"Activation required!". Okay. How do I do that after updating their product?
In late January I got an email from Acronis stating:
"A free update is required for Acronis True Image
Update your software before February 2022 to keep using all Acronis functionalities".
I updated the product. Not having used the product for years and not really knowing what I'm doing, I think that I copied the downloads for the few ATI versions that I had just updated to my USB stick and then deleted the ones in my PC's Download section. I had the desktop icon for 2018 though.
Now when I start my computer, I get a message saying that I have x numbers of days to activate my product, which I don't think I would have gotten if I hadn't of updated it recently.
When I access my desktop icon for ATI, when I go into the Account section and click on "Resolve activation problem", the problem does not get resolved.
I contacted Support but they just gave me links to pages or sites which could help with my problem, without answering my specific question.
What do I need to do in order to "activate" my ATI 2018? Where is the information I need in order to do this and how do I go about activating my purchase?
Hi Steve.
My online account says that I have a Perpetual Licence of ATI 2018. I really haven't touched this product for years as I think that there was a conflict with this software and my AV software so I just removed some software to make my AV software run smoothly. I've probably got new AV security now but never got around to reinstalling the software that I removed.
Anyway, I got an email from Acronis in the last few weeks mentioning an update to their software which had to be installed by a certain time, so I did that. My ATI 2018 app says that I have the latest version, Build 15560.
I'd say that I've got at least one previous annual release of their product.
The ATI 2018 app on my PC which has "Resolve activation problem" doesn't work. Now I've got 5 days to 'activate' this product which I paid for. Guessing that I didn't update my app I wouldn't be here now.
When you are logged in to your Acronis Account and see ATI 2018 shown, click on the section under the product name where it says Workstation and gives a number for the count of licenses you are registered to use. This will open a new panel and show you the registered serial number with an option at the right end to allow you to copy the serial to the clipboard.
Also on that panel with the serial number(s), it will tell you the type of license held, i.e. for my own ATI 2018 licenses, I see that I have both full (standard) licenses and an upgrade license that I can use.
Hi Steve.
Following your advice, I see that I have a 3 PC licence, it's a perpetual licence. I copied the key to the clipboard and tried using the app's "Resolve activation problem" icon and still the same non-result.
What is the process to successfully "Resolve activation problem"? My app has an icon for this but clicking it does not resolve the problem. It should, shouldn't it? Why isn't this working?
Support offered me a remote fix but I don't want to do this, I want to do this myself. I should be able to do it. I have 3 days left to "activate" my product, which I paid for, probably for at least two different versions of it.
On my online account, if I click on the Dashboard and view the "All devices", I see 5 devices, 4 with the same name, and three of them with them red text stating "Machine is offline for more than 30 days".
I only have one machine, one PC. Maybe I used more than one external storage device in order to backup my one PC.
Today I uninstalled and redownloaded the product and the problem is persisting. In my downloads section, I have today's download and the original download for this version of the product.
Did downloading the update which Acronis suggested that I do create this mess?
See KB 59878: Acronis True Image 2018: "You've exceeded the maximum number of activations for this serial number" which deals with how to move your activation to a different computer (even if it is actually the same computer but from an older earlier install).
See KB 60964: Acronis True Image: license activation fails due to blocked network connection to Acronis servers for issues that can stop activation from being successful.
Have you tried logging in with your Acronis Account credentials in the ATI GUI on the Account page (top right), as this can also help in resolving these issues.
Thanks Steve. Managed to fix this by following the advice link from Acronis on using another computer to activate the app on the PC you want it on...even though I used the same computer when following that advice. So, the solution makes about as much sense as anything else from Acronis, including how to use their forum (where doing things which are easily achieved on other forums without having to think about them, like posting comments or separating quotes from your reply to them, are made difficult by them). It seems to me like this is something that the app should have just been able to resolve itself, without me doing anything, seeing as sometimes I was even logged into my online account when using the app.
Can I ask you some more questions here?
a) So, I've updated ATI 2018, following Acronis' advice. Do I need to download a new recovery USB for this version now too?
b) With all these updates, can I recover previous backups made with this app, i.e. made before I updated anything?
c) I've got at least one other version of ATI, might be 2017 and one earlier. Wondering how they will work on this, if I need them, e.g. to recover a previous backup. E.g. Can you use more than one ATI release on the same computer?
d) I mentioned my online account listing several different computers or something, even though I have only used one computer for backups. Could these related to backup locations? E.g. NAS or USB storage? My app only lists one previous backup that I've made, some years ago (I'll have to do a new one soon, once I work out how all this stuff works).
e) Can you buy the last non-cloud based version of ATI online somehow? If you can, where?
a) So, I've updated ATI 2018, following Acronis' advice. Do I need to download a new recovery USB for this version now too?
No, it is actually better to just use the integrated bootable media builder tool to create any new media when needed.
KB 60820: Acronis True Image 2018: how to create bootable media
b) With all these updates, can I recover previous backups made with this app, i.e. made before I updated anything?
The latest updates should make no difference to your backups & recovery of same. The updates were addressing security changes related to the Acronis online dashboard servers and the Acronis Cloud. There are no changes AFAIK that would affect local backups / recovery.
c) I've got at least one other version of ATI, might be 2017 and one earlier. Wondering how they will work on this, if I need them, e.g. to recover a previous backup. E.g. Can you use more than one ATI release on the same computer?
See the link in my signature for Backup Archive compatibility which shows that you should be fine using ATI 2018 to recover backups from 2017 or earlier. The only issues are those that can come from trying to use an older version of ATI to recover files from a newer one, especially with ATI 2020 and later where Acronis has moved to using .TIBX files which all earlier versions see as being 'corrupt'!
Only one version of ATI can be installed at any time. Each new version uses the same folders so would overwrite any version already installed. The install folders cannot be changed.
d) I mentioned my online account listing several different computers or something, even though I have only used one computer for backups. Could these related to backup locations? E.g. NAS or USB storage? My app only lists one previous backup that I've made, some years ago (I'll have to do a new one soon, once I work out how all this stuff works).
The reference to different computers in your online account is just an indication of times when ATI has been installed and a license activated. Acronis don't provide any tools / options to clean out that history other than using the options to move activation when installing / activating on a new computer.
If you are looking at the online dashboard, then provided any old computers are shown as being 'Offline' then you can delete these from the dashboard using the gear cog icon options shown in the top right side (drop-down menu).
e) Can you buy the last non-cloud based version of ATI online somehow? If you can, where?
There are no non-cloud based versions of ATI - all versions have had the option to use the Acronis Cloud. What you may be thinking about is non subscription version of ATI, which the last one of these is ATI 2021 but that comes bundled with the extra Acronis Cyber Protect feature components regardless of whether you use them or not, and which require a subscription to use!
It should be possible to find older versions such as 2020, 2019 etc via third-party resellers on such as Amazon, eBay etc but you may find that you are paying more for these given that there are fewer available now that Acronis have dropped all perpetual licenses!
You may want to look at forum topic: Reflecting on a Post-ATI World where other users have been discussing alternative backup solutions.
Thanks for that Steve
What you may be thinking about is non subscription version of ATI, which the last one of these is ATI 2021 but that comes bundled with the extra Acronis Cyber Protect feature components regardless of whether you use them or not, and which require a subscription to use!
You need a subscription to have a functional ATI 2021 product? Or the product is functional but you're just also paying for a feature that you don't want, as in the ACP?
Anyway, thanks for your time. Being a bad person I haven't cloned my PC for years, so if I have any issues in the future, this forum will still hopefully be active and I can get help here.
> You need a subscription to have a functional ATI 2021 product? Or the product is functional but you're just also paying for a feature that you don't want, as in the ACP?
Hello Strummer,
Acronis True Image 2021 was available as both a perpetual and a subscription license. Acronis does not sell the perpetual licenses on the official website anymore, however you still can purchase the older versions in the retail shops like Amazon etc.