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Published on May 2, 2024

HWID change for software trials — the ethics

Resetting trial periods via HWID change — the ethics, the legality, and where we stand.

HWID change for software trials — the ethics

Most trial software (Photoshop, JetBrains, Notion) ties the trial to a hardware fingerprint. After 30 days, the trial "expires" — for that hardware. An HWID change resets the counter.

Technically this works in 90% of cases. Practically it's a vendor ToS violation. We do not endorse using HWIDChanger to reset trials — that's not a legitimate use case.

Legitimate scenarios where the same operation is fine: testing software in QA labs, evaluating products on multiple hardware profiles, post-purchase reactivation after upgrade.

If you genuinely want to extend a trial — talk to the vendor. Most offer extra evaluation periods on request. Far more reliable than HWID gymnastics.

HWID change for software trials — the ethics | HWIDChanger