Could not connect POS

I get this error from time to time when starting up Cubase 13 (also had it with v12)
Screenshot 2024-01-15 114251

What makes no sense to me is that it refers to Elicenser which I don’t even have plugged in anymore even if Steinberg forces you to have the software installed once you run the SDA.

I see some other people posting about this from old dongle versions, but why do I get it now as VST Connect Pro also is no longer dongle-based copy-protection?

What can I do to get rid of this? Seems to me VST Connect works just fine even if I haven’t tried to record via it for a few months.

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Hi,

please update to VST Connect 5.6, you can download it here. The next Cubase update should have that one included.

/Michael.

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A very unfortunate (but hilarious) error message :slight_smile:

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Speaking of hilarious…had one the other day, title: “Unknown Error”, message: “Application Unknown has caused the following error: Unknown Error”. Printed it out and hung it at the wall :slight_smile:

I have the latest version installed v5.6

Got that POS (Lol) message too today from Vst connect, last versionand cubase 13 updated.
the SDA updated groove agent 5/Se and dorico SE and installed also as far as i know Elicenser update (although i updated it few days ago )

I had gotten that message at times after updating to 13.0.20 - but it seemed only when I started Cubase after rebooting my Win10 22H2 system.

I had previously installed VST Connect 5.6 (a long time ago), but then it struck me: What if Cubase 13.0.20 overwrote a dll or config file or something that VST Connect needs with an old or faulty version?

So on a hunch, I re-installed VST Connect 5.6 (using the “repair” option).

And since then and several reboots later, I have not (yet?) gotten that POS :rofl: dialog box again.

EDIT: The error message has returned: Could not connect POS - #10 by Nico5

I too did uninstall VST Connect Pro. deleted all folders that mentioned the program, and did the reinstall. Sure enough, after a week or so the error message is back - and shows up every now and then. I can’t figure out what situations make it pop up.

wow - so maybe I can expect to see it again, too - if I do, I’ll post here …

here we are - and yes indeed - that POS message just showed up for me again as well, although I had re-installed VST Connect 5.6.

Michael (@Spork) - do you have any other ideas we might be able to pursue?

Hi,

we’ve rechecked the VST Connect SE version (5.5.41) which is bundled to Cubase 13 and the current VST Connect PRO (5.6.0) version. Both versions do not refer to eLicenser/POS.

Maybe there are old installations around? Can you please have a look to the following folders?

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Steinberg\Shared Components
C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3

Do you find “vstconnect.dll” and/or “VST Conect.vst3” … where?

Thank you,
Michael.

thanks for your reply Michael!

I’ve found two files in

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Steinberg\Shared Components

  • vstconnect.dll
    and
  • VST Connect.dll

However, they both seem to be part of Product version: 5.6.0.734 - so they should be ok?


And as you mentioned, Cubase 13 has in folder

C:\Program Files\Steinberg\Cubase 13\Components

  • vstconnect.dll

which appears to be of version 5.5.41.704 as you suggested:

and the folder
C:\Program Files\Steinberg\Cubase 13\VST3
contains

  • VST Connect.vst3

it doesn’t seem to show a version number in the properties, but the date seems close to the other one, so that one seems ok, too?

The Cubase 12 components folder also has the same versions, and I’m not even starting Cubase 12.

And using the windows search, I couldn’t find other dll or vst3 files named “vstconnect” or “vst connect” on my entire C drive – so the mystery remains.

… Thank you. Looks good. And your error message “Could not connect POS” appears every Cubase 13 start?

/Michael.

No the message does not appear on every Cubase 13 start.

It seems to happen only on the first Cubase 13 start after a Windows 10 Restart.

image


p.s. Also: my eLicenser dongle is plugged in, since I still need it for HALion 6.

Is there a solution to this issue yet? The thread stops in Jan with plenty of suggestions, but no obvious way to resolve the problem.

I get the error message every time I open Cubase (v13.0.21) for the first time each day (I shut down my PC (Windows 11 Pro) at the end of each day). Investigating further, I’ve discovered that VST Connect Pro (v5.6.0.734) is not in the Steinberg Activation Manager list, but it is in the My Products list in My Steinberg and shows that it is still registered on my eLicenser. If I enter its activation code into Steinberg Download Assistant, it says the activation code is already in use. Incidentally, like @Nico5, I’ve still got my eLicenser plugged in because it has other products, including VST Connect Pro, that don’t appear to have upgraded to Steinberg Licensing yet.

If I start a VST Connect Pro project after getting the error message, it tells me there’s no valid registration and will not connect to the server. But, when I quit and restart Cubase, I do not get the error message and starting a new VST Connect Pro project will seamlessly connect to the server with no issues.

So, in support of @Nico5, it appears the problem occurs the first time Cubase starts after restarting/shutting down Windows. Quitting, then restarting Cubase resolves the problem, but obviously this is not a fix.

BTW, has this been flagged as an issue elsewhere?

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seems no fix yet, I got the same error message again yesterday. As suggested in the earlier posts it happened after windows restart

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I may have stumbled across a solution, though it’s too soon to tell just yet. It looks promising, though!

I don’t know how I missed this (I must not have been at the meeting :wink:) but if you go to My Steinberg on the website and go to Vouchers, if yours is anything like mine, you’ll find a stack of vouchers for upgrading products to Steinberg Licensing:

I just clicked on Redeem and followed the instructions, which takes you to your eLicenser for upgrading. Once I did this, Connect Pro appeared in Steinberg Activation Manager, where I clicked on Activate. It only takes a short amount of time (~ 5 min) before it is fully activated, but it should show as activation pending.

Of course, if you’ve already done this, then we’re still at Square One, but this was a step I hadn’t completed when installing the v5.6 update. With any luck, this will fix the problem.

I think this started happening for me after I switched ON Windows 10 ransomware / protected folder access the other day, I’d never seen it before then. Cubase13 has an exception added to bypass the protection. I will be leaving the protection on at the moment because I’ve had some issues which I’m still monitoring, but it could be something to check.

Uninstall e licensor and install latest version to fix vst connect dll. error