The remote desktop software TeamViewer recently issued a notice to users with permanent licenses. announced that TeamViewer versions 13 and 14 will officially end their life cycle on October 31, 2026. At that time, support for these two versions will be gradually terminated, and connections established using these versions will also be gradually disabled until no connection is possible at all.
The most controversial thing in this notification letter is TeamViewer's redefinition of permanent license. The official wrote in the letter: "Our records show that you hold a 'perpetual license for the old version of the software.'"
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This wording was interpreted by users as a play on words. The buyout version license, which was originally sold at a higher price than the subscription, is now prefixed with the old version of the software, implying that it is permanently limited to the version itself, rather than continuously available.
Those who were most affected were the early users who paid high fees to purchase permanent licenses. At that time, TeamViewer sold the buyout version at a premium price, promising that users could use it for a long time without paying an annual fee.
However, as the company’s strategy shifts to a cloud subscription system, this policy change essentially abolishes the actual value of the perpetual license in disguise.
According to current information, after EOL, users holding old version permanent licenses will most likely not be able to transition to the new version for free, and will have to pay extra to switch to a subscription plan.