There have been some changes to Autodesk recently. Perhaps most importantly for the users and owners, changes to the subscription program, that has been promoted by Autodesk as an “my way or the highway” approach to selling software, or cloud services as it were. As some people were not happy with being expected to purchase a subscription and give up their perpetual licenses, a new promotion has been initiated. This new promotion offers a “switch-back” option, meaning that if you own a perpetual license and you switch to a subscription, “If you’re not satisfied, you can switch back to your perpetual license.” This is the promise.

You can find out more about what this might mean for those who would like to continue with their perpetual licenses or revert to a perpetual license after finding the subscription program doesn’t work for them here.

How do I get this offer? (The first of the FAQs)

Simply trade in your qualifying old perpetual license(s) and purchase a new 1- or 3-year subscription to any eligible collection or individual product of your choice via one of the methods outlined.

Once you submit your perpetual license(s), you agree to discontinue use of the traded-in license(s). This offer ends April 20, 2018.

Which products qualify for the offer?

Most Autodesk perpetual licenses of releases R14 (release year 1998) through 2018 version product not on an active maintenance plan (as of December 31, 2017) qualify to get the offer discount.

When you trade in your qualifying perpetual license(s), you can get the offer discount on most Autodesk product subscriptions, including industry collections, AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor, 3ds Max, Civil 3D, Maya, and much more.

View list of all eligible products and full offer details here.

Can I get a different product than I have now?

You do not need to purchase the same product as the perpetual trade-in license. For example, you can trade in an old, eligible perpetual license of AutoCAD and subscribe to a collection at the promotional price.

(Eds note: This might work if you wanted to buy a subscription to a collection that contains AutoCAD, thereby seeming to get more for your money.)

What does “switch-back” option mean?

We’re confident that you will be satisfied with your subscription, but if for any reason that is not the case, you are eligible to switch back to your perpetual license at the end of either the 3-year term, or the end of the second year of an annual term (1 year plus 1 year renewal). See full details here.

In those full details, note this information:

Note that customers are only able to switch back to the versions set out below.

Do I have to be connected to the internet to use my software?

No. After initial activation, your software will work offline for 30 days. At that point, you will need to reconnect. Don’t worry, we’ll remind you 7 days prior.

Will all of my work automatically go into the cloud?

Desktop applications and all associated user data are stored on your local machine. When you use cloud service applications, you can choose to either store data in the cloud or on your local machine. You retain all of your local data even if you decide to end your subscription.

Will I have updates whether I want to or not?

As a subscriber, you can access the latest updates anytime, but you decide if and when to install them.

What else can I do with subscription that I don’t have with my old software?

The subscription offerings provide you greater value and enable you to:

• Always access the latest software, updates and previous versions
• Use your software anywhere you need to be – at home, at work or on the road
• Share 2D or 3D views of your work online and see comments directly in your product
• Try out new tools without making a big up-front investment
• Easily scale up or down to fit your organization’s changing needs
• Instantly grant users access to products you have purchased by deploying them directly on devices or allowing users to install them on their own from the Autodesk desktop app
• Get technical support – Choose phone, online chat, email or remote desktop assistance to resolve your issues more quickly