I’ll soon download these apps for the first time after I purchased them. I have an e-licenser only used for demos so far - but remember that one of the two authorisation methods involved some kind of limit. At the moment I use only one computer (Mac), but may buy a MacBook Pro later this year, and want to use both apps on both computers. Any advice re. best way to authorise? Thanks in advance.
I’ve got Cubase, Halion 4 & 5, Wavelabs Elements and the Dorico demo on my eLicenser and have not heard of any limits. You can install the apps on both computers, then just move the eLicenser between the computers to use the apps. The installation procedure goes through the authorisation process.
Thanks!
Can I later move the auth. from the eLicenser and use the other solution instead, in case I end up with using only one computer (which I’ve done for many years anyway)?
At the moment AFAIK you can only use Steinberg apps with a valid licence on the e-Licencer, but I think this is something they’re looking at. Only using my Mac at home, I’ve never had a problem with the dongle - it certainly saves the hassle of having to authorise again if you get a new computer.
No, you can’t (at least not for the foreseeable future). You can move a license from the Soft-eLicenser to the USB-eLicenser, but once it is there, you can’t move it back to the Soft-eLicenser.
However, if you don’t have a problem in general with dongles - some people just hate them for various reasons - you are safe using the USB-eLicenser. Of course, you then always have to have the USB-eLicenser connected when running Dorico, but other restrictions than that you don’t have.
Thanks for the info. It seems like it could be a good idea to start with the soft-eLicenser then. But what happens if the computer is stolen, or if the authorised drive (or computer) suddenly dies?
Once you have registered your elicenser/software at your Steinberg account you can reactivate your soft-elicenser at any time from there.
Thanks for the reply! My employer bought an edu version of Cubase and Dorico to me at BestService.
I have dongle, but want to use the soft-eLicenser. But according to BestService, I need to transfer my license to the dongle first - which isn’t a good idea since then I’m stuck with the dongle. How do I proceed?
No, you don’t HAVE to use the dongle. But as soon as you transfer the license to the Dongle, you can’t (currently) transfer it back to the soft-elicenser…
That’s not what the instructions from Best Service says. They say:
“1. At first you need to transfer your license to the eLicenser USB dongle by entering the activation code (serial number) you received in your invoice, email…etc”.
I have simply no idea re. how I can install a soft-authorisation.
Here’s what it says in the eLicenser software after I have entered my Dorico code:
“Currently, there is no eLicenser connected to your computer which you can download your license to. Please connect an appropriate USB-eLicenser to your computer. In case you do not have any USB-eLicensers available and want to download the license to a so-called “Soft-eLicenser”, please contact the software vendor of your product, to learn how to create a Soft-eLicenser on your computer system.”
But I tried with Cubase 9 first, and got this message:
“Currently, there is no eLicenser connected to your computer which you can download your license to. Please connect an appropriate USB-eLicenser to your computer.”
So it seems that I need a dongle for Cubase anyway?
The “eLicenser Control Center” handles all the licenses for all Steinberg products.
You don’t need to install anything else, but maybe Cubase 9 needs a later version than the one you have. There are download links here: https://www.steinberg.net/en/support/software_activation/soft_elicenser.html
If you launch Dorico and the eLicenser doesn’t have an authorization code for it, it will ask you for the code. If you are already using Dorico with a trial license, you will get a warning near the end of the trial period, and you can enter the authorization then.
Cubase (at least the full version) requires a Dongle, Dorico does not…
It asks me for a code, I enter the code, and in general nothing works as expected. I got an error message during the installation, and when I later seem to have succeeded and enter the code, I get a message saying no eLicenser is available (my dongle is disconnected because I want a soft-authorisation.
The message also says "Alternatively, re-install your product to create a soft-e-Installer. But since the installation process also gives an error message, I’m kind of lost. I hope Dorico works better than the installer. 
I’ve just talked to our eLicenser-guys and they say that even though it is an edu-license it shall be possible to install it to the Soft-eLicenser, at least for Dorico (the big Cubase versions are different, they definitely require the license to be installed on a dongle.)
The Soft-eLicenser software shall normally get installed during the Dorico installation. You mention that you have an error during installation process. Is that error during installation of Dorico?
I’d then recommend that you first uninstall Dorico completely and try to reinstall. After that, disconnect any dongle you have and start the Dorico license activiation again.