How do I prevent Quicken from updating once my subscription expires?

danithomp24

All, I know that when my subscription expires I will have an annoying banner reminding me to renew, but I should still have access to my data and be able to manually enter transactions. The last time I tried to quit, it somehow updated and then I was told that the only way to get access back was to resubscribe. Here I am at the end of that subscription and I would like to know the best way to ensure that does not happen again. Thanks!

Greg_the_Geek

Are you using Quicken Starter? It becomes Read Only when your subscription expires.

danithomp24

Sorry, I should have mentioned that. I have Quicken Premier for Mac.

NotACPA

Since you're not running Starter Edition, there's no issue about Quicken not updating after your subscription expires.

Q will NOT Update on it's own .... there's nothing that you need to do to NOT Update.

What you report as previously happening should only happen with Starter.  Did you previously run that?

danithomp24

It definitely did update automatically (or at least without requiring confirmation). I suppose it is possible that when dismissing the popups that cannot be removed that I hit the wrong thing (it's been a year so I have forgotten what the popup choices were), but one would think updating if your subscription was expired would at least offer an "are you sure?" prompt. I spent multiple calls and several hours on the phone with CS trying to figure out how it could happen and the only solution they could offer was to reactivate my subscription or I would lose access to my 15 years of data.

I have been a deluxe or premier user since at least 2004 (2001, I think). I have never had the starter edition.

jrich75

I'm not a Mac user but in windows there is a way to set up security features to warn whenever an update is attempted.  If that happens when Quicken is starting, I can cancel the process and wait until I'm ready to update.  I always do this if the update is late in the week just in case there is a problem over the weekend when there are limited support options.
I would assume Mac has something similar.

jacobs

As noted above, Quicken Mac will never update on its own; it will only do so if you affirmatively click twice to install an update: once to download the update file, the second to install it.

The problem you may find is that every time you launch Quicken, you may get the pop-up notice that a newer version is available; I don't know if this goes away of you don't have a current subscription, but I don't think it does. so that may be an added annoyance, but it just takes a click to dismiss it each time -- and again, even if you inadvertently click to download the update, just dismiss the prompt to install it.

Let's say somehow you blow past the two dialogs and install the update by mistake. You're still okay. The key thing to know is that Quicken automatically moves your older application file to the Trash, and it also makes a Pre-Update back of your data file. So if you find yourself staring in horror at the updater running, or a "Here's what's new in Quicken" screen, you can still back out. Quit Quicken. Locate the version of the application it just moved to your Trash: it will have a name like "Quicken (601.37924.100).app". Trash the version now in your Applications folder, and move from the Trash the prior version. You can rename it to just "Quicken.app" if you wish. Then go you your backup folder (which by default is in your User Library/Application Support/Quicken/Backups). Open the Automatic Backups folder and look for a file named "BACKUP (Pre-Update) - your file name date of installation.quickenbackup". Drag this file over the old application in the Applications folder, and the old version of the program will launch, using the old version of your data file. Crisis averted! You're back where you were a second before you inadvertently installed the update.

danithomp24

That's great news! Things must have changed in the last 12 months bc those precautions were not in place when this happened to me. There is absolutely no way that I would have gone through all of those steps you mention to install. Like I said, it somehow did an automatic update after expiration. No one else uses my computer and there is no way that I forgot doing that entire process. When I called CS (on 3 separate occasions to troubleshoot) they acknowledged that it could happen and there was no way to roll it back. I tried all of the things you mentioned (and a few more) to get the old app file back to no avail. I'm glad to hear that they appear to have made it more difficult for that to happen (although from what I gather they still haven't allowed a way to remove that annoying banner that takes up 25% of the screen when your sub expires, which is über annoying). Thanks so much again for your response.

jacobs

Hmmm, I'm not aware of any way for it to auto-update without notifying you and requiring your affirmative action. I want o note that this isn't something new; the update process has been the same since modern Quicken Mac launched back in 2014. If there's some stealth update for users with expired subscriptions, such that it forces you to buy a new subscription, that would be quite an explosive story! I obviously can't explain or even guess at what happened to you a year ago; I can only say that should not be possible to the best of my knowledge personally and everything I've read in 7 years on this forum.

And yes, they still insist on stealing the 25% of your screen to try to convince you what you're missing out on by not renewing your subscription. I understand that they want to try their damndest to get users to renew, but I've never understood this approach. They must have stats that tell them it drives more people to renew than it drives people to move to other software. So you either make peace with it and live with it, you pay to make it go away, or you find an alternative.

gbkworf

Some smart IT guy has to figure out what file to delete or what registry entry to tweak to eliminate the horribly annoying extortion and constant sign on pop ups and banners about your expired account. I WILL NOT BE EXTORTED AND i WILL NEVER AGAIN PAY FOR QUICKEN!

jacobs

@gbkworf  There's no secret file to be discovered because Quicken connects to a server to check the status of your subscription.

You're certainly entitled to feel unhappy with the subscription model Quicken adopted three-and-a-half years ago, but it's certainly not extortion, either. Users are paying for a service. In the old days, the software lasted three and a half years from the date of release and then all the online services ended; there were no feature updates to the program until you re-purchased the software for one of the new annual releases. Now, the software lasts one year from when a user activates it, and new features and fixes are released continually. It's a similar model (software with expiring online features), with differences which benefit both users (more frequent updates) and which benefit Quicken (more overall revenue).

Quicken's originally-stated plan for subscriptions was to make it become completely read-only once subscriptions ended. (When a magazine or streaming service subscription ends, you completely lose access; with personal finance software, they needed to go one step beyond and allow users to access their existing data.) Users complained about not being able to use the software manually with an expired subscription, so Quicken management compromised: they allowed lapsed subscribers to continue to use the software manually, but in return they claimed part of the screen space for merging to push users to re-subscribe. Users have three choices: renew their subscription, live with the renewal message on the screen, or move on to different software. (In all instances, you retain access to your data, which is why it can't accurately be labeled as extortion.)