Commercial use - Connection time out

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  • I have been using teamviewer 14 for about 5 months to connect and control my telescope at a remote location.    Last week i was having a issue with my telescope and asked a friend to assist by remoting into my computer.     The next time i went to talk to my remote computer i got the message "Teamviewer thinks i'm using the software commercially".    I found out later that  my friend has a commercial teamviewer.    If he used that acount to remote to my computer would that of been the flag that i was using teamviewer commercially?    If so, then this should be made clear on your website ....as currently that is not clear and only  got that thought after reading posts of using free and commercial accounts on the same computer.     hopefully my free account will be reset......and i will be more careful when asking friends to remote to my computer.    If this was not the flag.....then something else is wrong with the teamviewer flagging software?   What could it be?

    dave

  • You can't submit a ticket unless you are logged in to an account that has a paid/commercial/corporate license.  The only way to get help for issues with free/personal accounts is on this message board.  There is a sticky post on this message board regarding the commercial-use/5-minute problem.

  • RobT
    RobT Posts: 3

    Hi, sorry you're one on thousands that TeamViewer simply does not care about.  We (ALL FREE USERS) MUST simply MOVE ON to a better product!  If TeamViewer doesn't like us, then just let them DIE...  [removed per Community Guidelines - Sales/Solicitation policy]

  • jpdesai
    jpdesai Posts: 1

    I recently upgraded my Internet connection speed at home. Now, whenever I try to connect remotely from home, a message pops up saying commercial use suspected and immediately times out. It then locks me out for 15 minutes.

    Why would upgrading internet speed cause this behavior and how can I resolve it?

  • For some reason my account has been flagged as having been detected as being used for business. Umm..NO. I do NOT use it for business and need to know how I can get this removed! I am frustrated to say the least by this 'free' version now that it locks me out of MY OWN connected computers after 5 minutes! In NO WAY am I using this software to make ANY money, NOR do I use it in my profession! I can't even submit a private Support Request for help and have to resort to posting here after going through the website support loop! What happened Team Viewer? I used to really enjoy using the software for my personal computers, but after this I am not sure anymore. Any help on getting this remedied would be good...seriously...

  • what's the new product from google?

    to be fair I used to use **Third Party Product** but teamviewer was much better, IMHO, especially to use with my kids, elerdly parents and to even remote control cell phones...  In fact I was considering buying a perpetual license from them to show my apreciation but they seem to have discountinued them.

     

  • I am having the same issue for the first time after 5 years.   Personal only how do I get my account unflagged

  • SCT
    SCT Posts: 1

    My hunch was that TeamViewer detected my running of a tool (Oracle SQL*Developer) on a remote machine. Is anyone else with this problem also using a "commercial-esque" application?

    P.S. - I maintain a database for a nonprofit community group on a PC in my basement which I access from my study.

  • lmhur
    lmhur Posts: 1

    Last week, suddenly I was flagged as commercial (which I'm not).

    It was suppose to shut off after 5 minutes (and it shut off after 90 seconds).

    I followed protocol to request a review.

    I got an email today saying that my personal account has been reset, only when I went to use it, it still didn't work, and disconnected me after 90 seconds.

    Any ideas?

    (Mostly I use teamviewer when I'm the passenger in a car and I have to unlock my home computer so my son can use it, or to check my calendar.)  90 seconds is barely enough time to enter the code on my screen.

    Thanks!

  • attorney
    attorney Posts: 9 ✭✭

    I am having similar issues -- in speaking with TV support, 'commercial' is a broad net including use at church, school (lower and college), and work networks. I think you might fall afoul of work guest networks as well. I am having the problem right now at Starbucks so I am wondering if that is considered commercial now? (IDK.) I think too many people have been cheating so they are being hyper aware. And FYI I tried TV on Ubuntu on my home NAS and that instantly triggered commercial use at home and polluted my other devices so I had to ask (5x now) them to fix it. [removed per community guidelines - Sales/Solicitation policy] Best of luck. It's irritating as all get out but I can't blame them while I hate on them :D 

  • alamden
    alamden Posts: 10 ✭✭

    Same here.  I got a notice saying I was reinstated as free but it still says its detecting commercial use and will shut down, then shuts down.  

  • attorney
    attorney Posts: 9 ✭✭

    I have looked at alternatives and nothing seems to work as well. TV is a great product and I suspect too many people are cheating and it forces them to be too paranoid. I did find out in a past experience that commercial includes connecting from non-profit network like a church, grade/high school or college, in addition to free hotspots provided by work. I suspect even getting on public wifi from Starbucks or through a VPN for my safety is causing troubles. It's really frustrating and I think the cheating is ruining it for everyone.

    I hear people complaining that are finally rid of it --but-- as irrated as I am right now (and I am REALLY irritated!) I need to remember it's free. And I have tried **third party product** and **third party product** and these programs work but not nearly as well. I have even tried **third party product** and that's not sogood. Even the **third party product** for remoting to your desktop does not work nearly as well.

    Most recently my NAS vendor did a TV-based remote support to fix something under warranty and I am wondering...did their contacting me trip me up somehow? I assume they have a paid license but regardless I have no control over their using TV or another product to connect ot my machine.

    So, the upshot is I am hoping that TV gets their algorithm under control so I can go back to checking on my computers at home. There are alternatives and if anyone knows of one that works as well, I'd love to try it out.

  • Ha, so got my initial reinstatement of my free license, which was immediately flagged again (as in, I didn't do anything other than log in). Filled out the form again. Waited another week plus. This time, was told that I was COMMERCIAL. Literally did nothing different and got a different ruling. Crazy.

    So, do I waste my time and effort filling out another form (or continuing to post here)? Nope.

    Everyone, if you are having trouble, go to Capterra and leave your honest feedback.[removed per Community Guidelines]

    I really liked this product and told lots of people about it. I don't know how many of them became paid users, but I know how many of the people I talk to in the future will. Zero. Same as the level of customer support for free users (don't offer a free their if you can't support it).

  • I have been using TeamViewer for many years, never for commercial or professional use. I recently got this issue as well, and, well... continue reading at your own risk:

    If you are getting commercial license needed errors, you will continue to get them. I use TeamViewer on my mobile device, at home, and periodically when I am at work.

    I have called TeamViewer and spoken with a representative and here is the result. Teamviewer recently started "enforcing" a new rule and this affects many heavy users. Because I have been at work and connected to my home computer I am now flagged as a commercial user.

    I am in no way using this commercial, but because I use Teamviewer at a commercial area, I will be flagged and continue to be flagged as a commercial user. If you believe you were wrongfully categorized, you can go to: teamviewer.com/unblock and request for them to take a look at your problem.

    Again, this will be useless if you ever use Teamviewer at any location that has a commercial Internet connection. This defines as; if you go to your local coffee shop and use their Internet connection, their Internet is commercial. If you go to your local library and use their Internet connection, their Internet is commercial.

    Teamviewer now looks at the connection type as; residential or commercial. In summary, if you are getting the commercial license issue, it is due to you using a commercial Internet connection. Unless you are using a residential connection EVERYTIME you use Teamviewer, then you will continue to be flagged and the issue will continuously return.

    I would love to get support myself, especially for the fact that I have been an avid user of Teamviewer from the beginning. But unforcedly the abusers of this program forced this upon us. I myself am looking for an alternative to Teamviewer. Very sad day. :(

  • attorney
    attorney Posts: 9 ✭✭

    Same here I really liked it and see it like the stock market -- plunging and sad to deal with. I am looking at alternatives, I want this to work out but the paid model is insane for a home user. I did install a VPN so I can do a lot of stuff now simply by getting on my home network from wherever. And some VPN environments put the screen into an HTML 5 browser window and with a fast network it works 'ok'. I'd be happy to contribute $50 for a home license if they'd be less of a pain about the commercial use suspicions, but they don't seem interested in that. It's all or nothing and as with others -- while I hope this gets better -- I suspect I will be using homegrown or other less effective but less frustrating remote desktop solutions.

    Good luck to everyone out there!

  • Aamcqu
    Aamcqu Posts: 2

    Hi @Esther , @Natascha and any others who can help -- Can I ask for some official clarity from TeamViewer on this? 

    This page
    says it's considered commercial use:

    1. "If you are using TeamViewer in a commercial environment but let your customers connect to your device"  
    2. "If you use TeamViewer for home office, it is commercial use – even if you just quickly connect to your work computer to check your emails"

    What if you were to do the opposite, and connect to your home computer FROM your work computer, so that you can access your personal files or send emails while you're on a break?  This type of usage is clearly not considered "commercial use" according to the definitions on that website, but I wasn't sure if there was another, stricter definition being used by the software that flags suspicious behavior.

    If I want to continue to access my home computer FROM my work computer (not the other way around) during my breaks, do I need a commercial license for that?

    Thank you for the clarification!

  • I would like to hear an answer on this, too. I have never used TeamViewer for commercial use as remote access is not allowed by my department in general to do my job as it requires access to the landline phones here. Not only that, but they use Citrix for that. I, not my computer, use Team Viewer to access my home desktop PC using my personal cell phone that I pay the bill for and also isn't used for the company but I use the work wifi to not kill my data plan. Its not different from connecting to the McDonald's wifi as I'm doing the same thing, playing idle games and messing with my PERSONAL discord server. I would love to know why this is "commercial use" suddenly without them even bothering to clarify anything. Its a Samsung S9+ from a work wifi connecting to a home desktop PC. That's obviously not work.

  • attorney
    attorney Posts: 9 ✭✭

    I was trying connecting from work to check on my home computer and it was the work network that **bleep** things up that time for me, so no, it's not ok. Not ok if on: work network, school network, church network. It's all commercial. [removed per Community Guidelines] None of these work as well but I am stymied when I am getting labeled commercial when I am connecting from my home computer to my other home computer in my home...and it is flagged and then it 'infexts' all of my other computers on my account. I get their need to police this but it's getting so difficult I have had to find alternatives.

  • same problem, what are the steps to fix, its just a home mac running and I can't find a way to create a ticket

  • pv7721
    pv7721 Posts: 151 ✭✭

    @Aamcqu : yes unfortunately you do need a license, as the originating computer you're running TV to connect to your OWN personal computers is in a work environment.

  • pv7721
    pv7721 Posts: 151 ✭✭

    @o23iutg5498h234 : very interesting observations, but:

    * Having Teamviewer installed on more than 2 different devices. -> I have it installed on 8
    * Using remote connections more than 3 times in a 24 hour timeperiod. -> i had been using more than that sometimes more in parallel 

    * Having more than 3 people in your friendslist.
    * If any of your contacts use Teamviewer commercially, even if there's no interraction.

    What's the purpose to have people in your friendlist, you can connect to their computers? If their commercial use influences yours, maybe there's not such a good idea to keep them, as there's finally no interaction.

  • Technut
    Technut Posts: 13

    @pv7721 wrote:

    @Aamcqu : yes unfortunately you do need a license, as the originating computer you're running TV to connect to your OWN personal computers is in a work environment.


    @pv7721 He's asking for an OFFICIAL answer, but I think you're wrong. 

    Every example that I've found on the TeamViewer website only says it's commercial use if you are accessing your work computer, not if you are accessing your HOME (non-work) computer from work.

    @Aamcqu The key element is that he is not earning any direct or indirect income or compensation by accessing his personal computer from work. It is no different than accessing his home computer from his mother's house.

    https://community.teamviewer.com/t5/Knowledge-Base/How-exactly-is-quot-personal-use-quot-defined/ta-p/4712

    Examples of indirect payments:

    • a software company sells a software product for which it offers free support via TeamViewer
    • teamwork among colleagues within a company
    • use in associations and non-profit organizations with non-volunteer (i.e. paid) employees
    • access to a company computer for work-related activities

    In the above-mentioned cases for indirect payment, TeamViewer is used for creating an added value, the payment takes place indirectly through salaries or a combination of sales/support activities.

    https://www.teamviewer.com/en/support/commercial-use-suspected/

    using TeamViewer for the exercise of your business or profession, or for any purposes for which you directly or indirectly receive compensation – for example, team work with colleagues, or providing free support to third parties which have bought software from you – does not qualify as personal use.

    https://community.teamviewer.com/t5/Knowledge-Base/Why-do-I-see-Commercial-use-suspected-Commercial-use-detected/ta-p/5265

    What is Commercial Use?

    We define commercial use as being any use of TeamViewer for purposes that are either directly or indirectly paid for. This includes, not exclusively, the following use cases:

    Commercial use applies to provide support to customers and colleagues:

    If you are using TeamViewer to connect to your client’s or customer’s devices, it qualifies as a paid service.

    Commercial use applies to home office:

    If you use TeamViewer for home office, it is commercial use – even if you just quickly connect to your work computer to check your emails. It does not depend on whether you register your TeamViewer Account with your personal or company email address.

    Commercial use applies to incoming and outgoing connections:

    If you are using TeamViewer in a commercial environment but let your customers connect to your device, it is commercial use. The definition does not exclude incoming connections.

    Commercial use applies to server administration:

    If you use TeamViewer to monitor one or several devices running a server operating system, commercial use applies.

    Commercial use can apply to non-profit organizations:

    If you work for a non-profit organization, the use of TeamViewer can be commercial if you or another person in the organization receive a salary from the organization.

     

    • What is Personal Use?

    Personal use means that you are helping family and friends, or remotely connecting to your own non-server devices, which are not being used in a commercial environment.

     

    Kse Dyna --
  • pv7721
    pv7721 Posts: 151 ✭✭

    @Technut : I might be wrong, I don't remember where I've seen it written, and as this history is going on and on I'm not sure I want to look for the info.

    You want to be right, and actually I want YOU to be right, but I'm afraid that TV won't want that, as pretty much everything you do it flags you. 

    I've already said, but I can say it again, how I used the version 9 which didn't have the flagging but they got backported, and then the version was unsupported.

    I filled the form for all my IDs and waited, using 3rd parties (that unfortunately are nowhere as good as TV); one day I got an ok for one ID (I didn't know which) and another day got the declaration to sign. After a while I got unblocked, but I wonder when will I be blocked again?

  • Yershov
    Yershov Posts: 11 ✭✭

    Shame, TeamViewer staff to suspect reliable users in fraud.

    Rather we all should suspect TeamViewer in fraid.