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LogMeIn made some pretty big changes today, folks. In order to “address the evolving needs” of their customers, LogMeIn has completely taken away the free, limited service that allowed users to remotely control and access their PC. Instead, they’ll be unifying their offerings and serving it up for an annual fee of $49 (which actually isn’t that bad for what you’re getting).
That’ll get you remote access to up to two of your computers using their apps on Android, iOS, and desktop, as well as remote printing capabilities, two-way file transfer and more. To top that burger of an announcement off, LogMeIn has also introduced a cleaner, sleeker Android app that does its best to follow the design guidelines set forth by El Goog.
It’s never good to see free apps fade away, but LogMeIn seems to have caught on to the fact that subscription-based models work. Just ask Microsoft with Office365 and Photoshop with the Creative Cloud. The industry has quickly moved to monthly and annual subscriptions for software after seeing it work for the likes of music, TV shows and movies.
Of course, there are several alternatives out there if you aren’t interested in what LogMeIn has done. We’re a tad fond of TeamViewer, for starters. Otherwise, you can login to the LogMeIn app to find out more about what you’ll need to do to transition to the new subscription-based model if you weren’t already on it.
Oh, and if you bought the paid Android app, LogMeIn is planning on sweetening the pot (because, hey, something you paid up to $30 for is no longer available). Free users will have 7 days from the day they next log in to use the app before they’ll be forced off of it, so enjoy it while it lasts, folks.
[Google Play via LogMeIn]
PhoneMyPc works awesome. I’ve had it before cupcake as an alpha then beta. It’s under constant development.
I’m a PhoneMyPC user too and I’m sure development is dead…
“Updated
March 4, 2012”
But it works great….
WAS working great for me… now I get random program crashes in Windows and various issues since upgrading to android 4.3 :(
I have no problems with it on 4.3. In fact, I’m using it to reply to your post!
Yeah, I was it was as stable as it use to be. I’ve had it crashing in Windows 7 and 8 lately and it frequently has connection problems. I use to use it on six computers without a problem, but things have been getting more and more unstable. It has a very unique feature set (i.e. webcam viewing) and it’s a shame that no recent updates have been forthcoming. I even emailed the company to see if they are still active and I’ve received no replies.
This really sucks because I work for a company that will probably not pay for it. If I shell out my own 49 bucks I’m linking it to my personal email.
If you bought the app “LogMeIn is planning on sweetening the pot”. How? Am I missing something?
I’m guessing they’ll offer a few dollars off your first years subscription.
Based on an email i received, i believe it’s 6 months of Pro for free.
I really like Splashtop. I wonder how it compares as far as quality and business model.
I use splashtop too. Both their apps for Android and Windows work great. I use to use LogMeIn but Splashtop is way faster.
Hi- Splashtop has more than 15 million users and a higher performance rating with a 4+ rating in the App Store.
And for businesses Splashtop has a very aggressive biz model for remote support and remote access. They offer $60 per user/IT per year for unlimited computers, vs LogMeIn’s special discount of $49 /yr for 2 computers. Most SMB/mid-market IT manage 25 or more computers so the price delta is huge– most make the switch right away.
Be aware… $50 is just for the ‘first year’. I’m a long time Pro user of theirs, and this little stunt is going to cost them revenue gained from us every year. (350 ‘Pro’ licenses) I don’t like it when companies say one thing and then 6 months later, do the exact opposite.
It should be noted that Logmein has insisted that their free tier would always remain free and many people dropped $30 on Ignition because of that claim. I’d suggest anyone who isn’t upgrading to the paid plan request a refund for Ignition. What they did is a classic example of a bait and switch.
2. Q: When are you making this change?
A: Existing LogMeIn Free host computers remain accessible for seven days from first login after January 21, 2014. After that, LogMeIn Free will no longer be available.
From their website, March 4, 2013 (less than one year ago):
“IMPORTANT CHANGES TO LOGMEIN FREE
We’re making some changes to LogMeIn Free — specifically introducing new volume limits on LogMeIn Free accounts — that will impact a small portion of our user base. While the vast majority of LogMeIn Free users will not be impacted by this change – LogMeIn Free is and will remain free – we wanted to take a minute to explain what is changing, who will be impacted and what, if anything, it will mean for you.”
It’s a bait and switch. They should be handing out refunds for users who purchased Ignition.
Will this affect hamachi?
I am super sad. I am not going to pay. Be sure to get the Pro version of Windows. I will be using Windows Remote Desktop.
TeamViewer FTW! (Or Chrome Remote Desktop when it comes to Android)
PhonemyPC all day long
Just what I’ve been looking for – a critically important app from a publisher who will keep changing business terms in their favor, and on no notice. Whoo-weeeeee! Sign me up!
I’m a paid LogMeIn Pro user, and have been for a few years now. This does not affect me one bit. The only people who are rip roaring about this are those who were never, ever, ever going to be paying customers.
or people that use it so infrequently that they could not justify the cost per mo/yr… I liked that logmein allowed my easy access to systems without having to configure firewalls or have someone present on the other end to grant access but using it less than 5 times a year wasn’t worth what they were asking
Ummm… That’s funny. I paid for the app and it’s now no longer usable unless I subscribe. So tell me how i’m not considered a paying customer?
Wow, you don’t say? Is that what the title in this article meant when it said “free” in it?
Obviously this has everything to do with the free version and nothing to do with the paid version, so we’re all really glad that it doesn’t affect you one bit: http://www.lily.fi/sites/lily/files/user/1717/2013/04/nicolas-cage-you-dont-say.jpg .
True dat. And LMI said we would never, ever have to pay for the “free” version.
Ha ha! Goodbye, LogMeIn!
Damn well there’s a $20 app I’ll never use again.
I’m gone! Hello Google Remote Desktop!
No android or ios app… (yet)… not a viable alternative.
never really used the mobile version so not hurting in that category. I think that Google will step up really quick though.
It also looks like Google remote desktop relies on your google account to use – so you expose your password to PC’s with it installed with no option to password protect. Can it WAKE ON LAN? Come with reboot options?
Pretty sure there will be a “share desktop” option. That way someone can share their desktop with you without you signing into it with your password.
It would be kind of useless otherwise, wouldn’t it? If you had to physically be at the place of the person that was sharing their desktop, you might as well just do the work when you’re already physically there. Otherwise, the use-case scenario is just sharing a desktop on a computer you already own and is known to be safe. Seems fine to me.
There’s an option to temporarily give someone access using a code, or you can login and access it permanently. Many people using logmein (or similar) keep it on permanently. If google matures this software then it might be more useful, but it’s not going to replace logmein (teamviewer does, however!).
I only used it on my personal PC’s so no biggy with security. As for WOL not sure. I really havn’t used either of them much since I moved my server to Android. No PC’s are wired in my house either.
Again Android does all my server side stuff so I really don’t have use for the PC side but I’ll use Google RD from now on.
i guess im switching to teamviewer… it was the best when it lasted…. such a bad pr and the way they handle this situation wont bring any good thing to them…
That $49 a year is an introductory, 50% off, one-time deal. The real price is $99 a year. Not quite so much of a bargain.
Citrix is offering to LMI Free users loosing service, 6 months free of remote access @GoToMyPC or remote support @gotoassist http://bit.ly/1aHTOTu and special pricing after the 6 months!
Wow…I’ve used LogMeIn so many times to work with the famous Dalepl and allow him access to my laptop while connected to my OLD Toshiba Thrive. He was able to remote in…download and install what was needed and BOOM, rootd new tablet. Thanks LogMeIn
It’s not $49/year, it’s $99/year. So if you use it for a few years, you’re paying hundreds of dollars just for software to access your PC online. For a typical non-business user, that’s just not worth it.
They also promised a short time ago that it would “always be free”. A lot of us paid for Ignition apps based on that promise, and are not happy with their bait and switch tactic. Personally I wouldn’t trust them or use any products from LogMeIn again.
Just installed and tested the free TeamViewer, and it seems to work even better than LogMeIn, so… buh-bye LMI.