Do I need usb dongle eLicenser to operate Wavelab 11 pro? or it works with soft eLicenser?
Thank you
WaveLab Pro requires the USB dongle
WaveLab Elements can be authorized with the soft eLicenser
Steinberg has hinted at some changes coming in the somewhat near future but this is how it is today.
Very not modern method of licensing WaveLab Pro.
Software developers, please make a different licensing method.
It is very inconvenient to carry a dongle with you all the time.
Why do you say so today?
A dongle-less licensing system is exactly what WaveLab 11.1, released today, is about.
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Thank you very much for the information.
I have now spent time experimenting with transferring a license from a dongle to an electronic environment.
It turns out that this feature has not yet been introduced.
Switch to Steinberg Licensing
Alternatively, you can switch from USB-eLicenser or Soft-eLicenser to Steinberg Licensing. The possibility to do so is currently in preparation and will be available in a newly created section in your MySteinberg account within the next weeks. There you will find a code to convert your eLicenser license. More information will follow here.
Existing WaveLab eLicenses will be migrated to the new system in the next couple of weeks.
According to Steinberg you will get a notification when it’s ready.
People who purchase WaveLab 11 brand new today can use the new system today. Existing licenses will take a week or two yet.
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It can’t come sooner. I really like not having to go fetch my dongle when using my laptop. Nuendo is so much easier.
Really wish this would happen sooner. Using the e-licenser is a real pain on devices with only usb-c ports. So close and yet so far.
If you guys have been using the e-Licenser for quite some years, I’m sure that waiting a couple more weeks to transition should not be much of a problem. I was expecting this feature to come to WaveLab until a major version update (11.5 or 12), so I’m all for this.
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Hi, I’ve just received the WaveLab Pro 11.1 Migration Voucher on my MySteinberg account.
Do I get it correctly:
-
if I use the voucher now, I won’t be able to run WaveLab 11 with my USB eLicenser connected on another PC anymore?
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Instead, if I wait for WaveLab 12 (or whatever will be the next paid version) to migrate to Steinberg licensing, I will be able to run both, i.e. a dongleless v12 with Steinberg Licensing, and v11 with USB eLicenser connected to a different PC?
You get the best of both worlds - your eLicenser licence for WaveLab 11 and all earlier versions remains in place, plus you get a Steinberg Licensing licence that allows you to activate WaveLab 11.1 on up to three computers. Your eLicenser licence for WaveLab is marked as non-upgradeable as part of the migration process so that Steinberg’s systems know you have migrated to Steinberg Licensing.
There is therefore no reason to wait until WaveLab 12 to migrate to Steinberg Licensing.
Backbone licence migrations opened up today with the release of Backbone 1.5, which is a free upgrade for existing users. I have migrated my standalone Backbone licence today - my main computer is still on eLicenser, my Surface Pro now has Backbone activated via Steinberg Licensing.
The only reason I have yet to migrate WaveLab to Steinberg Licensing is because I received the wrong voucher (I received WaveLab 11.1 Pro Educational; my licence was Educational in the past but the Educational restriction has been removed by a paid version update). I look forward to having WaveLab on my Surface Pro once Steinberg sorts out this problem.
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Many thanks, David_W. I confirm you’re totally right: now I have a WL 11 license on USB “WaveLab Pro 11 (Upgraded to Steinber Licensing)” that I can use on a different PC, plus a Steinberg Licensing activated WL11 [edit: WL 11.1]. Cool!
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Hi @Geppastro,
just to mention it: the Steinberg Licensing activated version is WL 11.1.
In this respect (licensing tech related), version 11 and “version 11” are not the same.
Regards (and my apology for nitpicking),
Markus
The first version of WaveLab that supports Steinberg Licensing is 11.1, which is presumably why Steinberg Licensing licences say “WaveLab Pro/Elements 11.1”.
You can only run WaveLab 11.0 with an eLicenser licence.
That said, Steinberg Licensing licences for Backbone just say “Backbone”, even though the earliest version of Backbone that works with Steinberg Licensing is 1.5.
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You’re right! I stand corrected (I’ve edited my post).
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Hi @Geppastro,
no problem. 
The whole version / sub version numbers and “when-to-migrate-at-which-sub-version” topic can sometimes get a little confusing.
And of course @David_W is also perfectly right.
The friendly naming (in SDA, Library Manager, Activation Manager, eLCC) and “numbers” don’t always seem to be used in the same way, in order to mark the transition from Steinberg’s old to new licensing system.
For instance, Cubase made a whole version number jump from v11 to v12 (while v11.5 having been omitted in late 2021), as well as with Dorico - which went a “half” version number step upwards - from v3.5 to v4.0, whereas WaveLab just does a smaller “migration jump” from v11.0 to v11.1, without it being a major software upgrade, at the same time.
Cheers,
Markus
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Question… If I migrate to Steinberg Licencing without a dongle on 11.1, do you always need a internet connection to use it? We’ve all been there when your service goes down for whatever reason.
No, you only need to sign-in to the Steinberg Activation Manager once. You can also create an offline activation, though that should be unnecessary if your machine is able to connect to the internet at all.
Thanks! I’ll take a look at the article