Will I be able to keep using Quicken Starter with macOS 10.11.6?

wardsislander

In the Release Notes to the latest Quicken update (version 5.16.1) it states: "If you’re on macOS 10.11 or 10.12, we encourage you to upgrade to a newer version of macOS for better performance, stability, and security. While we’ve continued to fix these 10.11 and 10.12 issues, this work will stop in the next couple of months."

My old 17" MacBook Pro (which I would like to keep using because it still works with 32-bit legacy software as well as with newer 64-bit software) unfortunately maxes out at macOS 10.11.6.

My Quicken needs are very simple. I don’t need to download transactions from banks or track investments, I just need to be able to enter transactions manually and sync with Quicken Mobile.

My question is: Will I be able to keep using Quicken even though I will be unable to take advantage of further upgrades to the software?

jacobs

As things exist now, you can simply decline to install an update. The problem is that it will notify you there's an update available every time you launch Quicken, so you may find that annoying over time.

If you allow your Quicken subscription to expire, and you're using Quicken completely manually with no downloads, you can indeed to continue to use it manually. Quicken takes the right 20% of your screen for a perpetual reminder to upgrade to the latest subscription, but if you can live with that, you should be able to continue using your current version indefinitely on your older macOS.

John_in_NC

None of us fellow users know the answer to this, and I don't even know if the developers could tell you.

It really depends on on how future changes/features/improvements affect operation on those older operating systems. Future versions might work fine, or there might be breakage. If the latter, they aren't going to focusing on fixing it, and might even require a higher level OS as the baseline system requirements. Time will tell.

wardsislander

While you are quite correct, John, when you say future versions might or might not work fine, I guess the question I had was: So long as I don't upgrade when asked, can I keep using the version that I am currently using without problems — for example, will I still be able to sync with Quicken Mobile? I read somewhere (maybe on Quicken FAQ): “ If you do not need live technical support or online services, you can continue to use your existing version of Quicken”, but I don't know if this is in fact the case!

John_in_NC

I don't know. A lot of this depends on how they release future versions (i.e. 6,x versus 5.x) and how they plan to support services to older versions.

You have a valid question regarding the new subscription model. In the past, they could "sunset" an older version on a specific date. But, what about subscription users with varying renewal dates and hardware?

jacobs

As things exist now, you can simply decline to install an update. The problem is that it will notify you there's an update available every time you launch Quicken, so you may find that annoying over time.

If you allow your Quicken subscription to expire, and you're using Quicken completely manually with no downloads, you can indeed to continue to use it manually. Quicken takes the right 20% of your screen for a perpetual reminder to upgrade to the latest subscription, but if you can live with that, you should be able to continue using your current version indefinitely on your older macOS.

wardsislander

Thanks, jacobs, that answers my question. However, I will probably keep my subscription going as my 10-year old MacBook Pro won't last forever and besides, I want to be able to continue to sync with Quicken Mobile in the meantime.

John_in_NC

wardsislander said:

Thanks, jacobs, that answers my question. However, I will probably keep my subscription going as my 10-year old MacBook Pro won't last forever and besides, I want to be able to continue to sync with Quicken Mobile in the meantime.

And therein lies the rub: yes, you can always use an unsupported version to manually enter transactions. But the Mobile Sync support you asked about might be cut off due to the older Quicken version you are running, subscription active or not. That is the big question, and one I am going to investigate.

wardsislander

Thanks, John. I appreciate your efforts on my behalf and I look forward to seeing what you dig up!

wardsislander

Another good reason to keep renewing my Quicken Starter account subscription Is that if I don't, my data becomes read-only. Ouch!

jacobs

I don't think it will be possible to get a definitive answer about using an older version in the future. For the time being, things ought to work, but who knows if there will be a need to change a server address sometime in the future?

wardsislander

I agree, jacobs. While I will apparently be able to continue to use a version of Quicken indefinitely on my old macOS (much like Quicken 2007, which still works), I may eventually/soon have to give up expecting to sync with Quicken Mobile.

Quicken states: "The Quicken Data Access Guarantee means that whether you renew your subscription or not, you'll always have full access to and ownership of your data. You can view, edit, export, and manually enter transactions and accounts, even after your subscription ends. As always, your Quicken data is stored on your local computer.

Access to online services, such as transaction download, quotes, and mobile sync, along with access to Quicken Support, will end if your subscription does.

The Data Access Guarantee applies to Deluxe and higher versions of Quicken; the Starter version will become read-only."