Registration & License FAQ

Document number: FAQ-RL:03
Copyright (c) 2003-2010 1stWorks Corporation. All rights reserved.

CL Plus Lifetime fee

hotComm Standard/Pro and hotComm Lite
Free Trials
Multiple Computers
Purchase
Refunds
Your License and Unlock Code
hotComm Lite questions
hotComm Standard/Pro questions
Upgrades
Troubleshooting

Use the Registration & License Form for license, unlock code, activation key & registration support.

Important! Set your email filter to allow email from @1stWorks.com and @hotComm.com.

Also see Terms and Conditions.

CL Plus lifetime fee

The CL Plus lifetime applies to the original email address of your hotComm CL registration. It is not transferable to other email addresses.

Original email address means the email address you see in the "Your CL Identity" window when you type or paste in the unlock code for the CL Plus upgrade you purchase.

Your CL Plus lifetime license can only be used for that email address. If you want to change your email address, you must purchase another CL Plus upgrade.

Free Trials

Is there a free trial?
Yes. There is a free 7-day trial for either hotComm Lite or hotComm Standard/Pro, whichever you install first. The trial starts on the day you install. We offer only one free trial.

I just installed the trial, but hotComm is telling me I need to purchase.
This means that a hotComm product was installed on your computer some time in the past, and that installation used up your free trial.

I have a current license, but hotComm is telling me my free trial is over and I need to purchase.
This means that you haven't unlocked your license yet, are using hotComm on a different computer from the one where you unlocked your license, or you have damaged your registration. For more information, click here.

Where can I download the trial software?
From our Downloads site.

Is there a free trial for hotComm CL?
hotComm CL does not include trials or registration. Some rooms may offer a free trial of CL Plus features while you are connected to the room, but CL Plus itself does not include a free trial.

How do I buy a license?
You can purchase a license online at our Buy Now! website. You get a 24-character unlock code that you enter into your hotComm software.

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Multiple Computers

Can I copy my license to other computers?
Yes. You can export a copy of your license from one computer and import it into another. However, you can only log in from one at a time. For more information, see 1 License, 2 Computers.

Can I move my license to another computer?
Yes. See How to move or copy a hotComm license.

Can I run multiple copies of hotComm at the same time?
If you want to run hotComm on more than one computer at the same time, you need a separate license for each computer. Be sure to register each copy with a unique email address.

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Purchase

How do I purchase?
You can order online, through our Buy now! site.

How do I renew my license? Do you automatically renew my license?
We do not automatically renew licenses. To renew, you purchase another license and enter its license Unlock Code into your hotComm software. Several days before your license is due to expire, you should see notices when you start hotComm.

PayPal is asking for my bank account. Why?
PayPal has a limit of $2000 per credit card, over the life of a card, for a basic account. Then, they require bank account information to establish a different type of account. Once you've set up this PayPal account, you can pay by credit card, or by a debit drawn from your bank.

Do you accept credit cards over the telephone?
No.

Can I pay by check or money order?
We accept payment in U.S. dollars by personal check, bank check, or money order drawn on a U.S bank, for 3-month and longer licenses. 1-month licenses must be purchased online.

There is a $10 USD processing fee for payments by check or money order. Please add the $10 to your payment.

Make the check or money order payable to: 1stWorks Corporation.

Send the payment with your name, email address, and a description of the license you want to :

1stWorks Corporation
P.O. Box 1030
North Falmouth, MA 02556-1030

Your License Unlock Code will be sent to you by email after the payment is processed.

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Refunds

What is your refund policy?
As a matter of standard policy, we do not provide refunds, but we feel it's important you understand why, and why we also provide everyone with a free trial period of 7 days to make sure that hotComm is right for them.

When an unlock code is applied, it unlocks the hotComm software on that machine for unrestricted access on the 1stWorks network, anywhere we operate, to any person, to any room, for the duration of the purchased license term, and since that license is stored locally on the user's machine, we are unable to deny access remotely. We hope this explanation will help you understand our policy.

For more information, please see the Terms and Conditions, section 8, Charges and Payments.

I bought a 3-month license and only used 1 month. Can I get a refund?
No. Licenses are available in several time periods. Please purchase a license for the time period you need.

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Your License and Unlock Code

When you purchase a hotComm license online, you get a 24-character unlock code that you enter into your hotComm software to activate the license time. You can expect:

An email from PayPal or Authorize.net confirming the the financial transaction.
A 24-character hotComm license Unlock Code posted on a Thank You page.
An email from License Manager (Regist@1stWorks.com), containing a copy of the license unlock code. When you type or paste the license unlock code into your hotComm software, it activates the license you purchased.

If you don't receive your unlock email:

Make sure you are checking the right email address.
Check your email spam filter mailbox. The email is sent from License Manager (Regist@1stWorks.com).
If you haven't received it in 2 hours, you can contact 1stWorks Support through this Registration & License Form.

Can I use a Standard unlock code in Lite, or a Lite code in Standard?
Yes. For convenience, you can use a Lite or Standard unlock code in either product without upgrading. The time is prorated based on product price. If you put a Lite unlock code into the Standard product, the time is reduced. If you put a Standard unlock code into a Lite product, the time is increased. Top

hotComm Lite questions

How do I register hotComm Lite?
When you start hotComm Lite for the first time on a computer, you provide Connection Information, including a name to use as an identity in the sessions, and your email address.

This creates and activates an identity for you. It does not activate license time.

Do I lose my license time if I uninstall hotComm Lite?
No. Your license time remains on that computer when you uninstall hotComm Lite, provided that you use the same email address when you reinstall.

Can I change my hotComm Lite identity?
You can change your nickname, but not your email address. Select Options, then Change Identity. This opens the "Change Identity" window.

Can I upgrade from Lite to Standard/Pro?
Yes. See Upgrades.

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hotComm Standard/Pro questions

How do I register hotComm?
During installation, you use the Registration Wizard to create an account on the our location server (1stWorks VNS Server). This process also creates a registration file on your computer. See How to Install hotComm Standard/Pro.

Do I lose my license time if I uninstall hotComm?
Yes. When you uninstall hotComm Standard/Pro, you delete the registration file, which contains your license time.

Can I change my hotComm identity?
You can change the name that appears in the rooms. Select Options, Mode/Identity, and change the name under the selected mode.

However, you cannot change your default identity, which is the email-address, nickname and website you entered when you registered. These appear when someone adds you as an individual user to their hotComm Standard/Pro User List.

Can I make a backup of my registration file?
Yes. The file is: "C:\\Program Files\1stWorks\hotComm\CFG\HCRG.DAT". You can also export a copy of your license as a backup. See How to move a hotComm license.

Upgrades

hotComm Standard/Pro is a different product than hotComm Lite, with its own installer.

To upgrade automatically from Lite to Standard, right-click the hotComm headset icon in the lower right corner of your Windows taskbar and select Upgrade to hotComm Standard. This starts a process of installing hotComm Standard, registering you automatically based on your Lite email address, copying your Lite data files to Standard, and converting your remaining Lite time to Standard. Because there is a price difference between the two licenses, you get fewer Standard days than Lite. For more information, see Upgrade Lite to Standard.

If I put a Standard unlock code into Lite, does that upgrade the product?
No, it just gives you extra Lite time. For convenience, you can use a Lite or Standard unlock code in either product without upgrading. The time is prorated based on product price. If you put a Lite unlock code into the Standard product, the time is reduced. If you put a Standard unlock code into a Lite product, the time is increased.

My Lite license expired. Can I still upgrade?
Yes. You go through the process, but do not get any license time.

Can I register Standard/Pro with the same email and nickname as in Lite?
The upgrade uses the same email address and nickname as in Lite.

How do I join a room with Standard/Pro?
To join a room, find the Users List in the top left corner of your hotCom window. Wait until the icons turn green, then double-click the icon in front of the relay, and then double-click the icon in front of the roomname. (If you do not have a Users List, click View, then check Users List.)

For example, if the room address in hotComm Lite was relay:support, you would select Relay, then select Support.

hotComm Standard/Pro does not have a Green Person button. See other Upgrade Tips.

Troubleshooting

My license unlock code hasn't arrived yet
(1) Check the mailbox for the email address you gave PayPal, because the unlock codes are sent to that address. (2) Check any folders that you have sent up for spam emails.

Unlock codes usually arrive quickly. If your unlock code hasn't arrived within 2 hours, you can check with 1stWorks Support.

License Unlock Code messages
These are some of the License Unlock Code messages:

Unlock Code Processed

The unlock code has been processed and applied to your software.
Invalid Unlock Code

The unlock code has been used before. Note that each unlock code can be used only once. If you are trying to use the same license on multiple computers, please see 1 License, 2 Computers for more information.

Bad Code - Product Mismatch

The unlock code is for a product other than the one you are using. You can find the product name on the top line of your hotComm window.

If the product name is ...	You're using this product ...
hotComm Lite revision#	hotComm Lite
hotComm revision#	hotComm Standard/Pro or higher

If the unlock code starts HCL-, it is a hotComm Lite unlock code.
If the unlock code starts IML-, it is a hotComm Standard unlock code.
Codes starting with ALL- can be used with any product.
There are various codes for the hotComm Pro products.

I have a current license, but hotComm is telling me my free trial is over and I need to purchase.
Your license is stored on your computer. When you purchase a new license, it must be unlocked by entering the unlock code into your hotComm software.

This message may mean:

You purchased a license, but have not entered the unlock code into your hotComm software.
You are trying to use hotComm from a different computer. If the computer on which you unlocked the license is available, export a copy of your license from computer #1 and import it into computer #2. See 1 License, 2 Computers.
You used disk washing or registry cleaning utilities. These are known to possibly damage hotComm registrations.
You did a System Restore. This is known to damage hotComm registrations.

To restore a lost or damaged registration, contact 1stWorks Support through this Registration & License Form.

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For more information, see the 1stWorks Support website.

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