Summary
A legacy Neve installation can continue displaying copyright content saved during prior Pro use while offering no Free Customizer control to edit or remove that content. The expected result is that displayed persisted footer text remains manageable after the site returns to Neve Free. The actual interface withholds the copyright control on legacy installations, leaving the old public text stranded.
Customer context
Product / area: Neve Free, footer copyright Customizer
Version: Not provided; affected lifecycle branch is present from Neve 4.1.0 onward
Environment: A legacy site previously used a Neve Pro trial and now reports being unable to change the footer copyright
Integration / third party: Neve Pro Addon previously supplied the editable copyright component
Reported error / symptom: The prior copyright remains, and the customer cannot remove its date
Impact: Persisted public footer content cannot be managed through the available Free interface
Reproduction notes
Reported workflow:
- Save copyright content while using a Neve Pro trial.
- Return to Neve Free.
- Attempt to remove the date from the copyright through the available theme controls.
Reported result: the old value remains visible and cannot be changed. Repository inspection confirms this state when the installation is classified as pre-v4.1: the frontend reads the persisted setting while the Free Customizer omits its control. No customer-site or local runtime reproduction was performed.
Diagnosis
Conclusion
The stranded-setting behavior is confirmed for installations classified as older than the v4.1 migration boundary. The Free frontend renders persisted footer_copyright_content, but the same class exits before registering its editing control for those installations. Commit fa189e825b introduced persisted-value rendering in v4.1.0 while deliberately retaining the legacy control restriction, creating the asymmetric lifecycle state described in the ticket. Similar prior support reports document old copyright content remaining visible without a Free editing path.
Where this likely occurs
- Control gating:
header-footer-grid/Core/Builder/Footer.php — Footer::customize_register() lines 164–196 returns before adding the copyright setting and textarea when Migration_Flags::is_new_user_after_v41() is false.
- Persisted frontend output:
header-footer-grid/Core/Builder/Footer.php — Footer::add_footer_component() lines 208–231 independently reads and renders footer_copyright_content whenever the Pro implementation is unavailable.
- Legacy classification:
inc/core/migration_flags.php — Migration_Flags::is_new_user_after() and Migration_Flags::is_new_user_after_v41() lines 122–150 classify unknown or pre-v4.1 installations outside the Free control path.
- Regression boundary: Neve commit
fa189e825b added both persisted copyright rendering and the migration-gated Free control; the commit first appears in v4.1.0.
Engineering notes
The defect is the mismatch between visibility and manageability of one persisted theme modification, not the general absence of Pro styling or dynamic-tag controls. Current documentation confirms that pre-v4.1 sites receive an upsell instead of Free copyright customization. Two summarized support threads from May 2026 independently report old copyright content remaining visible in Free with no direct removal control, providing evidence beyond the current ticket. The inspected Pro renderer and editor are supporting lifecycle context; the failing accessibility branch is owned by the Free theme.
Test coverage status
e2e-tests/specs/customizer/hfg/hfg-copyright-component.spec.ts lines 3–30 verifies the default Free footer output but does not cover legacy migration flags, persisted Pro values, or Customizer control availability. No relevant unit, integration, or e2e coverage was found during inspection for the Pro-to-Free transition on a pre-v4.1 installation.
What to verify or explore next
- May be worth reproducing with a pre-v4.1
neve_user_since value and persisted footer_copyright_content after the Pro implementation becomes unavailable.
- May be worth checking both the Customizer control list and public footer in the same transition scenario.
- If reproducible, comparing v4.0.1 and v4.1.0 would verify the identified exposure boundary.
Unknowns / follow-up
- The ticket does not provide the site's recorded Neve installation-generation value.
- The exact mechanism that ended the Pro trial path is not stated.
Confidence
Confidence: 92/100
Repository inspection confirms two independently testable Neve Free fallback defects. The frontend reuses Pro copyright data without resolving its dynamic year token, and legacy-site gating can expose that data without an editing control; git history identifies the v4.1.0 boundary that exposed both lifecycle failures.
Source: HelpScout #3431022627
Generated by bug-report-triage (ID: bug-report-triage_6a8eff8d624e91.81367320)
Summary
A legacy Neve installation can continue displaying copyright content saved during prior Pro use while offering no Free Customizer control to edit or remove that content. The expected result is that displayed persisted footer text remains manageable after the site returns to Neve Free. The actual interface withholds the copyright control on legacy installations, leaving the old public text stranded.
Customer context
Product / area: Neve Free, footer copyright Customizer
Version: Not provided; affected lifecycle branch is present from Neve 4.1.0 onward
Environment: A legacy site previously used a Neve Pro trial and now reports being unable to change the footer copyright
Integration / third party: Neve Pro Addon previously supplied the editable copyright component
Reported error / symptom: The prior copyright remains, and the customer cannot remove its date
Impact: Persisted public footer content cannot be managed through the available Free interface
Reproduction notes
Reported workflow:
Reported result: the old value remains visible and cannot be changed. Repository inspection confirms this state when the installation is classified as pre-v4.1: the frontend reads the persisted setting while the Free Customizer omits its control. No customer-site or local runtime reproduction was performed.
Diagnosis
Conclusion
The stranded-setting behavior is confirmed for installations classified as older than the v4.1 migration boundary. The Free frontend renders persisted
footer_copyright_content, but the same class exits before registering its editing control for those installations. Commitfa189e825bintroduced persisted-value rendering in v4.1.0 while deliberately retaining the legacy control restriction, creating the asymmetric lifecycle state described in the ticket. Similar prior support reports document old copyright content remaining visible without a Free editing path.Where this likely occurs
header-footer-grid/Core/Builder/Footer.php—Footer::customize_register()lines 164–196 returns before adding the copyright setting and textarea whenMigration_Flags::is_new_user_after_v41()is false.header-footer-grid/Core/Builder/Footer.php—Footer::add_footer_component()lines 208–231 independently reads and rendersfooter_copyright_contentwhenever the Pro implementation is unavailable.inc/core/migration_flags.php—Migration_Flags::is_new_user_after()andMigration_Flags::is_new_user_after_v41()lines 122–150 classify unknown or pre-v4.1 installations outside the Free control path.fa189e825badded both persisted copyright rendering and the migration-gated Free control; the commit first appears in v4.1.0.Engineering notes
The defect is the mismatch between visibility and manageability of one persisted theme modification, not the general absence of Pro styling or dynamic-tag controls. Current documentation confirms that pre-v4.1 sites receive an upsell instead of Free copyright customization. Two summarized support threads from May 2026 independently report old copyright content remaining visible in Free with no direct removal control, providing evidence beyond the current ticket. The inspected Pro renderer and editor are supporting lifecycle context; the failing accessibility branch is owned by the Free theme.
Test coverage status
e2e-tests/specs/customizer/hfg/hfg-copyright-component.spec.tslines 3–30 verifies the default Free footer output but does not cover legacy migration flags, persisted Pro values, or Customizer control availability. No relevant unit, integration, or e2e coverage was found during inspection for the Pro-to-Free transition on a pre-v4.1 installation.What to verify or explore next
neve_user_sincevalue and persistedfooter_copyright_contentafter the Pro implementation becomes unavailable.Unknowns / follow-up
Confidence
Confidence: 92/100
Repository inspection confirms two independently testable Neve Free fallback defects. The frontend reuses Pro copyright data without resolving its dynamic year token, and legacy-site gating can expose that data without an editing control; git history identifies the v4.1.0 boundary that exposed both lifecycle failures.
Source: HelpScout #3431022627
Generated by bug-report-triage (ID: bug-report-triage_6a8eff8d624e91.81367320)