{
  "schema": "https://storagestudio.us/schema/wiki-page.v1",
  "title": "When a trial or licence ends",
  "slug": "when-your-licence-ends",
  "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/when-your-licence-ends",
  "markdown_url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/when-your-licence-ends.md",
  "category": "Licensing & payments",
  "category_url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/licensing-and-payments/",
  "tags": [
    "licence",
    "trial",
    "inactive licence",
    "moved files"
  ],
  "summary": "When your trial or licence ends, Storage Studio pauses its own work but never touches your files. Folders and apps you moved stay where they are and stay reachable through the shortcuts left behind. Activate, buy or fix a payment and everything resumes.",
  "published_at": "2026-10-01T06:20:19.000Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-01T05:36:38.000Z",
  "headings": [
    {
      "level": 2,
      "text": "What you'll see",
      "id": "what-you-ll-see"
    },
    {
      "level": 2,
      "text": "What keeps working",
      "id": "what-keeps-working"
    },
    {
      "level": 2,
      "text": "What pauses",
      "id": "what-pauses"
    },
    {
      "level": 2,
      "text": "How to get back",
      "id": "how-to-get-back"
    }
  ],
  "links_out": [
    {
      "slug": "payment-needed",
      "label": "Payment needed",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/payment-needed"
    },
    {
      "slug": "my-drive",
      "label": "My Drive",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/my-drive"
    },
    {
      "slug": "extending-your-trial",
      "label": "extend it",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/extending-your-trial"
    },
    {
      "slug": "buying-a-licence",
      "label": "buy a licence",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/buying-a-licence"
    },
    {
      "slug": "coupons-and-codes",
      "label": "coupon or onboarding code",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/coupons-and-codes"
    },
    {
      "slug": "moving-to-a-new-mac",
      "label": "Using your licence on a new Mac",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/moving-to-a-new-mac"
    },
    {
      "slug": "the-license-pane",
      "label": "The License pane",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-license-pane"
    },
    {
      "slug": "the-shortcut-left-behind",
      "label": "The shortcut left behind after a move",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-shortcut-left-behind"
    },
    {
      "slug": "when-your-drive-is-disconnected",
      "label": "When your drive is disconnected",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/when-your-drive-is-disconnected"
    }
  ],
  "links_in": [
    {
      "slug": "extending-your-trial",
      "title": "Extending your trial",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/extending-your-trial"
    },
    {
      "slug": "how-recurring-payments-work",
      "title": "How recurring payments work",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/how-recurring-payments-work"
    },
    {
      "slug": "my-drive",
      "title": "My Drive",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/my-drive"
    },
    {
      "slug": "payment-needed",
      "title": "Payment needed",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/payment-needed"
    },
    {
      "slug": "refunds-and-your-licence",
      "title": "Refunds and your licence",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/refunds-and-your-licence"
    },
    {
      "slug": "the-license-pane",
      "title": "The License pane",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-license-pane"
    },
    {
      "slug": "the-free-trial",
      "title": "The free trial",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-free-trial"
    },
    {
      "slug": "moving-to-a-new-mac",
      "title": "Using your licence on a new Mac",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/moving-to-a-new-mac"
    }
  ],
  "diagrams": [
    {
      "kind": "flowchart",
      "caption": "Getting back from an inactive licence",
      "outline": "- Licence inactive\n  - leads to Why?\n- Why?\n  - Trial ended: leads to Extend, buy, or enter a key or code\n  - Payment: leads to Fix Payment or Subscribe again\n  - New Mac or reinstall: leads to Activate this Mac with your licence key\n- Extend, buy, or enter a key or code\n  - leads to Everything resumes on the next cycle\n- Fix Payment or Subscribe again\n  - leads to Everything resumes on the next cycle\n- Activate this Mac with your licence key\n  - leads to Everything resumes on the next cycle\n",
      "source": "%% caption: Getting back from an inactive licence\nflowchart TD\n  A[Licence inactive] --> B{Why?}\n  B -->|Trial ended| C[Extend, buy, or enter a key or code]\n  B -->|Payment| D[Fix Payment or Subscribe again]\n  B -->|New Mac or reinstall| E[Activate this Mac with your licence key]\n  C --> F[Everything resumes on the next cycle]\n  D --> F\n  E --> F"
    }
  ],
  "images": [],
  "screenshots_pending": [],
  "faqs": [],
  "text": "When your trial ends or your licence stops being valid, Storage Studio pauses its own work — but it never touches your files. Everything you moved stays exactly where it is, and the shortcuts it left behind keep pointing at it. As soon as you activate, buy or fix a payment, Storage Studio picks up where it left off. What you'll see The menu-bar popover shows Licence inactive , with a short reason, Activate licence and Pick a plan buttons, a list of what is Paused right now , and a short explanation under What does this mean? The popover header shows a badge such as LICENCE INACTIVE . Preferences opens on the License pane, which is the only pane shown until you're licensed again. At launch, Storage Studio shows a window explaining what happened and what you can do. If the reason is a payment, you see Payment needed or Your subscription has ended instead, with the button that fixes it — see Payment needed . What keeps working Your moved folders and apps. They stay on your external drive or cloud account, and the shortcuts at their original places keep working while the drive is connected. Apps you moved still open. Your data on both drives is left as it is. Nothing is deleted, moved back or tidied up because a licence ended. Help, the logs, Preferences, Legal documents, Share Your Experience, Uninstall and Quit stay available, so you can troubleshoot, contact support or leave. What pauses The popover lists what is paused: Paused What that means Scheduled rule runs Files aren't moved automatically Data Parking No new cross-drive moves and merges Data Transfers No new copies or syncs with your accounts Free Up Space No cache sweeps or clean-ups Apps relocator No new app moves Opening one of these features shows a message that it is unavailable while the licence is inactive, with a button to open the License settings. If you have My Drive , it is paused too, without anything in your storage being touched. Getting back from an inactive licence Flowchart outline: Getting back from an inactive licence Licence inactive leads to Why? Why? Trial ended: leads to Extend, buy, or enter a key or code Payment: leads to Fix Payment or Subscribe again New Mac or reinstall: leads to Activate this Mac with your licence key Extend, buy, or enter a key or code leads to Everything resumes on the next cycle Fix Payment or Subscribe again leads to Everything resumes on the next cycle Activate this Mac with your licence key leads to Everything resumes on the next cycle How to get back Trial ended: extend it if that's offered, buy a licence , or enter a coupon or onboarding code . Payment: see Payment needed . New Mac or a fresh macOS install: activate with your licence key — see Using your licence on a new Mac . Something else: if you think it's wrong, email support with your purchase email and we'll look into it. Once you're licensed again, scheduled runs and rules resume on their next cycle, with your settings as you left them. See also: The License pane , The shortcut left behind after a move , When your drive is disconnected .",
  "markdown": "When your trial ends or your licence stops being valid, Storage Studio pauses its own work — but it never touches your files. Everything you moved stays exactly where it is, and the shortcuts it left behind keep pointing at it. As soon as you activate, buy or fix a payment, Storage Studio picks up where it left off.\n\n## What you'll see\n\n- The menu-bar popover shows **Licence inactive**, with a short reason, **Activate licence** and **Pick a plan** buttons, a list of what is **Paused right now**, and a short explanation under **What does this mean?**\n- The popover header shows a badge such as **LICENCE INACTIVE**.\n- **Preferences** opens on the **License** pane, which is the only pane shown until you're licensed again.\n- At launch, Storage Studio shows a window explaining what happened and what you can do.\n\nIf the reason is a payment, you see **Payment needed** or **Your subscription has ended** instead, with the button that fixes it — see [Payment needed](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/payment-needed).\n\n## What keeps working\n\n- **Your moved folders and apps.** They stay on your external drive or cloud account, and the shortcuts at their original places keep working while the drive is connected. Apps you moved still open.\n- **Your data on both drives** is left as it is. Nothing is deleted, moved back or tidied up because a licence ended.\n- **Help, the logs, Preferences, Legal documents, Share Your Experience, Uninstall and Quit** stay available, so you can troubleshoot, contact support or leave.\n\n## What pauses\n\nThe popover lists what is paused:\n\n| Paused | What that means |\n|---|---|\n| Scheduled rule runs | Files aren't moved automatically |\n| Data Parking | No new cross-drive moves and merges |\n| Data Transfers | No new copies or syncs with your accounts |\n| Free Up Space | No cache sweeps or clean-ups |\n| Apps relocator | No new app moves |\n\nOpening one of these features shows a message that it is unavailable while the licence is inactive, with a button to open the License settings. If you have [My Drive](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/my-drive), it is paused too, without anything in your storage being touched.\n\n```mermaid\n%% caption: Getting back from an inactive licence\nflowchart TD\n  A[Licence inactive] --> B{Why?}\n  B -->|Trial ended| C[Extend, buy, or enter a key or code]\n  B -->|Payment| D[Fix Payment or Subscribe again]\n  B -->|New Mac or reinstall| E[Activate this Mac with your licence key]\n  C --> F[Everything resumes on the next cycle]\n  D --> F\n  E --> F\n```\n\n*Flowchart — Getting back from an inactive licence. Outline:*\n\n- Licence inactive\n  - leads to Why?\n- Why?\n  - Trial ended: leads to Extend, buy, or enter a key or code\n  - Payment: leads to Fix Payment or Subscribe again\n  - New Mac or reinstall: leads to Activate this Mac with your licence key\n- Extend, buy, or enter a key or code\n  - leads to Everything resumes on the next cycle\n- Fix Payment or Subscribe again\n  - leads to Everything resumes on the next cycle\n- Activate this Mac with your licence key\n  - leads to Everything resumes on the next cycle\n\n## How to get back\n\n- **Trial ended:** [extend it](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/extending-your-trial) if that's offered, [buy a licence](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/buying-a-licence), or enter a [coupon or onboarding code](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/coupons-and-codes).\n- **Payment:** see [Payment needed](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/payment-needed).\n- **New Mac or a fresh macOS install:** activate with your licence key — see [Using your licence on a new Mac](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/moving-to-a-new-mac).\n- **Something else:** if you think it's wrong, email support with your purchase email and we'll look into it.\n\nOnce you're licensed again, scheduled runs and rules resume on their next cycle, with your settings as you left them.\n\nSee also: [The License pane](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-license-pane), [The shortcut left behind after a move](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-shortcut-left-behind), [When your drive is disconnected](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/when-your-drive-is-disconnected).\n"
}