In 2014, what is Steinberg's procedure for a lost elicenser?

Steinberg Lounge
1

Previously, I read on the internet that if you lose your Steinberg elicenser, you lose your license and have to buy a new one. Now iLok have a Lost iLok ‘zero downtime’ procedure, I’m wondering if Steinberg have changed their procedure regarding a lost elicenser? Especially since we can register the elicenser and license numbers online on our accounts?

I’m asking 'cause I’m shutting down the studio to go on vacation and thinking of taking my elicenser with Cubase 7 along with my laptop but I’m worried if I lose it, I could lose important bookings when I come back due to not being able to get the license back fast enough, or not being able to purchase a new copy of Cubase fast enough (as it’s often not in stock in actual stores here)

So to summarize, is it possible to get your licences back now and if so, what is the average turn around time and what information is required to get your licences back?


Thanks

2

We do replace licenses on these conditions:

  • The license must not have been replaced before.
  • The lost USB-eLicenser must be identified (best option is a registered eLicenser in MySteinberg)
  • We must have received a signed statement certifying the loss of the dongle.

We can then disable the USB-eLicenser and provide new activation codes. To keep the downtime short, a spare USB-eLicenser is not a bad idea so that you can download the license(s) as soon as you receive the activation code(s). The turn around time depends on where you live and which support team is handling the case but it is usually very low.

We are also working on a better solution for MySteinberg which will hopefully become effective within this year.

3

Thanks for the info.

4

Good to know. I’d love to see some sort of central unified account like iLok that can track all of your Syncrosoft dongles and all licenses on them including 3rd party ones.

5

The 3rd party part is unfortunately a different story. This will only happen for Steinberg licenses - at least as a first step.

6

If the vacation is no longer than a month I seem to remember that the trial version (or can an installed Cubase do this?) runs for a month without a dongle. So you could leave the dongle behind? Just a thought on something to check out. Consider if on vacation if you would find that you would actually need the other licenses and any sounds or FX could be edited on your return home.

7

The USB-eLicenser or at least a Soft-eLicenser is always needed. But indeed, if the USB-eLicenser is not accessible anymore, a workaround could also be to use the Cubase Elements 7 trial. However, this depends on the project and the Cubase features used.

8

Hi Ed,

Can you give any information regarding what is in the works?

I know I can bet my money on a great Cubase 8 that will marvel, but the (dis)integration of the forums and MySteinberg was a bit of a loss because it stopped crazy posts.

Now that C7 is stable, there is on the whole reduced activity in the forum but I can only imagine that when the word drops about the next program version there may be difficulty in managing the users.

9

The solution includes a temporary licenses that can be requested in MySteinberg once a USB-eLicenser is lost or defective. This way you can continue working until regular license replacements are issued by support. Of course, this requires a spare USB-eLicenser to make sure you really have a zero downtime.

Not sure how this is related to Cubase 8 or any forum activity though?