In a surprising reversal of the policy that has been in effect since late last year, Cradlepoint has announced that as of May 5th customers will be able to download firmware releases any time without having to pay for one of Cradlepoint's support licenses. Since December of 2014 Cradlepoint had required customers to purchase a subscription to their Enterprise Cloud Manager service or CradleCare support to access firmware updates, a policy that was overwhelmingly unpopular. Customers were very vocal about their displeasure, and Cradlepoint took notice.
In a letter to Cradlepoint partners, CEO George Mulhern explained:
"Over the past few months, we’ve spent a great deal of time listening. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback that has helped shape our best-in-class WWAN technology to meet and exceed your customers’ expectations. We have also heard you loud and clear about your customers’ concerns regarding firmware updates, and want to make sure you have everything you need to continue to win in the marketplace and keep your customers loyal and happy.Cradlepoint's next firmware release, version 5.4, will be available to all customers on May 5.
To that end, with the release of Firmware 5.4, Cradlepoint will no longer require customers to have Enterprise Cloud Manager or CradleCare Support to access firmware updates. Beginning on May 5, 2015, all of your customers will have access to firmware updates as part of their relationship with you, and your relationship with us."