How to renew a Meraki licence

Before you renew: same model or subscription?

Every renewal is a chance to change licensing model, and Meraki now nudges co-term and per-device customers towards subscription before they renew. Decide this first, because it changes what you order.

• Renew on co-term if your estate is stable, you are happy with one shared date, and the timing of a subscription move does not suit you yet.
• Move to subscription if you want licences bound to networks, Essentials or Advantage tiers, management that continues when something lapses, or you are adding Cisco's Wi-Fi 7 or Smart Switch hardware. Co-term licences normally need to expire before the subscription key is claimed, with an earlier move possible through Meraki support within six to nine months of expiry.
• Per-device organisations can renew device by device or move to subscription through Meraki support.

Our Meraki licensing models hub explains the differences, and the subscription guide covers the conversion steps.

What to gather before you order

A renewal quote is only as good as the information behind it. Before you ask for one, collect:

• Your licensing model and dates: the co-term date, subscription end dates and Subscription IDs, or per-device expiry dates
• Deployed device counts by type: from the licence limit and current device count table on the License info page. Remember that switch and MX licences under co-term are model-specific
• Your MX edition or tiers: Enterprise, Advanced Security or Secure SD-WAN Plus on co-term, or Essentials and Advantage per network on subscription
• Add-ons: camera Cloud Archive or MV Sense, Cisco Access Manager, and any separately licensed integrations
• Changes planned: new sites, hardware refreshes or devices you are retiring
• End-of-sale families: anything in your inventory that Cisco has stopped selling

Meraki helps here: when a co-term organisation is within 30 days of its date, or out of compliance, the License info page shows the licences and quantities needed, and within 30 days of expiry it also recommends equivalent subscription licences based on the devices actually deployed.

How to renew a co-term licence

Meraki's recommended practice is to buy a single licence key that covers every device currently in the organisation for the term you want, then apply it as a renewal:

1. In the dashboard, go to Organization > Configure > License info.
2. Click Add licenses and enter the 12-digit licence key.
3. When asked how to apply it, choose Renew my term (shown in some places as 'Renew my Dashboard license').
4. Review the License info preview, checking the new licence limit and expiration date.
5. Type the new expiration date shown into the confirmation box; the Add license button stays greyed out until you do.
6. Click Add license to finish.

What happens next is worth understanding:

• The licence limit resets to exactly the devices on the renewal key. Any devices left off the key put the organisation over its limit and start the grace period.
• Remaining time is kept: any time left on the old co-term date is adjusted and added on top of the renewal term.
• Several keys: if the renewal arrives as more than one key, apply the first with Renew my term and the rest with License more devices. Applying each as a renewal overwrites the last.
• Do not wait: co-term licences start using time from the date the order is processed, so holding a renewal key back gains nothing.
• Mistakes: a key applied the wrong way can be undone from the License info page within seven days; after that it needs Meraki support.

See Meraki co-term licensing for how the date is calculated.

How to renew a Meraki subscription

Subscription renewals do not involve a new key. Meraki describes two options, both arranged through your Cisco Partner:

• Automatic renewal: can be switched on at any point in the term, as long as it is at least 30 days before the end date. The subscription renews on the day after its end date for one more year, with the same licences, feature tiers and payment terms, and the same Subscription ID.
• Manual renewal: can be arranged from 120 days before the end date. It also takes effect the day after the end date, keeps the Subscription ID, and lets you change licences, tiers, payment terms and the term length. You can switch from manual to automatic up to 30 days before expiry.

To start either, find the Subscription ID under Organization > Subscriptions & license info: open the subscription on the Subscriptions tab and use View details. Once processed, the renewal appears in the dashboard automatically, and the Recent Changes panel shows it.

Two cautions. Meraki's renewal documentation carries a note that renewal options for Cisco Networking Subscription are still being introduced, so confirm what is available for your subscription with us well before the end date. And if a subscription does expire, only a manual renewal is possible during the post-expiry window; after that a new subscription is needed.

How to renew per-device licences

Per-device organisations renew device by device. You buy licences for the devices you want to extend and assign them in the dashboard or through the API. Assigning a licence to a device that already has one queues it to start when the current licence ends; do this within the licence's 90-day activation window, or it starts using time unassigned.

You can renew some devices and not others, and one-day licences can be used to line expiry dates up. Many PDL customers use a renewal as the moment to move to subscription instead; see Meraki per-device licensing.

Check end-of-sale families before you renew

Some Meraki families have changed status, and they affect what you can order:

• MT sensors: Cisco has announced end of sale for the whole MT line. Multi-year MT licences reach end of sale on 10 November 2026, and Cisco's end-of-sale FAQ says only one-year licences will be sold for renewals after that. Check current availability with us, and see Meraki MT sensors.
• Systems Manager: Cisco's end-of-sale date for Systems Manager licences was 3 June 2026, with support continuing until 3 June 2029, so new Systems Manager licences can no longer be ordered. See our Systems Manager agent guide, and talk to us about your options for managing devices.
• Older hardware: check end-of-support dates before choosing a long term for older devices. The dates are in Meraki's end-of-life list and our Meraki end of life guide.

A renewal is also a natural point to compare the cost of renewing ageing devices with replacing them, and we can price both.

Renewal cost: what affects it

Ask us for a quote. The things that drive a Meraki renewal quote are:

• the number and type of devices, and for switches and MX appliances under co-term, the specific models
• the term you choose
• the edition or tier, such as MX Advanced Security or Advantage
• add-ons such as camera Cloud Archive
• whether you stay on co-term or move to subscription, and the payment option chosen

Under co-term, a renewal for fewer devices than you have deployed costs less but leaves you out of compliance, so make sure the quote matches your current device count.

How Forever Systems helps

Forever Systems is a Cisco Partner. We can check your licence position, build a renewal that matches your deployed devices, compare a co-term renewal with a move to subscription, and arrange subscription renewals and changes on your behalf. We can also help you apply a co-term renewal key correctly.

Ask us for a quote, or contact us and we can help plan your renewal.