No License found for all the installed products?

Cubase
1

I’m new to Cubase. I purchased Cubase Pro 13 Full Version for $579.99. I followed the instructions in my receipt email:

  • Download and install Steinberg Download Assistant for [Windows] if it is not already installed
  • Launch Steinberg Download Assistant and sign in with your exiting Steinberg ID or create one
  • Click on ‘Enter your Download Access Code’ and enter the Download Access Code(s) shown below
  • Select the software under My Product Downloads to get a list of download options on the right
  • Click the Download or Install/Install all button to continue

I followed the above steps, all “seems” good. I proceeded to download and install my products Cubase Pro 13, Dorico, Groove Agent Drum Kit, Nuendo, Sounds and Loops, Spectral Layers, VST Instruments and Plugins, VST Cloud, VST Live, WaveLab.

Get a bunch of Icons on my desktop, so click on Cubase 13

Now I start Cubase 13 Pro and it goes thru some initialization and pops up a message “No License Found” for WaveLab Ara? So I click dismiss button. Cubase 13 continues to load and click Create Empty button.

Now I try to add an Instrument Track and it’s grayed out? In fact all the track types are grayed out Instruments, MIDI, Audio, etc. So I go left side to see if I can add a Groove Agent 5 and get the same popup “No License Found”?
So I continue to try HALion 7, Dorico 5, etc and they all say “No License Found”.
So I goto my Steinberg account page and check products and it shows Cubase Pro 13 activated June 16th 2024 and correctly identifies my computer name.
So I bring Steinberg Activation Manager and have “All Products” selected and it shows “Cubase Pro 13 Activated” (the one and only product listed).

Am I missing something? Really confused? Why are all my VST coming up with License Not Found?

Rob.

2

You say you have bought a license for Cubase, but products like Dorico and Nuendo and SpectraLayers and Wavelab are all seperate licenses and do not belong to Cubase.
Have a look on the Steinberg homepage and you will see that these products need to be bought separately.

3

Wow, $579 for Cubase Pro 13 and those products are not included? The comparison chart is very misleading then … BUT, why on earth would those products be listed in Download Assistant and installable from the Download Assistant if I don’t have a license for them??

There is ZERO indication these are additional cost products, nothing, nada, zippo. Wow, I’m at a loss for words …anyway, thank you for the information.

I’m also not able to uninstall these products not Cubase? My only options are “Install again”? Cubase Pro 13 isn’t even listed in Windows 11 Add and Remove Programs so how the heck is one supposed to install them all and Cubase?

Sorry, but $500 for WaveLab Pro 12? $1000 for Nuendo? $249 for Halion? Did sanity FM just exit the building?

I realize this is not your issue so appreciate the information. I’ll check into Cubase Refund policy as it was NOT clear all these other products are additional costs.

Still not sure why I can’t seem to add any tracks, but at this point not sure I care now.

Rob.

4

What do you expect? Nuendo for example is a high end product used by film studios. Are you working on movies?
Dorico is used to create scores up to a symphony orchestra, are you composing?

What comparison chart are you talking about?

Because they might be needed by someone. Your licensed product shows up under “Your product downloads”.

Wrong, you can find it completely open all over the website. All products are shown with a price tag.

Yes it is, it is under the name Steinberg, as most of the programs are.

Really? What did you expect? All for free?
Again, these are products that are used by composers and studios for professional tasks.

Sorry, but your expectation is pretty strange. All information are available on the website, including all prices. It is your problem if you did not read it.

5

You missed my point entirely. The download assistant lists all these extra payware products with NO indication they have a cost associated with them. Why show these products in the download assistant at all if I haven’t entered an access code for them like I did for Cubase?

Since I entered my access code for cubase I assumed these products appeared in the download assistant because they were include in my purchase. Again why show me downloads for products I haven’t bought??

MixCraft 10.x doesn’t do this, in fact the store is self contained within the product and any product I want to buy is clearly identified with a price.

So how do I uninstall all these high priced useless VST/plugins? There is no option to remove them?

I’m going to ask for a refund of Cubase because this entire process is frankly garbage. When you have 3 tools just to download and apply licenses with zero reference to costs, then one is clearly on the wrong development path.

6

Of course it does not show price tags, it is a download tool. You need to inform yourself before just doing blind downloads.

The Download Assistant has categories for all products, but that does not mean they are all for free. The screenshot here shows you what the areas are good for.

image

It is also for download of products that you already own, but want to download again, or to some extent even previous releases.

Windows Control Panel has a search function. If you really look at it you will see something like this.

image
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It doesn’t help if you simply repeat wrong claims, but anyway it is your decision if this simple problem makes you angry.

7

Wow! You thought you were getting $999 of Nuendo by buying $599 of Cubase? I can’t believe someone would be looking for tools like Cubase Pro without being familiar with this area of software or at least doing their due diligence regarding the product(s).

8

Yes, as others have indicated, you installed a bunch of products you hadn’t purchased. I agree that the Download Assistant can be confusing in this regard, but the key is the “My product downloads” section, which will show all the products you own (once you’ve entered the download code, of course):

image
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As for the rest, you can safely ignore those. If you want to uninstall the products you mistakenly installed and you’re on Windows, you can go to Control Panel/Programs and Features, find a product you want to remove, select it from the list, then click the Uninstall menu item. Just repeat that for each product you want to remove from your system. If you’re on Mac, I assume there is some equivalent, but I’m not a Mac guy, so I don’t know what it is.

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9

To be clear, for better or worse, the SDA doesn’t know what you own or not.

However, each product tab shows everything that’s included with the license.

So you own everything that’s listed in the tab. For Cubase Pro 13 it’s this:

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I’ll close this topic for now.

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10

Thanks for the responses. I contacted Yamaha support and they have initiated a REFUND of Cubase Pro 13 and were very responsive and I appreciate their support.

As far as Add & Remove Programs under Windows 11 … NONE of those 4 entries exist on my system. Fortunately I have Revo Uninstaller which will take care of this problem.

When I’m using Native Instruments, their “download” tool doesn’t show products I have not purchase … I mean why would it? And it definitely would NOT provide an “Install” option if I haven’t purchased the production … again why would it? Who in their right mind would want to install a product they haven’t purchased? This sounds more like some desperate and bizarre marketing ploy to get people to buy.

MixCraft is the same, VST/Plug-ins I have not purchased don’t show up. If I want to see products to buy they show up in the “store” tab within MixCraft along with their price. MixCraft is A LOT cheaper than Cubase Pro 13. Digital Performer is a lot cheaper than Cubase Pro 13. Logic is a lot cheaper than Cubase Pro 13. None of these tools let you download and install things you haven’t purchased … basic common sense.

Being a software engineer for 37+ years, I’m baffled that end users think this process is acceptable? In the real world of end users and not those that have been beaten into submission of the “Yamaha” way, there would NOT be 3 separate tools to manage one’s product downloads, installs, and licenses. But hey, if you folks like to beat yourselves up with this bizarre process, then please go ahead.

I got refunded and back to Digital Performer, MixCraft, Native Instruments, and Logic I go … I think some of you have lost your focus … music creation. No normal human would consider this intuitive, and certainly not a musician.

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11

News flash, not every piece of software copies the exact functionality of another… Steinberg’s download assistant works the way Steinberg designed it too. NI’s works the way NI designed it.

Its up to you to actually learn how to use it and not just assume that it also works exactly like some other companies product… That is no fault of Steinberg’s at all, but yours.

12

Actually, it does (perhaps based on the download codes you’ve entered and/or communication with Steinberg’s server?). The ones you own are included in the “My product downloads” section. There rest, IMHO, is just confusion.

13

Wow, I wish I had users like you in my past development projects, I think I could tell you anything and you’d accept.

So you folks think that providing a user with “Install” buttons for products they haven’t purchased is a good idea? Really?

New Flash, Steinberg/Yamaha lost a customer because of this bizarre process … that’s good how? Focus should be content creation, not learning a bizarre 3 app download/install/license process. I have to login to my account from these tools so they know what I own already so why even have the “My Products” option at all? You simply list what you own with Install button and if they want to list products I don’t own then show them with a price and buy button not a freakin’ install button.

I’m just baffled that some of you are defending this freak non-human friendly process and even suggest I need to somehow “learn” a process that shouldn’t need ANY. If one has to read a manual on how to download, install, license products then I can assure you the developers are on the WRONG design path.

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14

This is mostly a users helping users forum, though Steinberg people also participate. My comments certainly weren’t intended to justify Steinberg’s Download Assistant choices. They no doubt have a reason for making those choices, but I agree they are confusing. I was pointing out the My product downloads section to attempt to provide a solution, not to defend the UI.

While most music software companies don’t include products you don’t own in their download facilities, they are far from the only ones who do. Others that come to mind from products I own include East West, UJAM, and IK Multimedia. In some cases. Most of those, but not all of them, at least distinguish trials from owned products. Steinberg’s “My product download” section does that to a degree, but it isn’t as obvious – in fact, it’s very easy to miss.

But one of the worst I’ve encountered on that front is a behavior on installing products you own, where products you don’t own are also installed (automatically). IK Multimedia comes to mind on that front, where installing (or maybe updating?) some of their products adds plugins to your plugin menus that aren’t among the ones you own, but, then if you try to load the plugin, it gets a message about it not being licensed (whatever the wording may be), so you need to explicitly hide it to avoid confusing yourself down the line.

Yeah, that kind of confusing stuff sucks. But, as someone who uses a lot of music software from a lot of different developers, where the products I use are high quality and fill functional and workflow needs for me, a bit of one-time hassle on installation procedures is a minor fly in the ointment.

While Yamaha/Steinberg may have lost a new customer on this in your case, you’ve also let a confusing installation process deprive you of the opportunity to use a DAW that is highly capable and may well have brought you significant workflow and other benefits over the others you use. That’s obviously your prerogative, but it feels to me like deciding you won’t move into an excellent neighborhood because there was one speed bump on the entrance to the street. (And, believe me, I hate speed bumps, and there is one on my street.)

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15

Hi @Robin_Ainscough, to activate and install your Steinberg product, you simply do the following. Similar instructions are emailed to every customer:

  • Download and install Steinberg Download Assistant
  • Launch Steinberg Download Assistant and enter your Download Access Code by clicking the button to the top left
  • Your product will now be listed under “My product downloads”, click its icon to see all of the content included with the license

There are no more steps necessary after you have downloaded and installed your software. It is ready to run.

I believe that this was a simple user error in this instance, even if I agree that the Steinberg Download Assistant’s UI might use some work (some users have downloaded Groove Agent extensions for which they don’t have licenses for…). If you browse through Steinberg’s website, it’s evident that the Download Assistant shows the whole company’s current product line. Also, nowhere on the Cubase product page does it state or suggest that it includes WaveLab or Nuendo.

With all of that said, I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Hopefully, Steinberg can make changes to the Download Assistant to prevent this from happening again.

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