When the new R4 came out I bought a couple of R4 WiFi and a minima. And I also purchased from the arduino web site somethong called an Entry plan, which was about the same as the maker plan, 10 things and unlimited variables. Now that Arduino changed plans, they are now saying I have to pay for the Maker plan in order to have 10 things and unlimited variables. So I am done with the arduino cloud because it sure seems like a scam to make me purchase another plan and hope they don’t change and screw me over again.
This is just a warning that Arduino may be more interested in money than in supporting their users.
Goodbye and thanks for all the fish, but I’m not getting scammed again.
Did you find that you did not receive the services you paid for? If so, please provide a detailed description of what was not delivered so that we can understand the nature of the problem.
I don't see the problem. You say yourself that the paid Entry plan you were using is equivalent to the paid Maker plan now available.
Plans are a subscription. The way any subscription works is you pay for a specific duration of access to the services offered by the subscription. Once that duration passes, you must pay for another duration of access to the service.
In order for any subscription based business to be economically sustainable, they must periodically update the terms of the subscriptions they offer.
I don't understand how you could feel yourself to be wronged if you received the services promised for the duration you paid for those services. Please help us understand the problem.
I’m on an Entry or Maker Plus Plan – do I need to switch?
Nope! You can continue using your plan. But if you’d like more features, you can upgrade at a discounted rate.
This does sound rather like in order to move from Entry to the newer Maker plan you have to "upgrade" and pay, albeit at a 'discounted rate'? However, it does also seem to imply that someone on the Entry plan can "continue using your plan". So the "upgrade" does seem to be optional, unless, of course, the previous term had expired.
A little more detail from the OP would help. Did he loose access to the Entry plan or did the Entry subscription just expire?
First off, my subscription ends in March of 2026, so the last argument in your email is false;
Ok, what I bought was basically the current Maker plan. It doesn't end until March of 2026, so I should be able to have all the variables that I made back in March. I have about 10 or 12 variables declared. So if the Entry plan did not allow me more than 5, how the heck did I create that many back in March.
No, you can spin this anyway you want, but Arduino changed the plans and screwed me out of the $50 I paid.
I was just warning people that Arduino cares more about making money than supporting their customers. They say I must upgrade, to which I reply, What is to prevent you from screwing me over again after a few months? After all, you can change the plans at will and steal money.
No Arduino promised me something, and now they are reneging. That is not only illegal where I live, but just downright immoral.
I am not going to purchase anything from Arduino in the future because of this. Hey, I am just one guy, but the only way I can protect myself is to dump Arduino completely.
I am only allowed 5 variables. I currently have over 10 variables that I created last March, but now only 5 work, I can’t add more variables unless I upgrade. And my current ‘Entry’ plan should allow it as it doesn’t end until March of 2026
Look I am dumping Arduino completely. You do what you want
That doesn't. I would not have expected an existing plan bought and paid for to be degraded until its term had expired. Needs someone from the Arduino Team to look into and comment I think?
Thanks for the clarification. I see you have already reported the problem to Arduino Customer Service earlier today. They will assist you with the problem.
I suggest giving them time to respond to your report, rather than jumping immediately to accusing Arduino of a "scam" when only a few hours passed since you submitted a report.
Note that Arduino is based in Europe, so your report was submitted after the workday had ended. Note also that, like most workers, customer service have weekends off, so you must allow for some extra response time for inquiries submitted near the end of the work week.
You can see archived versions of the "Plans" page on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. For example, this is the page from 2025-04-05, prior to the plan restructuring:
I paid for an account with Remote XY and it works great lifetime membership for 20$ and you can use the cloud. It basically does most things with icons and a android interface so you can use a phone or tablet as a remote. You can add advanced code but it takes some work around.
I just don't like subscriptions. I like paying for something and being done with it.
However as far as subscriptions go Arduino Is definitely reasonable.
The ESP 32 is good but sometimes it's just too many damned pins
