Whats the deal with updates

[cr8tor]

A few months ago updates were happening daily. Which was super annoying as it broke things weekly.
Now updates never happen.

If i manually update (and i paid for version 5) then it tells me im not registered for this version.
If i leave it alone, it stays on version 5.2.8.3 and never seems to update.

I get a daily alert that my support contract has ended, however i dont care. I paid for version 5, thats all i want.
Ruining alert usefulness with nagging sucks.

Is the daily support contract nag alert on purpose?
And are updates no longer allowed when you dont have an active support contract?

I thought when i paid for version 5, i would get updates through the life of version 5.
Now it seems alerts are useless as they are used to nag customers into paying fora support contract.
Updates never happen automatically, and if done manually result in the system thinking its an evaluation version.

WTF.
My questions are this:
Is the support contract alert (aka nagware) just their way of doing business now?
And are there no more updates within the same version for paid customers?

I'm not sure if something broke in my installation, or if they simply went from daily updates screwing with things to no updates unless you have or continue to pay for an active support contract?

[TimG]

I think the deal is that you get a year of free updates when you buy BI5. To get BI5 updates after that year, you need a support package. I think it was always the intention, but it wasn't managed until recently.

It has caught a lot of people out, so it may be worth explaining it to Support. The idea of "you can have this update" followed by "you are now in demo mode so your system will not work properly" is clearly not what the author intended. If you don't have the last version that you are allowed to run, then you have a problem.

Clearly BI5 doesn't just stop working after a year, and many members here are still using BI4. I'm afraid if the updates look useful to you (and sub-streams is one of those updates), then you will need to purchase the support package.

[Matts1984]

I can't say I saw the, as you call it, "nag alert" but it does go with what Tim is saying. You are more than welcome to continue using BI5 for life as you bought it. Access to updates however does require an active support contract (this was not always the case - or not enforced - but it is what it is now and honestly for a business, it makes sense). It is a bit frustrating as I too originally assumed I could continue getting any updates as long as I stayed on the BI5 version and losing support would just take away my ability to contact - Support. FWIW, the current version as of the time of this post is 5.3.1.6 but it's worth noting that the latest "Highly Stable" update is 5.3.0.3.

At first I was a bit frustrated by it but eventually I did opt for renewing my support contract, as I've documented on this forum, as just knowing there are updates I don't have will drive my OCD into overdrive. In the long run, $30 a year is still FAR cheaper than using any off the shelf system that requires cloud services and I get far more control and options and - the data is kept on prem. I spend $80 to fill my tank at the station every time, I can ultimately live with an annual $30.

Yes in recent history there were daily updates. It would appear they have adopted more of a RAD (Rapid Application Development) methodology vs an older and more traditional Waterfall Method. While it wasn't exactly portrayed as such, the daily updates were more of beta releases to get new functionality out the door as quickly as possible - that may not have been (and was not always) bug free. It would appear over the last 2 weeks or so we've entered a period of stability but who knows whats going on behind the scenes. Maybe they're about to release something that will blow our minds - or maybe simply some much needed vacation. It's not a big development team.

All that said, if you are getting daily nag alerts that you can't suppress - that is annoying and there should be a way to acknowledge and disable. Sorry, if thats not happening then that should be fed back to the support team.

[RoadHazard]

Count me among the frustrated.

Where can I find each specific older version to download? Apparently I need to downgrade mine to whatever was current the day before my one-year support expired.

[technolocloud]

I haven't seen an update since 7/31 and I'm good on support until March 2021. I did have something weird happen though after the Windows 10 2004 update installed. My BlueIris registration info was blown away after the Windows update restart. I had to track down my old version 4 license to get things back up and running. Did this impact the updating process or is 5.3.1.6 the latest at the time of this posting?

[reddawg]

Count me among the frustrated.

Where can I find each specific older version to download? Apparently I need to downgrade mine to whatever was current the day before my one-year support expired.

This link has a repository of Blue Iris Updates for current and older updates:

https://ipcamtalk.com/tools/blueirisupdates/

[Matts1984]

I haven't seen an update since 7/31 and I'm good on support until March 2021. I did have something weird happen though after the Windows 10 2004 update installed. My BlueIris registration info was blown away after the Windows update restart. I had to track down my old version 4 license to get things back up and running. Did this impact the updating process or is 5.3.1.6 the latest at the time of this posting?

As of the time of my response... 5.3.1.6 is current.