Has anyone already had an answer to this question?
Why is it not possible to migrate a Cubase Pro 10.5 license (example) from an eLicenser to the new license system without vouchers or updates/upgrades?!
Welcome to the Forum.
The eLicenser is supported up to Cubase 11, everything beyond that is using the Steinberg Licensing.
Switching releases from Cubase 11 and earlier would require a complete code change and recompiling all software packages, to include the new licensing software. Because 10.5 or earlier is not supported anymore for some time now, this is not going to happen. The amount of work would be massive and error prone.
You can keep using your 10.5 license as long as the USB eLicenser is working and not lost, but if you want to update to a new release you need to do that before the service is shutdown.
If you want to avoid paying a full new license you should take the update offer to get a current release, because the update will not be possible when support for eLicensing ends. You find all information here:
I have Cubase 8 and my macOS is 10.15, so I canāt upgrade to Cubase 12, as the minimum system requirements are macOS 11 (and I canāt upgrade the macOS on my Mac).
My question is: You mentioned, āYou can keep using your Cubase 10.5 license as long as the USB eLicenser is working and not lost, but if you want to update to a new release, you need to do that before the service is shut down.ā
What happens if my USB eLicenser gets lost or broken after the migration to the new licensing system takes place?
There is no way to get a new USB dongle and create the license on it. This is described in detail in the document I have linked above. You might get some support from Steinberg after the shutdown of the eLicenser server, but that depends probably on the specific case.
The new Steinberg Licensing is active since 2022, starting with Cubase 12.
From the document and what youāre saying, I understand that if my USB eLicenser breaks or gets lost, I would not be able to recover the product I purchased, which seems extremely unfair. Additionally, the statement that this ādepends probably on the specific caseā is extremely unclear and does not provide any reassurance. I paid the full price for this product, and being entirely reliant on a USB dongle indefinitely to use it feels unreasonable and outdated.
Itās disappointing that, after such a long time, the only solution offered is to move to the new licensing system before the eLicenser service shuts down. This raises a critical issue: if I lose the dongle, I would be left without access to software I have fully paid for, which is entirely unacceptable.
Given the importance of this matter, I demand a clear and detailed explanation of what steps Steinberg is willing to take to ensure that customers like me are not left without access to their software in the event of a lost or broken dongle, especially after the eLicenser service ends. Please provide a detailed response outlining any possible solutions or alternatives to protect our licenses and investments
Send a support ticket to Steinberg and ask for clarification. This is a user forum.
Iāve already sent a support ticket to Steinberg, but thank you for the suggestion. Also, your tone comes across as dismissive and patronizing, which isnāt necessary in a community forum. Just to clarify, are you a regular user or someone officially affiliated with Steinberg? The way you addressed the OP and responded makes it unclear whether youāre an admin or a fellow user. Transparency on roles helps set expectations for the discussion
When actual Steinberg employees answer, thereās an avatar pic of the person and a little red S logo on the avatar pic itself.
Makes it easy to know.
Just to be clearā¦and Iām not being spiteful towards you (I hate Apple myself 
)ā¦but Apple wants you to buy a new Mac.
The cycle-of-3 thing theyāve been doing ever since the 1980s is how they eventually force you to either buy a new Mac or else be locked out of upgrading stuffā¦same thing they do to 3rd party devs like Steinberg.
Thatās certainly not considered fair either, but it isnāt anything new.
If itās any consolation, your when-my-dongle-dies question has already been raised by others in a thread from a few months backā¦and Steinberg did answer in that thread.
My situationā¦as a Windows-only user (win 11 pro) is that I own/have Cubase 14/Nuendo 13ā¦andā¦Cubase 10,9,7,6,5 running (on win 11) via the dongle. I can run pretty much any software from any company from 1996 onward on my pc and win11 is happy to obligeā¦which of course, is a different topic.
The downer is ā¦when my elicenser dongle is eventually lost, eaten by the dog etcā¦Iāll no longer have access to the early versionsā¦as much as I like to load them up on my win 11ā¦or even on the older win7, winXp systems I also own.
That is the reality.
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Sorry, but I just write the facts and what is clearly documented by Steinberg.
Your posting implied that I would have to provide you the details you want, so please think about to whom you address your request.
You expect Steinberg to support a software release that is out of support for many years.
Why donāt you ask Apple to give you access to the latest MacOS? Apple simply stops support for their hard- and software after app. three to four years, but you accept it and instead blame other software vendors for this problem.
It is a simple fact in the software world that support for old releases is stopped after some time and you are forced to upgrade. No vendor can afford to support old versions forever, so start with the basics and that is Apple.
You should first of all ask them to protect your investment in their hard- and software, I doubt you will get anything from them for your system. They simply tell you to buy a new Mac.
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This is completely different FROM MAC. I can still use my mac, in fact Iāve been using it for the last 20 years with no problems. Even if I canāt upgrade, I can still use what I got which is enough for me (Including cubase 8) .
As for Cubase 8, if I lose the registration dongle, then I CANNOT use the software I purchased anymore? That is ridiculous, my friend, and Iām sorry, but you are confusing something that is crystal clear. The Mac situation and the Cubase situation are two entirely different things. With my Mac, I donāt have a USB dongle that, if lost, would prevent me from using it altogether. THAT would be equivalent, which, obviously, is not the case.
Iām happy with Cubase 8 and donāt feel any need to upgrade it. But if I lose the bloody dongle and canāt use it anymore, then things changeāthatās the real issue here, and itās what Steinberg is doing.
On a different note, I asked you for clarification because the tone of your messages made you sound like you were part of Steinberg. Considering that you are not, youāre correct; you donāt have to answer my questions, and perhaps the best course of action for you might be to simply dismiss my messages
You can use your Mac as long as it not breaks. My last Macbook Pro from 2011 broke four years later and Apple denied repair because it was āvintage hardwareā. So where is the difference to a broken dongle?
I was forced to buy complete new hardware, it is no Apple anymore. Again where is the difference?
Be happy that your Mac still is alive, otherwise your investment is lost.
Your complaint about the dongle is identical, because it could work for the next twenty years as well, but menwhile your Mac is probably gone.
Cubase 8 is long out of support, many years, so expecting full support is what I call ridiculous.
If you compare the size of a Mac and a dongle there IS an obvious difference.
To make up for that one could built a cupboard around the dongle and attach the dongle in the middle with only the plug sticking out. That way you achieve not only comparability. It will be much harder to accidently lose the dongle or step on it.
Perhaps you can steer your anger to the appropriate earlier thread and then comfortably ignore users :). Feel free to vent to Matthias as you see fit at this link below. You now know how to differentiate users from Steinberg staff
I donāt expect full support, dude. What I do expect is that the software I purchased should not rely entirely on a dongle license, where if itās broken or stolen, the software is gone with it. It still seems like you donāt understand this point. Anyway, all goodāIāll stop wasting both of our time and energy on this discussion. Iāve said what I think, and youāve said your part.
Quit the drugs, dude. Theyāre clearly not working for you
Yes, that is what Steinberg is doing. They have been doing it for a long time now. Your Cubase 8 license is over ten years old. I find it difficult to believe that you have not used it enough to justify the initial cost. You have used Cubase 8 for less than five bucks a month at this point. If you want to continue using it, continue using it. If you want to update at a discount, do it before the eLicenser servers shut down. Itās really up to you. Nothing else can be done at this point. No matter how much you complain, things are not going to change. Nobody owes you anything. Iām sorry if this sounds harsh, but sometimes reality hurts.
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[quote=āScab_Pickens, post:17, topic:945927, full:trueā]
This is ridiculous man and Iām just not going to spend and waste more time about this. If you think itās a fair move, then good luck your finances in your life, they must reflect the way you think about this.
Regards
Cool. Maybe mods can now close the thread as āsolvedā
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