Cubase Pro 13 Verification/Activation issue on MacBook Pro M3 Pro

Cubase
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Hi all,
Please excuse my long post, but there is no other way since i cannot directly contact Steinberg.
A few years ago i had bought and activated Cubase Pro 10 on a windows pc. A few days ago i bought a MacBook Pro M3 (MacOS Sonoma) Pro and a Cubase Pro 13 Update. I had never updated to Cubase Pro 11 and 12. Now i am trying to install everything on the MacBook. But probably something is off or i haven’t figured out yet the proper way to solve the problem. The facts are:

  1. I have already installed Cubase Pro 13 on the MacBook and it is working properly.
  2. I have installed Steinberg Download Assistant and entered download access code for ‘‘Cubase Pro 13 Update from Cubase Pro 11 or older’’. When i press upgrade after ‘‘Do you want to upgrade your license now?’’ question gets me to ‘‘Enter Activation Code. The license activation code was recognized correctly. Please click ‘’ Continue’’… and it shows me the activation code. BUT below it says ‘‘Cubase Pro 11 (Upgraded to Cubase with Steinberg Licensing)’’. Why Cubase 11??? The Download Access Code is for Cubase Pro 13. Anyway, when i press ‘‘continue’’ it says ‘’ No license to upgrade Selectable: No license to upgrade found. Please connect a USB-eLicenser which contains an appropriate license to upgrade to your computer’'. Do i need to use the USB-eLicenser key from Cubase Pro 10? Do i need an adaptor since the MacBook sports only USB-C ports? The guy from my country’s Steinberg distributor (yes, i contacted them) said that i had to upgrade to Cubase Pro 13 on my windows PC and just use the code on the Macbook. Also, i have downloaded and installed all the contents for Cubase Pro 13 and Cubase Pro 10 on the MacBook via Steinberg Download Assistant. At the moment i have both versions (Cubase Pro 13 and 10) installed on the MacBook.
  • Steinberg Activation Manager :arrow_right: All products :arrow_right: Cubase Pro 13, Verification Pending
  • Steinberg Activation Manager :arrow_right: Activated :arrow_right: Cubase Pro 13, Verification Pending
  • Steinberg Activation Manager :arrow_right: Not Activated :arrow_right: Nothing. Blank page
  • My Steinberg :arrow_right: Products :arrow_right: Show Steinberg Licensing-based products :arrow_right: Cubase Pro 13, verification pending. And below its shows the MacBook Pro and the date of activation
  • My Steinberg :arrow_right: Products :arrow_right: Show eLicenser-based products :arrow_right: Software :arrow_right: and below the first list thing is ‘‘Steinberg Licensing Cubase Pro 13 Update from Cubase Pro 11 or older’’, where the Download Access Code and the Activation Code are shown and below it says ‘‘Activation Status: Not yet activated’’. Below there is another listed option that says Cubase Pro 10 and declares that ‘‘Product activated on…(date)’’
  • My Steinberg :arrow_right: Products :arrow_right: eLicensers :arrow_right: and below there are two options: The first one says ''USB-eLicenser: (number), Products on this eLicenser:Cubase Pro 10 and below the date of resgistration is shown and the activation code. The second one is ''Soft-eLicenser: (code), no products found on this eLicenser.
  • My Steinberg :arrow_right: Products :arrow_right: Downloads :arrow_right: Two options. The first one is totally blank. When i press the arrow ‘‘show details’‘it gives me two download options, one for Windows and one for Mac, but above there seems no product. The second option says ‘’ Cubase Pro 10’’ and when i press the arrow it gives me the same two download options, but above it says Cubase Pro 10.
  1. eLicenser Control Center :arrow_right: i do ‘‘Perform Maintenance Tasks’’ :arrow_right: Under ‘‘My Licenses’’ there is the Soft-eLicenser (SeL) option with its code, but there are no licenses on the right hand side. When i enter the activation code of ‘‘Steinberg Licensing Cubase Pro 13 Update from Cubase Pro 11 or older" from the ‘‘Software’’ Tab on My products it gives me the same ‘’ Cubase Pro 11 (upgraded to Cubase with Steinberg Licensing)’’ option. I press continue and then it says ‘’ Select License To Upgrade’'but i cannot select any license. At the bottom with an exclamation mark it is stated ‘‘Currently, there is no license available which can be upgraded by your upgrade license. Please connect ab USB-eLicenser, which holds an appropriate upgradable license, to your computer’’.
  2. I had bought Cubase Pro 10 as an EDU version, in case it has anyhing to do with the problem.

So! What is the problem? Ii there even a problem? Am i keep using wrong activation and download access codes? Do i need to somehow use the USB-eLicenser on the MacBook? Have i installed all the files in the wrong order? Do i need to delete and reinstall all/some of the files?
Maybe the solution is quite simple and obvious, but i think i have tried everything (as indicated in eLicenser Control Center, Steinberg Download Assistant, Steinberg Activation Manager and My Steinberg) for the past couple of days, so please bear with me. I just want everything up and running and focus on the music production part.
Thank you all in advance for your feedback and once again i am so sorry for the long post. Take care.
Alex

2

Sorry, but your text is horrible to read, you should better use screenshots to make clear how it looks like. I’m not even trying to understand everything you write there.

However, so you had Cubase 10 Pro, which means you can ignore everything about the Soft eLicenser. Pro versions always require the USB eLicenser.

The text “Upgrade to Steinberg Licensing” says that your release on the USB Stick has been upgraded to a version 12 or higher, it is 13 in your case. This also means there is no other product to upgrade, so the message telling you it can’t find any upgradeable products is correct.

So what you haven’t said is, did you ever connect the USB stick to your MacBook and then tried to activate it in the Activation Manager? If not connect it to the MacBook, open the Activation Manager and try to activate it.

Everything regarding upgrades likes this is documented here, including what to do with “Verification pending”.

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Hi JuergenP.
Thank you so much for your prompt response! Yes, i know my text is a nightmare and i thought of screenshots too, but i was afraid that it would be even worse, so, i tried to keep it as organized as possible, even though i probably failed!
Anyway, the guy from Steinberg Distributor in my country declared that USB-eLicensers are no longer in use for Cubase 12 and 13 and that i had to use only the Soft-eLicenser. So, no, i have not tried to connect the USB stick to my MacBook. Since i am completely new to Mac OS and my MacBook has only USB-C ports, do i need to use a docking station fo that purpose?

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You HAVE to connect the USB dongle to the Mac to complete the installation.
After that you won’t need the USB dongle unless you want to use Cubase 10.
You can either get a thunderbot(USB-c ) adapter or a usb hub.

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Crystal-clear explanation. Thank you very much Paul!

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Hope you get it working, should work great when you do, I have a 16" MacBook Pro M2 Max 64GB Ram, 2TB SSD and Cubase 13 Pro runs really nice with Sonoma 14.4.1
Have a great day Alex !

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Hi guys!

The past few days i tried everything you suggested and finally managed to activate the Cubase Pro 13 on my MacBook, using the USB-eLicenser (1). Thanks a ton!
The software is up and running as well.
However, the soft-eLicenser is empty and the USB-eLicenser contains a Cubase Pro 11 license (2), (3).
When i enter the download access code in Steinberg Download Assistant and use the received activation code (Cubase Pro 13 Update ) I get a Cubase Pro 11 license (4), which when I press ‘continue’ it finally shows (5).
Am I all set and can use Cubase pro 13 without any issue regardless of the soft-eLicenser being empty and the dongle lacking a Cubase Pro 13 license or I have to somehow enter the Cubase Pro 13 license on the soft-eLicenser or the dongle?
I have read all the related articles on Steinberg’s website but I have not managed to figure this out.
P.S. The images are in a unified image because I am a new member and the system won’t let me upload more than one image

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8

This is all good, a Pro license (Cubase 11 and older) always required the USB eLicenser. It was never possible to activate it via a Soft eLicenser.

For Cubase 12 and 13 the eLicenser has no use at all anymore, that is all done via the new Steinberg Licensing and the Activation Manager.

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Oh, i didn’t know! So, just to clear things up , i do not care anymore about what is shown in ‘‘eLicenser Control Center’’ application and since the product is activated in Steinberg Activation Manager, i have nothing else to do regarding activation and registration, is that correct?

Can i also uninstall Cubase PRO 10 and just keep Cubase pro 13 on my MacBook? Or this could cause some issues?

10

Good morning Alex, glad to hear you finally have things running.
Yes, you are good to go as far as registration/activation goes.
You can uninstall Cubase Pro 10 if you wish, if you have no plans to use that version , no issues with doing that.

Have a great day…

1 Like
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That’s great to know.
Thank you for all your help, Paul.
If it wasn’t for you and JuergenP, i would still be utterly confused.
Really hope you have a nice day too.
All the best!