With the release of VNC 7.x, there are some changes in licensing to be aware of.

Upgrading VNC 6.x to VNC 7.x

Licensing using the cloud

VNC 7.x continues to be able to be licensed via the cloud, there are no actions required when upgrading cloud-joined VNC Server 6.x to VNC Server 7.x.

Licensing offline, using an offline license

While VNC 7.x can continue to be licensed offline, it moves away from using a 25 character key and instead uses an offline license file, or token. The offline license can be obtained in the same way as the offline license for VNC 6.x, which is by accessing the Deployment page of the VNC Connect portal.

When upgrading offline-licensed VNC Server 6.x to VNC Server 7.x, VNC Server 7.x will honour the VNC 6.x key until its expiry date. However, it will show a message in the Message Center that "licensing has changed".

To remove this message, obtain and apply the VNC 7.x offline license as shown here: Updating an offline license.

Licensing using policy

New policy template files are required to license VNC 7.x. You can read more about where to download these and use them here: Remotely Configuring and Locking Down VNC Connect Using Policy
Note: existing policy templates applying a VNC 6.x offline license key will be honoured by VNC 7.x until the expiry of the VNC 6.x offline license.

Licensing using MSI transform

The MSI transform property to apply an offline license has changed from LICENSEKEY to OFFLINELICENSE. For more information about licensing using an MSI, please see Deploying and Licensing VNC Connect using Windows MSIs

Introduction to per user licensing

Our customers use VNC Connect in various ways and at varying degrees of scale and complexity. So, in addition to our per device pricing, we've introduced per user pricing. This gives customers the flexibility to choose a pricing option that works best for their needs.

By choosing to pay per user, customers can now subscribe to a VNC® Connect plan and only pay for the number of named users they need. A set number of managed devices (i.e. running VNC Server) are included with each plan, with the number of devices determined by the level of plan chosen.

Additionally, when paying per user, customers also benefit from our On-Demand Assist capability, which allows them to start a quick remote session with an end user via a one-time session code and without the need for VNC® Server to be installed.

How do I apply per user licensing?

VNC Server

VNC Server is licensed in the same way as per device licensing, by signing in with your RealVNC account or by applying an offline license.

VNC Viewer

To connect to a VNC Server that is licensed with a per user subscription, you will need to license VNC Viewer by either signing in with your RealVNC account or by applying an offline license.

Known issues and limitations

1. Per user licensing is only available when using both VNC Viewer 7.x and VNC Server 7.x.
2. VNC Viewer 6.x is unable to connect to a VNC Server licensed with a per user subscription. You must upgrade to VNC Viewer 7.x.
3. VNC Viewer for Mobile does not currently support offline licensing, so must be licensed by signing in with a RealVNC account to be able to connect to a VNC Server that is licensed with a per user subscription.