Speech Blog

What is Revoking?

Revoking is basically the act of removing a license key activation from a Philips SpeechExec software installation. Once revoked, a license can be transferred to a new installation. Revoking only works if you still have access to the computer on which the software is currently installed. If you no longer have access to the installation on this computer, you will need to skip down to the section on contacting Philips below.

Why Revoke?

Philips SpeechExec programs licenses are “One license per computer”. This means you can only have one license on one computer at one time. But you are allowed to remove your license and re-use it on another computer.

Here is a quick list of scenarios on why and when you would want to do this;

Upgrading your operating system

If you are moving to a newer operating system, you will want to revoke your current license first so that you can perform a fresh installation of Philips SpeechExec.

Upgrading your hard drive

Depending on how your hard drive is upgraded, you may need to first revoke your license. As a rule of thumb, if you are re-installing your software on your new hard drive, you will need to revoke your license on the old drive first.

Upgrading your computer

Revoke your license first on the old computer. If you plan on handing down your computer to someone else who will use Philips SpeechExec in addition to you, you will need to buy an additional license. You only need to buy the license and it can be sent to you quickly by email. If you need to do this, contact your office equipment reseller. If your reseller doesn’t sell SpeechExec licenses, see the getting help section below.

Re-Installing the software

If you need to un-install and re-install Philips SpeechExec for any reason you will want to revoke your license first.

Upgrading the software

Are you are trying to upgrade from SpeechExec version 10 to a newer version?

If so, you should not need to revoke your license as this is done inside a running installation. However, if you are re-installing the software from a new download instead of upgrading from within, you will need to revoke first.

A version appropriate license key must be purchased when doing a non-free upgrade.

Checklist

Do you have these ready?

1. Your License Key and version

If you have a CD case, the license key is on the inside flap. If you have a paper CD envelope, the license key is on the back. Many people like to take a picture of the key in case they lose or misplace it. This is good to have but not essential. If you don’t have the CD case or envelope, don’t panic, your license key will be recovered from inside the software in step 2 below.

2. The software

You will need a copy of the software for the new installation. If you don’t have one, you can download a trial version from www.dictation.philips.com and type in your license key to unlock it.

3. Admin rights

This is very rare but still can happen in bigger organizations. As a simple rule of thumb, if you can install software on your computer, this won’t be an issue. If it is, you will need to get your IT department involved.

4. External support

Most Philips professional dictation resellers provide support on upgrades.  Please contact your Philips reseller before conducting an upgrade in order to avoid potential issues. If you have already upgraded and your license has been locked up, either contact your reseller or Philips support to unlock the license.  Either way, you will need your invoice to validate that you are the owner of the license.

5. Other running software

You will want to shut down any other running Philips dictation software just to make sure things are not interfering with each other during installation.

Revoking in 3 Easy Steps

Revoking is pretty easy, just follow the 3 steps below. Once you complete them the license is ready to be plugged into a fresh installation.

Step 1

Start up the program

Click HELP, then License information

Step 2

Using the diagram below, locate and click on the clipboard icon on the bottom left of the screen. When you click it, no confirmation will be given but you can and should paste it into either a notepad file or something similar that you will have access to when you perform the new installation.

One trick many people use is to paste it into an email and send it to yourself. Just keep in mind that email is not secure unless it’s encrypted.

Step 3

Locate and click on the word “Revoke” on the Right side of the pop up window. Philips SpeechExec will automatically execute a routine that will do the rest.

Other Considerations

The Philips License

As of this writing, the most recent release of Philips SpeecExec available is version 10.

As previously mentioned, a Philips license is on a one-to-one basis between an installation and a computer. It doesn’t matter if more than one person uses that computer but it does matter if you try to install it on another computer. If you need two different people to use the program on two different computers or even one person on two different computers, you will need to buy an additional license. Please see the getting help section below if this applies to you.

Make sure you know what software you have

Philips SpeechExec software has different version. License codes do NOT work across them. Use this diagram to understand the type of license you have:

Un-supported versions

If you have a version of Philips SpeechExec that uses a USB dongle or USB Smart Key to validate the license, unfortunately that is version 6.x or older and no longer supported. Basically any version lower than version 8.8 is no longer supported as of the time of this article.

If you have an older version and it stops working the way you expect, likely something else in your technical environment has changed and the version you have cannot adapt. You will need to purchase a new version to keep up. Please see the getting help section below.

Getting Help

Philips has many resources to providing assistance but the best first step is understanding what your situation is.

If you have a Pro product and you have purchased from a Philips certified dictation reseller you have premium support from your reseller.

Contact your reseller

Philips certified dictation resellers will have a Philips “MDC” (Master Digital Center) badge and are authorized to sell Philips Professional Dictation solutions and are your gateway to premium support. Certified resellers are also able to open support tickets with Philips on your behalf. That can play a major factor in how fast you get up and running again.

Contacting Philips

If you need to contact Philips for support you may be asked to present a proof of purchase for the product you need support for. We suggest you have a PDF of your proof of purchase ready as well as a description of what you are experiencing.

Ask your question on the blog

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