Cubase 8.5 trial and full version problems

Cubase
1

I tried buying Cubase 8.5 Pro full version directly from Cubase but the option (radio button) to buy a box version was grayed out. The next best option available was to select “Upgrade from X version”. I did this, made the payment and opted to ship my USB license dongle to friends in America who are returning to South Africa (where I am from) from holiday next week.

I am yet to receive a status on my order as far as tracking the delivery goes and trying to get support seems an almost impossible task. There is no direct contact detail on Steinberg’s website - merely a link that tells you to contact your local vendor. In my case, I don’t have a local vendor, as I bought it directly online. Furthermore, I was under the impression that the software that I downloaded (8.5 Pro) would at least be a 30 day trial while I wait for the dongle to make its way to may friends and eventually to South Africa, but this doesn’t seem to be the case. I received an activation code via e-mail and I can’t do anything with this, as the 8LE is a soft license and I can’t activate 8,5 Pro. It seems to need a dongle. I tried getting a trial version of 8.5 as well, received an activation code for the trial software but that ALSO needs a licensing dongle.

Am I missing something here? Why is it so difficult to get software working that I paid for, and secondly, why doesn’t Steinberg (who is a huge company) not really have proper online support in 2016? Or am I totally missing the point and did I do something wrong on my side? I have some bands coming in to track demo albums and the limitations on Cubase LE8 won’t cut it. I need to postpone all recordings and I am losing out on business.

2

Yes it does - that´s clearly mentioned on the product /download page

Because you don´t yet have all the things necessary to make it work.

What you´re doing wrong on your side is, you are assuming things to be different than they really are, which is very well documented.

3

In the meanwhile you can use the Cubase Elements 8 trial, that one doesn’t require the USB-eLicenser to work. It’s far less limited than Cubase LE.

Since Cubase LE and Cubase Elements use the same executable file, you just need to add the trial license to your eLicenser Control Center and Cubase LE will automatically become Cubase Elements.

You can contact Steinberg support by creating a MySteinberg account on the main site. Note that in this case it’s unnecessary to contact them, since there’s really nothing else they can do to help you.