL of our devices as we are also totally on premise and our devices have 0 internet access.  We use Stagenow to install the agent apk and also the mcsetup.ini in /sdcard and then just launch the agent so SOTI Services is never in our enrollment process.

Same, although I would have expected the enrollment URL to work for the same reasons. 

Perhaps we should have started with alternate solutions as Matt has beaten us to the punch.  You should have been able to enroll the device using the Enrollment URL in the Enrollment ID space without SOTI Services.

No kidding. Third paragraph of my first post clearly mentioned the underlying issue I am trying to resolve. Kudos to Matt for taking the time to read & offer his assistance.

Another way this may work is to download the MCSetup.ini file (right click on the Add device rule used for enrollment -> Download Device agent -> Select the manufacturer of the device -> Download ini file) , sideload it to the device and place it where the Device agent .apk file is located (In Downloads(Internal storage) by default).  

FYI, I am strictly using Android Enterprise features.

Same, although I would have expected the enrollment URL to work for the same reasons. 

See, the device joins and registers with the MobiControl instance, but the Profiles (under Configurations) refuse to install, thus leaving the tablet in question in a confused state (see my first post in this thread for the screenshot). Google Play services seem to work, but any assigned Packages do not get installed, and none of the settings I have configured are applied.

SOTI's push of the trial key to my instance has allowed Profiles to install, including the device I had originally registered with the server's FQDN. This confirms that any type of enrollment (short of mcsetup.ini, which I can't use) is dependant on SOTI's servers.

I didn't anticipate that you were using Android Enterprise.  I have asked one of our Technicians to assist you with this.  I am going to message you with a case number, please call into SOTI Support.   They are aware of the circumstances you have provided and are prepared to work with you to find a resolution. 

Hope this helps. 

Regards, 

I didn't anticipate that you were using Android Enterprise.  I have asked one of our Technicians to assist you with this.  I am going to message you with a case number, please call into SOTI Support.   They are aware of the circumstances you have provided and are prepared to work with you to find a resolution. 

Hope this helps. 

Regards, 

That's great; they'll have to wait until my trial key expires (December 6th?) to actually see the problem at hand.

Or hey! An alternative method involves the developers to test this ridiculous limitation by launching a new 14.4.4 MC instance, letting the service contract or product key expire, and then try enrolling devices through Android Enterprise and watch the debug logs. I'm pretty sure this can be reproduced on any 14.x/15.x version as this feature is by design.

Why do I need to keep beta testing for SOTI?

Speaking of which, I found yet another regression (bug) in 14.4.4 involving Profiles & Packages. Fortunately, when I'm back on my service contract, I'll be able to talk to support and waste more of my time for free. And no, I'm not making this up either: the bug is real.

19 days to go.

Hello Saro,

Hope you are doing well.

Our internal teams have reviewed the issue of the Perpetual License not activating the ELM licenses upon enrolling the Samsung devices. In conclusion, after the license expires, the connectivity to SOTI Services will be cut off due to License expiry. As Perpetual licenses are now out of production, this limitation will stay as the expected behavior. However, this will not affect the existing enrolled devices.

If required, feel free to reach out to your SOTI representatives regarding alternate licensing models or with any questions you may have.

Also, if this post has helped you in solving your inquiry, I would request you to mark the particular comment as "is solution", so others may benefit from this information.

Regards,