Trial and licence
Outbound has no trial; this page covers buying, activating a licence key, the weekly check, and moving a licence between Macs.
Outbound is paid from the start: there is no trial. The licence is a one-time purchase, and the app asks for its key the first time you open it.
Buying
Section titled “Buying”Prices are on the pricing page:
- A Personal licence covers 2 Macs. The first 50 personal licences sold are $29, the founding price; after that it is $39.
- A Family licence covers 5 Macs, $59.
Both include every 1.x and 2.x update. Prices are in US dollars and include any sales tax or VAT, so the price you see is what you pay. Checkout is run by Dodo Payments as the merchant of record. Your licence key arrives by email right after checkout. If Outbound is not for you, email support within 14 days of buying it for a full refund.
Activating
Section titled “Activating”The licence screen is the first thing a new Outbound shows, before setup. Paste the key from your purchase email into the License key field (the field shows the placeholder XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX) and click Activate. Or activate from Terminal with outboundctl license activate -, then paste the key; it never appears in your shell history. See outboundctl license. The screen shows the app version on the left, and links to Buy Outbound and Contact support at the bottom.
The key is stored in your Mac’s keychain. When you activate, Outbound sends the key and the Mac’s hardware model (as a name like “Mac (Mac15,6)”, never your computer’s name) to the licence server. It re-checks the key about once a week afterwards to confirm it is still valid.
If activation goes wrong, the message tells you which part failed:
| Message | Cause |
|---|---|
| That licence key wasn’t recognised. Check it against your purchase email. | The server does not know the key. |
| This license is already active on all the Macs it covers. Deactivate it on another Mac in Settings › License, or contact support. | Every seat is taken. |
| This licence is no longer active (refunded or disabled). Contact support if that’s unexpected. | The key was refunded or disabled. |
| That key belongs to a different product. Use the Outbound licence key from your purchase email. | A key for another product. |
| Outbound couldn’t reach the licence server. Check your connection and try again. | No network, or the server is down. |
| Outbound couldn’t use your keychain to keep the licence. Unlock your keychain and try again. | The keychain refused the write. |
| The licence was activated but couldn’t be saved. Try again; if it keeps failing, contact support. | The seat was taken but the local copy failed. |
| The licence server reported a problem: |
The server returned an error message. |
Settings › License
Section titled “Settings › License”The License page in Settings shows the licence and its actions, in this order. To open it, click Outbound at the top of the Settings sidebar.
- Status: “Active on this Mac” with a green seal, “No longer active”, or “Not activated”.
- Licensed to: the buyer’s email address, when the licence server returned one.
- Key: your key, shown masked as
ABCD…WXYZ, selectable if you need to copy it. - Check License Now: asks the server straight away. The result appears under the status: “Checked just now”, or “Couldn’t verify; current activation kept” when no answer came. A failed check never removes the licence; only the server saying the key is no longer valid does.
- Use a Different Key…: opens a sheet to paste another key. If the new key cannot be activated, your current licence stays as it is.
- Deactivate on This Mac…: after a confirmation, frees this Mac’s seat on the licence so you can use it on another Mac. Outbound asks for a key again afterwards. Your rules and settings stay on this Mac.
- Links: Find My License Key (opens an email to support with the subject filled in), Pricing and licenses, and Contact support.
What happens when a licence ends
Section titled “What happens when a licence ends”A licence ends when the server reports the key refunded or disabled, either during the weekly check or a manual one. The app returns to the licence screen saying “Your license is no longer active”, and explains that the licence was refunded or disabled; enter another key to keep using Outbound, or contact support.
The network filter never depends on the licence. A licence problem never cuts the network.
Moving a licence to another Mac
Section titled “Moving a licence to another Mac”A Personal licence covers 2 Macs and a Family licence 5. To move a seat: on the Mac giving it up, open Settings › License and click Deactivate on This Mac…; after deactivation succeeds, the other Mac can activate the same key. If a Mac died with the licence still on it, contact support for help.