Software maintance service?

I bought the student bundle. And in my Account I can renew my software maintance service. What does this exactly mean?. Can I use Matlab just for one year and than I have to rebuy the license.?

Answer 1

[Vaidyanathan Thiagarajan]

Software Maintenance is an annual program offered to users which provides for Technical Support, software updates, and license configuration changes.

You can obtain information about Software Maintenance Service program on the web at: https://www.mathworks.com/services/maintenance.html

In order to make any changes to your license (i.e. add product, move product to the license, change the license option) or to receive product updates, the license must be under valid Maintenance. If you allow the Maintenance on your MathWorks license to expire you will not be permitted to make any changes to your license until your Maintenance Agreement is renewed.

[Walter Roberson]

In the context of the Student licenses, software service gives access to all MATLAB updates and updates to your toolboxes for the period covered. It does not affect the length of your license; it is a way to keep up with the latest software versions.

[Sharon Sledge]

Do you need to renew the Software Maintenance Service for perpetual licenses as well?

[Walter Roberson]

No, you only need to renew Software Maintenance Service for a perpetual license if you want to be able to create support cases, or continue to upgrade MATLAB to newer versions as they are released, or access archived documentation.

A perpetual license is a right to use that particular software version (and the earlier versions) forever; it does not, however, include the right to update to newer software releases.

[Ambrose]

It's worth noting that the mathworks policy of making no changes to your licence can leave you with unusable products even though you have paid for a perpetual licence.

If you have unassigned products and your maintenance expired then you will not be able to assign them to a licence to use them, meaning you've lost access to something that you have paid to use forever.

Also, you can make changes to your licence after maintenance expires, you can remove products from a licence. Of course, doing that destroys the product - be careful !

[Christian Cahig]

@Ambrose thanks for pointing that out. MathWorks is weird.

[Ambrose]

The answer fails to make clear that you can make changes (removing products) that will effectively destroy your ability to ever use it again - unless you pay for new maintenance.