Just fired up DTTG and found all my databases read-only … apparently my updates expired on 30-June-2026 … and the only way to see my own data is to buy additional updates. This is, I think, my “Evernote moment” with DT. I love DT but pulling the rug out from under me—I’m travelling and now can’t access critical info unless I “pay up”—without warning is seriously not cool.
I guess the dual DT+Obsidian strategy that I’ve used for the last 2 years just became Obsidian only. Jim, et al, I’m deeply disappointed at this turn of events.
You should have received notifications of the impending expiration. Did you not?
Also, in the interim, you could get back up and running with a monthly subscription at a minimal cost. In fact, you could subscribe and cancel it immediately after the subscription starts. This would give you a month of access and to figure out which direction you’re ultimately going.
Hi Jim, I did briefly see an email shoot by saying my updates had expired but did not read the full email as work has been consuming 75+ hours per week—and I made a mental note to extend my support when time and money permit and am travelling on short notice due to a family a medical emergency
I use Obsidian as my note taking (Markdown exclusively) / input tool (only Macs) and DT as primary search and retrieval tool (including managing mountains of PDFs and webarchives). My failure was to not set up Obsidian on mobile and sync my vaults to iCloud … which will be my first task when I return home.
I have signed up for a monthly subscription to DTTG (though I truly hate subscriptions, and will cancel shortly) and now have access to the legal docs I needed. Thank you for the quick reply.
As a postscript: If DTTG’s editing and note capture experience (Markdown) could reach the level of Bear and/or Obsidian then it could serve as my primary “input mechanism”. As it stands, DT is largely a readonly repository for me.
But if you use DT mostly read-only and your databases became r/o on DTTG – what’s the issue there? I would assume that you can still access (ie read) all your documents in that case.
@chrillek No. Read-only mode would merely have been a slight loss / disappointment. Instead I could not search any of my databases and simply got to a screen which showed a list of my databases, but tapping on / trying to open any of them would just show the “paywall”.
The only way I could see my own data—in this case, legal documents which I desperately needed … my son was in a near-fatal motor vehicle collision with a semi truck and I flew to Toronto in a huge hurry to get to the St Michael’s Hospital and then discovered that I needed his Ontario health card number and other info—was to “pay up”. That is, either buy another year’s updates (which would “unlock” DTTG) or start a separate subscription for DTTG to “unlock” it. I left home and rushed to the airport in such a panic that I did not take my MacBook and had only my phone.
“Signing up” for a monthly subscription was the only way I could get to my data, and thus get the OHIP number to St Mike’s.
My son is alive (and though in critical condition the prognosis is “good”), for which I give thanks, but I have realised that my “data preparedness” wasn’t up to scratch… and I’m a stickler for having multiple copies of data. I had not planned for such a situation (rush to the airport in a panic, no MacBook in tow) and realise now, (a) how dependent one can be on a stupid iPhone, and (b) that I need to do better. I will not be cut off from critical info next time.
This experience has left a very sour taste in my mouth. As I said, I love DT and use it countless times daily, yet this recent “subscription” change caused me to have to “pay up” (well, sign up) at a very emotional and stressful time. I have always thought of DT as my “safe” repository of important data (databases for Legal, Finances, and a handful of other DBs for a number of domains). That “safe” thought is gone, and I will need to do better if, God forbid, there is a “next time”.
The DTTG subscription is free for the first 30 days (and I will cancel before it renews), allowing me (and Claude Opus) time to come up with a better and safer approach to “knowledge management”.
I have no hard feelings and simply thank God that my son is alive and not paralysed from the neck down. If the crushed C5 vertebra had shifted “two more millimetres to the left your son would be totally paralysed”.
Good to hear all worked out. I would also say locking out of data on expiry is unacceptable. Read only should always work. I’ve literally been in the bush with no network and wouldn’t have been able to go online. The whole idea of „to go“ is that, right? Please reconsider @BLUEFROG
If I extend my updates to DT (on macOS), will DTTG work again?
How do I extend updates for 2 or more years (and get the discounts mentioned on the license section of my DT account web page on DT’s website)? I can only add 1 year’s updates (at full price)?
Would you guys consider allowing the app to fall back to read-only if updates have expired? This would at least avoid customers being locked out of / unable to access their data (especially in, admittedly rare and unfortunate, situations like the one I found myself in)
Haha, the internet brings together all kinds of cultures and very different ideas about how to deal with a particular situation. Where I come from, nobody would give that answer
