Central Switch Licensing Update

Sophos Switch Support & Services is now integrated into Sophos Central licensing, meaning that switches managed in Sophos Central should have a current Support and Services subscription for the correct model and quantity that you are managing. Accounts managing switches that are either under-subscribed (having the correct subscription, but not the correct quantity), or not subscribed at all, will see a banner on their switch management pages, warning of the impact. Without a subscription, un-subscribed switches will not be manageable through Sophos Central. This covers all Central management features for switches, including managing scheduled backups, configuring via site or device, or viewing the current switch status

What do I need to do?

When purchasing your switches you most likely also purchased a Support & Services subscription as well, and should have received an activation key on your license schedule at the time of purchase. That key should be applied in Sophos Central, following the instructions on the license schedule. If you cannot locate your key:

• If you have purchased a support subscription license (this is listed in your original purchase order) but cannot locate your key, please contact Sophos Customer Care.
• If you have not purchased a support subscription license, please contact your Sophos Partner/Reseller or Sophos Account Representative.

The rollout of this change is in progress. It is already active for most Sophos Central accounts and will be active for all customers by the end of September 2024.  

There is no change for you if: 

• You do not manage your switches in Sophos Central. 
• You are an MSP/MSP monthly customer. 

Support for monthly billing is planned later this year. If you are a MSP flex customer but purchased term subscriptions for your switches, your MSP partner will be able to enable flex subscriptions for switches once it is available, and your term expires. There is no immediate action for you at this time. 

Licensing Enforcement Rollout 

Phase 1: No impact 

License enforcement has been introduced for any new switch customers only, i.e., a customer who has not previously purchased a switch. 

It will also be applied to any customers who do not currently manage their switches in Sophos Central, however, this will have no impact unless those switches are registered in Sophos Central at a later date and do not have support coverage. 

Phase 2: No impact if you have sufficient cover support coverage

Enforcement will be implemented for all customers who manage switches in Sophos Central. 

If you currently see a banner in your account alerting you to insufficient support coverage, we strongly recommend that you purchase additional support subscriptions as soon as possible to avoid any impact on your management functionality.  

We plan to allow a final grace period after implementation, but all licensing enforcement should be complete by the end of April 2024. After that date, a switch without support coverage that is registered in Sophos Central will be visible, but you will not be able to make any further configuration changes until the support license is added. 

Check back here for further updates.

If you have additional questions, please contact your local Sophos representative.