3CX Licensing Updates: What You Need to Know

[GabrielaS_3CX]

Hi,

is this the way when we have to downgrade a license too? Like 128SC ENT to 96SC ENT ?

Hi,

Yes, you can contact CSR for assistance. They will review your case (key, users, validity, etc) and advise you accordingly.

 

[Benedikt Machens]

Hi,

Yes, you can contact CSR for assistance. They will review your case (key, users, validity, etc) and advise you accordingly.

Good to know. In the past we had those cases multiple times, because we are starting with a bigger license to be on the safe side and adjust it to the amount the customer really needs. Having a clear process for this will speed up sales tasks

 

[JoshWS]

Good to know. In the past we had those cases multiple times, because we are starting with a bigger license to be on the safe side and adjust it to the amount the customer really needs. Having a clear process for this will speed up sales tasks

Could work out better to go for the lower SC, but enable the notifications for if this SC limit is reached, then you can upgrade. Therefore mitigating the need to speak to 3cx to get them to downsize the PBX

 

[Benedikt Machens]

Could work out better to go for the lower SC, but enable the notifications for if this SC limit is reached, then you can upgrade. Therefore mitigating the need to speak to 3cx to get them to downsize the PBX

Nope, wrong side of the solution. Reaching license limit means, a customer call got dropped and a dropped call means lost profit for our customer... Monitoring is everything

 

[Smartypants]

I manage to replace a 4SC ENT to 8SC PRO ...
It was a little bit tricky but it works .

@GabrielaS_3CX Let back the feature on the dashboard

I'm trying to do something similar, downgrading from 8SC ENT to 8SC PRO. Can you elaborate on the steps you took? My partner sent me a new key license key but I'm getting and error 401 while trying to apply it.

 

[SteveITS]

partner sent me a new key license key

Per this thread’s blog post they should know that won’t work. See Gabriela’s post above to contact 3CX.

 

[rayfield]

I think this was asked and answered and that I understand it.

But, I want to make sure (this all can get a bit confusing).

I have a customer who has a large system running that needs to stay online as much as possible.

We need to move this customer's 3CX installation from one computer to another (actually, from one VM to another VM).

I can use a Trial Key to spin up a new 3CX server instance on the new VM.

Then, I can change the License Key on the new VM installation to the Customer's Commercial (Paid) License Key and finally do a Restore of a Backup from the old 3CX system to bring the new system up to the proper configuration (the same as the old system).

So, I'm changing the License Key on a Trial system to the Customer's Commercial License Key, which is allowed under the new 'rules'. - Correct?

John Rayfield, Jr.
Rayfield Communications

 

[KyriacosS_3CX]

Hi,

Are the VMs in the same cluster? If yes a clone to a VM with more resources might be enough? Just saying so that the possibly simplest solution is not left out of the equation.

Best,
K.

 

[SteveITS]

change the License Key on the new VM installation to the Customer's Commercial (Paid) License Key and finally do a Restore

You should just be able to restore the backup (with the key and FQDN in it) during the install. I don't think you need a trial key.

clone to a VM with more resources

Or just increase them on the current VM? But yeah I did catch that too. When we migrated all our clients to a new cluster recently, we created a new VM, moved/imported the disk file, and updated /etc/network/interfaces with the new NIC name. Side note, somewhere along the line I saw 3CX suggest keeping the same MAC address on the NIC so that's what we did.

 

[Merritts]

Little note for your dev team, Theses licence changes should pop up on the licence renewal page so your customers are aware.

We were trying to be proactive renewing for 5 years on 6/14/25 only to find out monday we were hard down as our PRO 4 count system was ineligible for hosting and Monday 6/16/25 was a rush trying to figure out why we were down.

That little nugget of information would have been of great help on Saturday when we were processing our renewal. Not to mention the surprise cost increase to re add hosting.

 

[Colorado VoIP]

Little note for your dev team, Theses licence changes should pop up on the licence renewal page so your customers are aware.

We were trying to be proactive renewing for 5 years on 6/14/25 only to find out monday we were hard down as our PRO 4 count system was ineligible for hosting and Monday 6/16/25 was a rush trying to figure out why we were down.

That little nugget of information would have been of great help on Saturday when we were processing our renewal. Not to mention the surprise cost increase to re add hosting.

the license changes have been publicized for months and months. your partner that you work with should have been telling you about this starting late 2024.

 

[Merritts]

Not everyone has a partner some of us are true SMB that are just trying to keep the lights on so to speak. the Post here in the forum was May 2nd. Next time we are due I will try to remember to browse the forums and see what was announced before we commit another renewal.

 

[Colorado VoIP]

Not everyone has a partner some of us are true SMB that are just trying to keep the lights on so to speak. the Post here in the forum was May 2nd. Next time we are due I will try to remember to browse the forums and see what was announced before we commit another renewal.

ah well, more perks for working with a partner. cause we relay this info to our customers

 

[K_SAK]

Not everyone has a partner some of us are true SMB that are just trying to keep the lights on so to speak. the Post here in the forum was May 2nd. Next time we are due I will try to remember to browse the forums and see what was announced before we commit another renewal.

Make sure you are registered to receive email updates, and monitor them.

 

[aureus]

Hi,

Yes, free licenses and trials can be replaced with a commercial key.

I am in the same situation. I purchased a Trial Key that I have always have done for the past couple of years just to make sure the phone system worked correctly for my customers during the trial period. I did not know about the Trial period starting off with 8SC until now. I have 10 days left in the trial period for a particular customer. How do I convert it to a 4SC PRO license after expiration? Do I wait until it expires to a free Standard version then purchase? When this happens, do I lose any settings that I had in the trial period?

Thanks,

 

[GabrielaS_3CX]

I am in the same situation. I purchased a Trial Key that I have always have done for the past couple of years just to make sure the phone system worked correctly for my customers during the trial period. I did not know about the Trial period starting off with 8SC until now. I have 10 days left in the trial period for a particular customer. How do I convert it to a 4SC PRO license after expiration? Do I wait until it expires to a free Standard version then purchase? When this happens, do I lose any settings that I had in the trial period?

Thanks,

Hi,

Yes, we published the changes to trial keys on May 2nd. I highly recommend checking our blog regularly, we share important updates there that can help you stay informed, avoid issues, and strengthen both your technical positioning and sales conversations.

Regarding your current situation, you have two options:

1. Maintain the current SC level from the trial.
2. If you require a 4SC PRO license, you'll need to purchase the new key and reconfigure the system accordingly.

Waiting for the trial to expire isn’t recommended, as it could lead to service interruption for your customer. Acting now ensures a smooth transition and uninterrupted service, helping you deliver the reliability your clients expect.

 

[aureus]

Hi,

Yes, we published the changes to trial keys on May 2nd. I highly recommend checking our blog regularly, we share important updates there that can help you stay informed, avoid issues, and strengthen both your technical positioning and sales conversations.

Regarding your current situation, you have two options:

1. Maintain the current SC level from the trial.
2. If you require a 4SC PRO license, you'll need to purchase the new key and reconfigure the system accordingly.

Waiting for the trial to expire isn’t recommended, as it could lead to service interruption for your customer. Acting now ensures a smooth transition and uninterrupted service, helping you deliver the reliability your clients expect.

Thanks for the update!!