ESET HOME account a must-have for activation when upgrading?

[dogrunsthroughit 0]

Im currently using ESET Cyber Security Pro version 6 with valid license.

I want to upgrade to ECS v8 by OVERWRITING the old ECS Pro v6 (not clean installing or in-place upgrading) with downloaded ECS v8 dmg file.

But I haven't created ESET HOME account yet, because old ECS Pro v6 didn't require it and is still working fine without an HOME account.

For activation of the upgraded ECS v8 (from ECS Pro v6), do I must have an ESET HOME account in advance?
Will it be a must-have when I renew the license after it expires?

[Robertos 76]

If you upgrade ECS v6 to 8.2.800.0, whether via the in-product version check or by manually running the installer from a downloaded DMG, the outcome will be the same: v6 will upgrade to 8.2.800.0, and the existing v6 license will automatically activate 8.2.800.0—no ESET Home account is required at this stage.

An ESET Home account will only be needed later, upon subscription renewal.

If by "overwriting the old ECS Pro v6," you mean one of the methods described above, then this covers your query. If your scenario is different, please provide more details so I can assist further.

[dogrunsthroughit 0]

Thanks, I got the answer.

I'm overwriting the existing v6 by downloading and then installing the v8 dmg file manually, without uninstalling the old v6, not using the in-product update.

Because somehow the in-product update notice stopped working and hasn't come out to me for the last few years.

Anyway, I will upgrade manually and activate it without a HOME account for now. Thanks.

[Robertos 76]

If product auto update is not working for you, you should check setup of product update server. With default configuration it should work.

Here is how it should look  by default:

May be you should check product proxy settings too and set it it default: