Restoring setup to 3CX Free version does not work

[marian.b]

Hello,

My system was licensed until recently. The license expired and i did not want to renew it because we are not really using all those features and due to high pricing. Free version is just fine for me.

1. I was not able to just replace the old paid license code with the new one generated online, in my account. That was because the old license was a commercial one.
2. I made a backup of the system and downloaded the file to be sure i don't mess anything.
3. I disconnected the old 3cx system (still active but without a valid license) and installed the new version on a machine that i had around.
4. When the setup is completed, it asks about the setup config file for the new installation or for the backup file.
5. If i go through backup file, it says that the file does not import due to license / fqdn. I believe this is because it sees that i had a license and now i am trying to use the free version. It fails to import the backup.
6. If i go through new installation and provide the file from 3cx account, it finishes but i am not able to import the backup. It says that i need to import it during initial setup.

Details

This backup contains a different license key or FQDN than the one you used to install 3CX. To use this backup, you need to reinstall 3CX and restore this backup at installation time.

7. I cannot import the backup file during initial installation time because i don't have the commercial license anymore.

Initial setup consists of about 20 users / 2 analog lines. Most of those users are not active, I can delete them after i import the configuration.


How can i reinstall the system and import the configuration?

 

[AWS2P]

May be you could try this:
make a copy of your original backuped file, open the duplicated version with notepad++ without unzipping the file , then search for FQDN and key licence values and remove them, save the file and then try to import it in your new pbx config.

If you are a lucky guy, it may fix your problem

 

[marian.b]

Hello,

I found the location where the license was written, inside the zip file. Removing the commercial key did not work. Instead, i replaced the commercial license key with the free license key inside the zip archive and imported the file successfully. The system is now online and working just fine. I only need to make some small adjustments.
FQDN remained the same so i had no need to change it.

Thank you for helping me so far!