Hi.
I’ve bought a year ago a plugin for wordpress here at Envato’s. The first year I was able to do all the regular updates. Now I can’t unless I renew for the support. It says I need to activate the license (I have it activated) I think this is not something usual in any of my previous purchases with none of plugins, themes or even graphics. I see this as an illegal issue to the inicial contract!
Can anyone explain this?
Thank you.
You’re absolutely entitled to updates even without an active support subscription. Reach out to the author via their profile page or the item’s comments, just to make sure something else isn’t going on, and if all else fails, reach out to Envato Support.
So this author is not proceeding correctly according to Evanto’s!
If he get’s upset can he remove the plugin and cut with all future updates, leaving the users with nothing?
I’ve commented the item. I’m waiting for the reply.
It’s a bit complicated unfortunately.
You should always have access to the latest version of the plugin from your downloads page at https://codecanyon.net/downloads, and the official Envato Market plugin can usually update it for you directly from your downloads.
You will want to make sure the plugin officially supports updates in these manners before proceeding, to avoid any complications or side effects in rare cases.
If you can in fact update the plugin manually as described above, then the author could make a case for restricting their automatic updates to actively supported users if it’s going through their servers (that stuff has recurring costs after all). That’s a pretty bad user experience though.
None of this suggests that they can remotely disable the plugin on your website, which would absolutely be a violation of Envato’s terms and would see swift punishment if reported to support.
I have access to the latest update through Envato’s. This is a Wordpress plugin which should be able to be updated throughout the website where is installed and activated. Support conditions is not related to updates, as far as I know and according to other plugins I’ve bought here.
Reply from author:
Hello,
it is my auto-updater, you can always update though
Then he points to a page for FAQ’s where you may read this not acceptable justification:
PRIOR NOTE: LCweb products can always be manually updated. Just download again the product from your Codecanyon profile. Then delete and reinstall the plugin (no worries, nothing will be lost!).
Back to the main topic: most of customers never read changelogs, nor perform backups, nor check dev notes. In some cases this leads to troubles. Troubles to be faced without a valid support entitlement == unsatisfied customers.
Since LCweb cares about each single website where its products are installed, it’s essential to give legitimate help in case of troubles. Because of this, automated updates now requires a valid support entitlement.
Remember one support renewal will cover all your licenses of the same product. Also purchasing a new license will lead to the same result.
On the bottom line, the lifetime auto-updates policy paying a little initial fee isn’t sustainable anymore. To maintain and improve codes requires constant efforts and time. Without this, projects would be abandoned.
So why if in the plugin’s page he says “Automated Updates” (he inserted a not well readable notice bellow about this, after I buy the plugin) and why manually update is sustainable and automated not?
This reveals a dishonest and greedy author, who doesn’t keep his commitments, and Envato should impose itself in these situations.
New reply from author:
The FAQ already explains the motivations. When the system was applied (8 months ago) I knew it wouldn’t be the best for certain old customers.
However the alternative was to literally abandon my plugins. It’s your choice: manual update or contribute to continuous development.
Otherwise you can always stay with your actual version, there shouldn’t be troubles with next WP updates in the immediate future.
He assumes the break of contract and don’t care about previous agreements!
You have two immediate options to continue updating the item:
- Install the Envato Market Plugin and use it to automatically update the item.
- Download and install the updates manually from https://codecanyon.net/downloads
If you do in fact need and rely on updates, it makes sense to renew your support subscription. The lifetime license model is not sustainable for code. It sounds like without this change, you wouldn’t have access to updates regardless – because there wouldn’t be any.
It is a shame that this change was applied retroactively to existing customers, considering the item originally advertised unconditional automatic updates. But items change over time, the things advertised in the item’s description only officially apply to the version you downloaded at the time, and that makes this entire situation quite complicated.
You’re welcome to reach out to Envato Support about this but I’m not really sure if the author is violating any policies here. Envato guarantees access to all future updates, however they don’t guarantee that any updates will be available or that they will be automated.
1 Like
Thank you for your help @baileyherbert
I understand what you’ve told.
Yet the author uses of coercive atitude to force users buy an item intended to support.
Envato’s sells lifetime updates with one installment per buy, and support! The lifetime updates became the game changer in today’s software acquisition for final clients.
This author goes around the issue of a possible renewal by removing part of the ability to update the plugin that is something sold in the first instance, forcing the customer to buy support. This is perverting the system. it is schematic and very unclear, whether or not the initial conditions are known.
If Envato stops automatic updates or without a time limit, they will have to introduce another type of licenses or they will have a drop in their sales. I personally have no interest in subscriptions or imposing subscriptions on my customers!
@abelp, just to clarify, does the Envato Market Plugin not work for you? That is Envato’s own implementation of automatic updates (and the author should not have any control over it).
Hi @baileyherbert I couldn’t test it due to have the latest version. I will try on the next update.
Yet I think that installing another plugin just for updates still doesn’t make any sense, and proves that to go around this situation gives me the reason about the coercive and illegitimate behavior of this author.
One thing for sure, this kind of people will make me start looking for plugins first outside Envato’s. They break confidence on Evento’s costumer protection.
It is not uncommon for plugin authors to require users to renew their support in order to continue receiving updates for a plugin. This is a common way for plugin authors to generate revenue and sustain their business.
If the plugin you are using has such a policy in place, you will need to renew your support in order to continue receiving updates for the plugin. If you do not renew your support, you will not be able to receive updates for the plugin and you may not be able to receive support from the plugin author if you encounter any issues.
It is important to keep in mind that when you purchase a plugin, you are usually purchasing a license to use the plugin, rather than purchasing the plugin itself. The license often comes with certain terms and conditions, such as the requirement to renew support in order to receive updates. Be sure to carefully read and understand the terms of the license before purchasing a plugin.
Hi @anushreejit
Thank you for your reply.
I think there’s a misrepresentation/confusion between support and buying rights here. And I bet that if this happens with some buying of yours you wouldn’t leave and accept it. This is a coercive behavior. It forces the previous costumers that bought with full access to plugin and automated updates to renew the support to get something he already bought.
I never saw a company or author changing rights of previous costumers, and I have some plugins bought that way.
We all buy the plugins license to use and install it. This is not a server side service we buy. You’re wrong when you say that. And I read the conditions as told. This greedy guy changed it for everyone, with no respect for their previous clients.
@baileyherbert I’ve installed the Envato’s Market Plugin and the plugin in question doesn’t appear in the plugin tab. So I always need to do this manually.
That’s unfortunate! Any chance you can send me a link to the item in a private message so I can make sure the Envato Market plugin is working as expected?
How do I send you a Private Message?
No worries, I got the link from your previous message. Unfortunately, the Envato Market plugin doesn’t currently support bundles, such as the item you’ve linked. 
It does seem that the only way you can currently update the plugin is manually. That’s not an ideal experience at all, I completely agree. If you haven’t already, I would still encourage you to reach out to Envato Support and discuss the author’s retroactive update policy changes.