Google Cloud puts an end to its G Suite Legacy Free Edition. While Google had already stoppered new user sign-ups since December 2012, users who’d signed up prior to that still had access till date. But now, the G Suite Legacy Free Edition will no longer be available for use even for old sign-ups.
Important dates for current G Suite Legacy Free Edition Users
Starting July 01, current G Suite users will not have access to their Free edition account. They must upgrade to a paid subscription of a newer Google Workspace platform. But to get their foot in the door, users will be automatically upgraded by May 01 2022.
By doing so, users will claim their stake for the upgraded Google Workspace. Their accounts and services will then be maintained and operational with the new solution, free of cost till 1st of July 2022.
“After you upgrade, you can use your new subscription at no cost until at least July 1, 2022,” Google Cloud said in a post on its site. “If you choose to wait, Google will begin upgrading subscriptions automatically on May 1, 2022. We will upgrade your organization to a new Google Workspace subscription based on the features you currently use.”
Such auto-upgraded users have to submit their billing information before July 01 to remain eligible for the upgraded Google Workspace solution. If they fail to do so, their account will be suspended.
“After 60 days in suspension, you will no longer have access to Google Workspace core services such as Gmail, Calendar and Meet,” Google Cloud said. “You may still retain access to additional Google services such as YouTube and Google Photos.”
Why Google Decided to End G Suite Free Edition
Google Apps became G Suite when it was enhanced with modernized cloud-based collaboration and productivity features in October 2020. It was a comprehensive suite with Gmail, Google Calendar, G Meet, Chat, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms and Sites.
But the G Suite Legacy Free edition had a limited feature-set from the above powerful features. It has been up and running since 2006, making itself useful for businesses, organizations, and schools alike. Come December 2012, this free G Suite edition was locked off only for previous sign-ups and new users no longer had access.
“Google Workspace is an integrated experience that enables teams of all sizes to connect, create and collaborate,” a Google Cloud representative said. “The legacy G Suite free edition was discontinued in 2012, and it never included the business benefits of a paid subscription like 24/7 support, 99.9 percent uptime and more storage. In 2020, we introduced Google Workspace and tailored our offerings to provide more options to fit our customers’ needs. Since then, we’ve been helping our customers transition to our new editions where there’s more value than ever before.”
However, as things now stand, G Suite Legacy Free Edition users from the education or non-profit sectors – who’d marked themselves as such when creating their accounts – can still use G Suite without any service changes. Others will either have to upgrade to a paid Google Workspace subscription or find an alternative.
