Commercial use - Connection time out

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Comments

  • paweterings
    paweterings Posts: 1

    I have had a free license for teamviewer for years. I use it mostly to monitor my own computers, located at different places in my own home and sometimes when I am not at home for a longer duration. Only now and then I use it to help a member of my family or a friend strictly non commercial, I never get any money or otherwise for it. 

    Why do I suddenly get time-outs and orders to buy a licence?

  • whybother
    whybother Posts: 2

    Business use warning and Im using it on 2 laptops connected on my home network and disconnected from the internet  as a test.

    then I spend 5 minutes trying to make an account to vent  here with all the dumb captcha stuff 

    I see 57 pages of the exact same complaint 

    Free = frustration and time wasted.

  • splow
    splow Posts: 6

    I wonder if someone can connect a thread on some non-TV forum (such as reddit) to this thread that lists alternatives and experiences others have with alternatives? It has been surprisingly difficult to find a reasonably priced alternative that does the main selling point of TV - i.e. no port forwarding stuff and what not needed. I have found one, but we are not allowed to name competitors in TV's forums. 

  • terrorfall
    terrorfall Posts: 3

    Hi all,

    I fired up TeamViewer this morning to apply some upgrades to my Ubuntu Plex server, and I received a notification stating that TeamViewer had identified me as a business user and that my connection would be terminated after 5 minutes. Further to this, after disconnecting and trying to reconnect, I was blocked from reconnecting for 10 minutes.

    I am absolutely a personal user of this service, how do I go about ensuring this doesn't happen in the future?

    Thanks

  • Xandor
    Xandor Posts: 8

    So, i just got the following mail from them after trying to contact them (remember, i already got a mail reply to my form request for resetting to free, telling me:

    Thank you for getting in touch with us. We are happy to inform you that your TeamViewer ID has been reset to “free”. After reviewing your request, we decided that your use case can be qualified as “personal”.

    This is the mail i just received..

    Dear User ,
    Thank you for your email.

    In this case TeamViewer has detected commercial use, to continue using TeamViewer you would have to acquire a TeamViewer License.
    Which license would you be interested in obtaining? The Business, Premium or Corporate? As currently I can offer you a license for a discounted price.


    I have a separate Business/corporate account that i use for work related connections, and i never mix and match them. But for my private usage, i got a free account. Guess it's time to cancle my subscription work account and find something else that we can use for remoting our clients.

  • krugern
    krugern Posts: 12

    Welcome to the club. They are massively pushing free users to paid membership with **bleep** fake commercial use claims.

  • terrorfall
    terrorfall Posts: 3

    Just came across this massive thread after posting mine. I've just switched to **Third Party Product** (how dare TV censor competitor titles when their software is fundamentally flawed) and uninstalled TV

  • Xandor
    Xandor Posts: 8
    @krugern wrote:

    Welcome to the club. They are massively pushing free users to paid membership with **bleep** fake commercial use claims.

    And instead, i'll be removing my paid subscription.. 

    Guess that didn't go as they planned ^^

    Temporary solution for me until i find something usefull: I setup a server with OpenVPN at home, that i connect to, and use RDP/NoMachine to remove all machines i have access to (even added my parrents machine to my vpn to be able to control them).

  • krugern
    krugern Posts: 12

    I'm testing [removed per Community Guidelines] Do the math and get the name :D

  • terrorfall
    terrorfall Posts: 3 
    Just came across this massive thread after posting mine. I've just switched to **Third Party Product** (how dare TV censor competitor titles when their software is fundamentally flawed) and uninstalled TV

    My replies are being edited manually to ensure that third-party app names are removed, even when concealed. TeamViewer, maybe you should be more focused on fixing this issue, instead of this futile damage limitation that you're trying to do on your forums. 

     

  • Xandor
    Xandor Posts: 8
    My replies are being edited manually to ensure that third-party app names are removed, even when concealed. TeamViewer, maybe you should be more focused on fixing this issue, instead of this futile damage limitation that you're trying to do on your forums. 

     

    Actually, everyone that is following the thread can see the correct name until they edit it (and even see who edits it at their end to remove it).

    Most of the time it's "JoshP (Senior Moderator)" That edits the posts and removes stuff from them. ^^ 

  • 7leagueboot
    7leagueboot Posts: 22
    @terrorfall wrote: 
    Just came across this massive thread after posting mine. I've just switched to **Third Party Product** (how dare TV censor competitor titles when their software is fundamentally flawed) and uninstalled TV

    My replies are being edited manually to ensure that third-party app names are removed, even when concealed. TeamViewer, maybe you should be more focused on fixing this issue, instead of this futile damage limitation that you're trying to do on your forums. 

     

    With all due respect terrorfall, damage limitation is when a company comes up with a solution to keep its customers happy, thereby limiting the amount of damage done by the error in the company's policy. What is happening here has nothing to do with damage limitation.

    There are literally 100's of angry free users posting about this ridiculous commercial use accusation. Natascha, the moderator, is manually editing all posts that contain names of competing products. That's normal when one considers this is TeamViewer's forum. However, it also tells a story in that Natascha's actions show the company is well aware of the posts being made about this matter and the company has taken the decision to stick to their new policy regardless of the damage it does (and it is doing plenty!).

    If the goal was to unload all free users, it could have been achieved by providing 30 to 90 days notice that the personal use option will no longer be available. Then all free users would understand that they either buy a license or uninstall and move to a competitor's product.

    The problem with the action being taken is that by falsely accusing personal users as not respecting the terms of the personal use license, it turns a happy user into an angry ex-user because basically the company is labeling all its personal users as 'liars'.

  • bazbsg
    bazbsg Posts: 112

    @Xandor 

    You are guilty until proven innocent and then still guilty even after proven innocent.

  • Billaboard
    Billaboard Posts: 2

    I am an elderly private user trying to support just one 86 year old and his family using Teamviewer. They have 4 computers, so I can understand why it looks as though I am using the program commercially. When I submit the non-commercial use form I just get sent to an error page saying to contact support staff. I cannot find how to do this.

    I did see another message from 2018 with the same problem, but that didn't help.

  • bazbsg
    bazbsg Posts: 112

    Just now I was asked to do a survey on this TV forum. Among other thins they asked if based on my visit to the forum if I would recommend TV to someone and I answered zero chance. I did say I got what I came to get and then explained ... "I came to enjoy the turmoil caused by TV falsely accusing personal users of business use. Very entertaining."

  • rejin19
    rejin19 Posts: 1

    Dear Concerned,

    My ID has been blocked and says I m using it as commercial usage.

    Please note that this statement is incorrect as I m using this free version to help my relatives in my free time after that too after my working hours.Also at the same time I m doing this as a free service to them.

    So kindly request you to lift this ban as quick as possible.

    Thanks & Regards

    Rejin Ranjit 

    [email address removed]

  • candtalan
    candtalan Posts: 2

    I have the same problem, similar circumstances I am in my 70s myself anyway... I routinely use a vpn I wonder of that makes a difference, the several people I help are perpetual novices and it is no way commercial. Say - where did you find a non commercial application form please?  I had a problem just now for the first time, and had to find an alternative **Third Party Product** but I would prefer to use Teamviewer it has been reliable and I appreciate it. any comments would be most appreciated - tia

     

     

  • Billaboard
    Billaboard Posts: 2

    I must have been sent this address for the form "https://www.teamviewer.com/en/support/commercial-use-suspected/?_ga=2.**Please do not post TeamViewer IDs**.**Please do not post TeamViewer IDs**.**Please do not post TeamViewer IDs**-**Please do not post TeamViewer IDs**.**Please do not post TeamViewer IDs**"

    But I filled it in and it just went to an error page which seemed useless.

    I'm like others here - I was using TV free to support just one elderly family, and I'm in my upper 70's myself.  I also occasionally help commercial companies with personal IT support, but have never used TV for that. I am now much less likely to recommend it to them.

    Incidentally, I also hate this Lithium forum software. Adobe use, or used, that and it drew a lot of negative criticism there.

  • Mairu
    Mairu Posts: 11

    I get it sometimes too. I use it for all of my family, all of whom are in their 70s, a few friends, and use it on my own PCs and mobile phone(s), because I'm a closet nerd and their "tech guy"... NOT  because I'm a commercial entity!

    I've used TeamViewer since something like version 6, but looking elsewhere now. In fact, I've  just  downloaded **Third Party Product** in the last few minutes!

  • BigBoyDeluxe
    BigBoyDeluxe Posts: 1

    Me too.  This is the second time TeamViewer has thought I'm using it commercially.  This time I''m on my daugthers tablet on a mobile  phone connection trying to connect to  my own laptop in my own home!!

    Or is it that TeamViewer now just wants to get rid of it's early supporters....

  • MrT2
    MrT2 Posts: 2

    After 4 years i got it to. Only conect to my home PC.....

    If you find any good replacment plz let me know.

  • ndev2k
    ndev2k Posts: 1

    I too am receiving the commercial message. I only see the message on my iOS devices though. If I use TV on my PC to connect to my son's laptop I don't get the message and can use as normal so I believe it may be an issue with the mobile app.

    Any help from the Teamviewer team would be appreciated.

  • Mairu
    Mairu Posts: 11

    Well, that post didn't last long! I'm doing well today!

    So, TeamViewer don't like that I'm trialing something else, but they don't like that i'm using it on family and friends PCs for non-commercial use either, despite being a faithful promoter for best part of 10 years... maybe more, I forget!

    Again, it's not hard for a "leading" tech company to envisage the sort of environment the software is being used in.... even the most unobtrusive of connection logs I am sure would show usage predominently between private "home" ISPs such as TalkTalk/EE/PlusNet etc., and not BT Business or the like.

  • MrT2
    MrT2 Posts: 2

    The speed in this chat was fast, not like the support 7 days ??

  • Mairu
    Mairu Posts: 11
    @MrT2 wrote:

    The speed in this chat was fast, not like the support 7 days ??

    ????

  • candtalan
    candtalan Posts: 2

    I had to use **Third Party Product**, it worked but I have not used it enough to know its limitations etc. Good luck

  • Karder
    Karder Posts: 1

    Hello. Before the session with my home computer, I got the message: Commercial use detected and after 5 minutes the session will be completed. But for commercial purposes, I do not use the program. How to unlock my program?

  • Bankfodder
    Bankfodder Posts: 23

    Hi, I'm a long-term private/personal user of teamviewer.

    Since last year I've been receiving messages that I'm suspected of commercial use. I have gone through the procedure and each time my account has been reset – but then a few weeks or months later I get the same message I get blocked again.

    I really have no idea how to deal with this. It must be a waste of resources all round and I don't understand why instead of flagging up a particular device ID, they don't simply flag up the email address account so that it applies to all devices.

    I have a telephone, a desktop computer, a laptop, tablet device. I use them if I'm at home or if I'm away from home and only for helping my kids or a couple of old people that I know. I'm a retired teacher and I don't make any money out of it.

    Team viewer is great and it has been extremely helpful to the people I've been helping – but I don't understand why this persistent resetting of my account to suspected commercial use happens.

  • Bankfodder
    Bankfodder Posts: 23

    Hi, I'm a long-term private/personal user of teamviewer.

    Since last year I've been receiving messages that I'm suspected of commercial use. I have gone through the procedure and each time my account has been reset – but then a few weeks or months later I get the same message I get blocked again.

    I really have no idea how to deal with this. It must be a waste of resources all round and I don't understand why instead of flagging up a particular device ID, they don't simply flag up the email address account so that it applies to all devices.

    I have a telephone, a desktop computer, a laptop, tablet device. I use them if I'm at home or if I'm away from home and only for helping my kids or a couple of old people that I know. I'm a retired teacher and I don't make any money out of it.

    Team viewer is great and it has been extremely helpful to the people I've been helping – but I don't understand why this persistent resetting of my account to suspected commercial use happens.

  • RDN
    RDN Posts: 8

    Sorry for the complicated title, but I want it to be searchable by anyone else who may have experienced the same problem I just did.

    I recently completed the "Declaration of Private Use" form because I didn't want to see the "Commercial Use Suspected" messages every time I connected to one of my other 4 PCs (I have 5 in total).

    Today for the first time my XP machine would not connect to any of my Windows 10 machines (except that I didn't try the one in the kitchen - it wasn't running.)

    I have screenshots of various messages which I could post, if required. They were:

    "Teamviwer has encountered a problem..." - i.e. the usual Microsoft crash notification,

    "The instruction "----" at address "----"... the memory could not be read" - another MS message.

    The three Windows 10 machines could all connect to each other.

    Only on one occasion did I get the "Commercial use suspected" message. All other Win10 to Win10 connections were free of the "Commercial use suspected"  message.

    I rebooted my XP PC and did not install all the usual programs that normally get installed on startup, but I still got the same "crash" report or "Memory unreadable" reports when running Teamviewer. These problems would occur on the XP machine whether I was trying to connect FROM the XP machine or TO it.

    In desperation I thought I'd re-install v 14.1.9025.0. Amazingly - to me, at least - Teamviewer now works OK. 

    If it hadn't worked, I was going to ask Teamviewer to "undo" whatever you did to remove the "Commercial use suspected" message. I had assumed that maybe there was a path through the software that had never been used when "Commercial Use" was suspected, and by changing my account to remove that message you had changed the path that the software took and it then hit this memory error. 

    Anyway, after re-installing, all appears to be OK again and instead of the "Commercial use Supected" message I now get the "Buy Now" message which is fine.

    I hope this log of events is of use to anyone else that gets into this situation.

     

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