eLicenser continues to be installed via SDA even after migration to Steinberg Licensing

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Very happy to read about WL 11.2 and was hoping the Steinberg would have taken the hint and stopped the ridiculous download AND install of the eLicenser AFTER making huge announcements around how 11.2 needs Steinberg Licensing and users should make ever effort to move over blah blah blah.

But nothing has changed - I fire up Download Manager and there it is - another attempt to install the eLicenser software, service and other crap after I made the move to Steinberg Licensing (AS INSTRUCTED) months ago.

What is it going to take to get this stop? And yes - before anyone chimes in to scold me about how I could simply download the updates manually - that is NOT the point when the Steinberg Activation Manager gets an update or other bits and pieces of the system (Like Download Manager itself) need to be updated.

If Steinberg is going to continue to promote Download Manager as the standard update vector for all things Steinberg - they need to lose the automated install of eLicenser once a user has committed to the new Steinberg Licensing model.

Finally - the fact the eLicenser seems to get an update about every 5 minutes tells me the Steinberg is not very serious about ever getting rid of this thing no matter what they are promoting around Steinberg Licensing.

VP

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What is the problem with having the eLicenser Control Center still installed? It doesn’t harm at all.
It is still needed as long as you have instruments that are not converted to the new Licensing system and there are a couple of them. It takes time to do such a conversion and Steinberg is definitely making progress in moving over.

Do you have a different solution, one that is making sure all products are available in a single place?

Interesting, I have checked it today at least twice and it did not install the eLicenser a single time.

What is your real reason for this rant?

  1. I shouldn’t have to keep unnecessary installations on my system simply because an application manager will auto-install it anytime I open it up to see if an application or library that doesn’t rely on it has an update available. Should I also install iLok software and have it sit there “cause I can?”

  2. That isn’t the point. The point is that SDA is auto-installing eLCC for users who have literally no need for it (all products on Steinberg Licensing) simply because it can. It doesn’t give you a choice, it just adds it onto your system non-configurably. There should be a prompt to install this component that the user can deny, or there should be an option in preferences to not install it for those who don’t need it.

  3. If you already have eLCC on your system, it’s obviously not going to install it. If I uninstall it, it will auto-install next time I start up SDA (on Windows). I just did this 4 minutes ago to check.

I don’t understand the childish defensiveness from people on these forums. It’s like a pandemic, here.

Users should not be forced to install and maintain unnecessary software on their systems. It’s a pretty basic facet of PC maintenance and security. Some people care about that. Sorry you don’t.

Cubase 12, WaveLab 11.2, SpectraLayers 9, Dorico 4, Absolute 6, Avid Decoder 3.0…

Nothing on my system requires this, so why I am being burdened with the obligation to install and maintain it? I know that I won’t purchase or touch anything that will force me to use it, moving forwards. Let me remove it and forget about it… forever. I paid hundreds of dollars for otherwise unnecessary upgrades just to rid myself of this system and its bloatware.

Juergen

The “problem” is that it is NOT required. And a secondary issue is that Steinberg is literally pounding it into us that we need to switch. I wholeheartedly did that - as soon as it was suggested. So the forced inclusion of the very tech they are trying to convince us to move away from makes no sense whatsoever.

And as Trensharo already very nicely stated - just how much extra crap I am supposed to install “just cuz” some vendor decides I need it. This is my environment, and I will decide what goes on here and what does not.

Jeez - I mean at least ask me if I need this instead of “assuming” that I do - in my case - that assumption is 100% annoying and completely unnecessary.

And the only reason you did not see anything pop up today - is that you already have the latest eLicenser installed. It’s VERY ironic that SDA will conveniently “ignore” eLicenser if it detects it’s already there but will not go the other way - but asking me if I am using Steinberg Licensing.

Is it too much to ask to get this fixed?

VP

Yes, it reinstalls it and that is documented. So you are just playing a game by uninstalling it and expecting it to not reappear.

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Did you also tell this to Microsoft or Apple about their bloatware? You care about security, so why are you transferring all kinds of telemetry to these companies?

Interesting statement.

You tell me I’m childish, just because I ask a question why someone insists of removing a couple of bytes from a machine?

Calm down and then try it again.

I absolutely agree with you that it should not reappear when it is not needed anymore. Changing this in the SDA is probably a simple thing, but Steinberg needs to find a balance between users not needing it anymore and those who still have product licenses on it. Figuring out if a user needs it or not is much more complicated and causes more trouble than just leaving it in for some time.

Sorry, but that statement was anything but nice.

Yes and I simply leave it there, because it doesn’t disturb me, it didn’t do it for years.

Absolutely not. But as I said, the problem in making it optional can cause more trouble than just leaving it. The amount of people starting to complain about all kinds of missing license popups will be definitely much bigger.

When I installed Wavelab 11.2 I got all kinds of warnings saying that the program is stalled and it will close. It never did but something is still messed up with the Steinberg installers…

My advice to Steinberg :QUIT messing with the program installers and let people decide what they want to install instead of just installing things. FWIW