Serial number activation and deactivation

Your Data Is Always Accessible

SoftRAID uses activation to manage software licenses, but your data is always accessible regardless of your license status.

On macOS, a version of the SoftRAID driver is bundled directly into macOS itself. This means that even without SoftRAID installed, you can connect your disks to any Mac and macOS will automatically mount your SoftRAID volumes. No installation or license is required to access your data on macOS.

On Windows, the SoftRAID driver must be installed to mount volumes, but your data remains intact on the disks at all times.

License Menu Items

The SoftRAID license menu items are context-sensitive — what you see depends on your current license state.

Always visible:

• Manage License — opens the OWC Software Store license management page
• Purchase Additional Seats for License — opens the OWC Software Store to add seats to your existing license
• Enter SoftRAID Serial Number — appears when no serial number has been entered

When a serial number is entered:

• Change SoftRAID Serial Number — replaces the current serial number with a new one

When license is deactivated:

• Activate SoftRAID License — activates the license on this computer

When license is activated:

• Deactivate SoftRAID License — deactivates the license on this computer, freeing the seat for use on another machine

SoftRAID Standard — Free License

SoftRAID Standard is a free SoftRAID license. Updates are free and the SoftRAID Standard application launches the same way as the Premium license.

However, its features are limited. Standard supports:

• Launching SoftRAID to manually inspect your RAID volumes and drives
• Initializing a disk (Disk menu → Initialize)
• Adding a disk to a volume (Volume menu → Add Disk)
• Removing a disk from a volume (Volume menu → Remove Disk)

Most other features are disabled, including SMART monitoring. Standard does not include access to SoftRAID Premium technical support.

Support for Standard users is available on the SoftRAID Forum: https://forums.softraid.com/

Upgrade to Premium to activate all additional features.

When your SoftRAID Premium subscription expires, SoftRAID will revert to Standard features automatically. Your data remains fully available and your volumes will continue to auto-mount — you will not lose access to your data.

Managing Your License Online

You can manage your license, deactivate seats, and add additional seats at any time — without needing access to the computer where SoftRAID is installed on the License Management page.

This is particularly useful if a computer has been lost, stolen, or has failed and you need to free up a license seat.