I purchased two ZimaOS Plus lifetime licenses. One is working as expected, because the hardware does not change, but the second license, which is running on a Proxmox VM, has effectively become unusable after updating to ZimaOS 1.7.
The VM is used for testing different hardware configurations, so I regularly make changes to storage, drives, and other virtual hardware. Because of those changes, I have had to transfer or reactivate the Plus license multiple times. I have now reached the point where Plus will no longer activate at all.
This is a major problem with the way ZimaOS defines and implements a ālifetimeā license.
A lifetime license should not become unusable simply because the hardware configuration changes. I am not running the license on multiple machines, sharing it with other users, or attempting to bypass the licensing system. This is the same VM, used by the same customer, with the same legitimately purchased license. The only thing that has changed is the hardware configuration.
If changing a hard drive, storage device, controller, or other hardware component can eventually invalidate a lifetime license, then calling it a lifetime license is misleading. In practice, it becomes a license with an undisclosed limit on hardware changes or activations.
For users running ZimaOS in virtualized environments, this licensing model is especially problematic. One of the primary benefits of virtualization is the ability to modify hardware configurations, migrate systems, test storage setups, and make changes without rebuilding everything from scratch. A licensing mechanism that penalizes those changes works directly against that use case.
This also creates the impression that the activation system is designed in a way that can eventually force legitimate customers to purchase another license simply because they made too many hardware changes. Whether that is the intention or not, that is the practical result I am experiencing.
Unraid provides a good example of how lifetime licensing can be handled properly. The license is associated with the USB device, and I can change hard drives, controllers, CPUs, motherboards, and other hardware without suddenly losing access to software I already paid for. That is much closer to what most customers understand when they purchase a lifetime license.
ZimaOS needs to reconsider this activation model. Legitimate lifetime license holders should have a reliable self-service method to deactivate, transfer, or reset their license when hardware changes occur. There should not be an arbitrary point where the customer simply loses access to a product they purchased permanently.
At this point, I paid for a lifetime license and no longer have access to Plus because I changed hardware on the same VM too many times. That is not what I consider a lifetime license.
If ZimaOS intends to restrict the number of hardware changes or license transfers, that limitation should be clearly disclosed at the time of purchase. Otherwise, the licensing system needs to be changed so that ālifetimeā actually means lifetime.
For the record I have purchased 2 ZimaOS and 2 Unraid Licenses, buying the licenses is not the issue, is how misleading the ālifetimeā is advertised with ZimaOS.