Hey, I just downloaded all the files for Dorico 5 Pro, and provided my Download Access Code. Got confirmation that this went through great. But then when I tried to open Dorico 5, I just got a prompt asking me to open the Steinberg Activation Manager. But when I click on it, nothing happens. No prompts, nothing. I see that they tried to install a workaround address for manual activation - but that just leads to a white-page error. HELP!
If you run the Steinberg Activation Manager on its own (without starting Dorico) does it run correctly? Can you log into it? What does it show? If not, can you find the logs for the activation manager and post them here (you can zip them all up together)? On Windows they will be in %appdata%\Steinberg\Activation Manager\Logs and on Mac they will be in /Users/yourusername/Library/Application Support/Steinberg/Activation Manager/Logs.
1 Like
- Shut down the machine
- Start it
- Start Steinberg Download Assistant and follow any eventual request of installation. Look in your products to see if something is missing from Dorico 5
- Exit SDA
- Click on Steinberg Activation Manager. OK? Should you activate D5? If this step is KO I would re-install SAM.
- Otherwise… let’s wait for an expert…
Sorry Richard, you are the expert… I was writing while you posted…
Richard, I navigated on my iMac to the location you referred to - but found no logs at all there - though I’ve tried launching SAM multiple times - with D5, with D4 open, and with no Dorico at all. Each time, the same result. The words “Steinberg Activation Manager” appear at the top left of my screen, next to the apple icon. But no prompts, menu items, or anything else appears onscreen. Yes, I’ve tried turning my machine off, restarting, and trying again. Yes, I’ve also downloaded SAM directly, as a fresh install, and tried again. But to no avail. I get the same no-action response every time.
So yeah - like the rest of SAM - no response, including no logs.
You mention Dorico 4 - does that mean that this was all working correctly with Dorico 4, and it just stopped working with Dorico 5, or is this a completely fresh install? Also which macOS are you running? And did you install Dorico 5 using the Steinberg Download Assistant or “manually” by running all the installers yourself?
PS - I found the following notice of a problem that seems to match mine. The chat system wouldn’t allow me to post a link to it - but here’s the text:
macOS: Steinberg Activation Manager inoperable, Steinberg Hub doesn’t show current content
Problem
On macOS Mojave (macOS 10.14) or older, the following issues occur:
- Steinberg Activation Manager does not have any function.
- Steinberg Hub - the news and information window - in Cubase, Dorico, Nuendo or WaveLab is missing current content.
Background
On December 17, 2024, a required security-related certificate update was performed on a server providing Steinberg customer services.
Unfortunately, as Apple does not automatically update certificates on macOS Mojave and older systems anymore, the Steinberg Hub as well as the Steinberg Activation Manager cannot communicate with the servers since then.
Workaround
Please follow these instructions to initiate the certificate update manually:
- Open Safari.
- Enter [link - chat wouldn’t let me include it here] in Safari’s address bar.
- A warning appears, informing that the page is insecure.
- Click the “Visit this website” link.
- The certificate will now be updated and can be used by other applications, including Steinberg Activation Manager and Steinberg programs using the Steinberg Hub.
- In Safari, the page will now show a “Whitelabel Error Page”. It can be closed.
- Steinberg Activation Manager and the Steinberg Hub should work again now.
Please excuse the inconvenience. We are currently working on a permanent solution.
I tried - several times, in several different browsers, the “workaround” address But rather than the “insecure” warning mentioned, all that came up was this message:
Whitelabel Error Page
This application has no configured error view, so you are seeing this as a fallback.
Tue Dec 24 15:24:23 UTC 2024
[d1bea571-4696966] There was an unexpected error (type=Not Found, status=404).
So - lots of dead end attempts… And yeah - no logs recorded at all.
If you are seeing the “Whitelabel error page” then it means that the certificate is working OK - if you had the problem mentioned on that support page (which only affects macOS 10.14 or earlier) then you would get a certificate error page instead.
BTW… welcome on board Carrie!
(even in a sad occasion…)
Yes, I had Dorico 4 Elements on my machine previously - hadn’t used it much or updated it recently. I downloaded D5 with the Download Assistant, provided my Download Access Code, and got verification that D5 was good to go. But then ran into the SAM problem when trying to launch D5.
While waiting a solution, decided to update D4, so I can at least work on that in the meantime (now that I’ve deleted Finale from my system.) It was missing a Sound Installer. So I used the Download Assistant to update everything in D4, and now that is working just fine - having been activated previously, I guess.
But yeah - D5Pro remains entirely inaccessible, due to this SAM problem.
I’m on a 2017 iMac running Ventura 13.7.2. (It had been on Mojave but I got it updated yesterday - this is the latest OS this computer will accept.)
Dorico 4 uses the same licensing system as Dorico 5 does, so if Dorico 4 is running correctly then that means that SAM must be working at least to some degree. So I think there must be some logs somewhere on your system, and perhaps you are looking in the wrong directory. It’s a bit confusing on macOS because there is both a system-wide set of directories called /Library/Application Support and a user-specific set for each user - if you type in ~/Library/Application Support (with the tilde at the start) this will take you to that directory. Both of these have Steinberg directories within them, but the logs will be in the user-specific directory.
Alberto - thanks for the welcome. It softens the impact of an otherwise pretty terrible morning, fighting this thing.
Richard - I’m not understanding your message - “the certificate is working OK.” All I know is - 3 hours so far of efforts to activate this program is still leaving me without any positive result - through the SAM, or through the supposed “workaround” link.
Richard - does it matter that I activated D4 several years ago, and it’s been working since then - whereas I just tried launching D5 a few hours ago?
Looking for the “tilde” version of the logs now…
The support article you quoted refers to a specific problem affecting website certificates that only affects 10.14. If you had that problem with website certificates then you would get a certificate error in your browser when visiting the URL you mention. I’m not saying you don’t have a problem, just that it isn’t the one described by that support article.
OK. I just seem to have the same overall problem - which is that SAM “does not have any function.” Whereas it worked fine several years ago when I first launched D4.
Whatever the nature of the cause or problem - it makes sense to me that there should be a “manual workaround” - ie an alternative way to activate the software from some other entryway.
Sorry Richard, Carrie talks about D4 Elements, I don’t know if it uses SAM…
If you go to the Privacy & Security page of the macOS System Settings, can you check whether “Dorico 5” and “Steinberg License Engine” both appear and are turned on in “Local Network”, and that under “Security”, “Allow applications from” is set to “App Store & Known Developers”.
All of the versions of Dorico 4 use SAM - only the iPad version does not.
2 Likes
Thanks Richard and forgive me.
There is indeed a way of activating Dorico “offline”, but if SAM won’t run at all then that suggests there is a deeper issue which we would need to fix either way. In any case, what I really need is to see the logs so I can determine what the problem is.
I keep running into dead-ends looking for this info. The only library I see is the one outside of my user. No Library is mentioned inside of my User account. I tried typing ~/Library/Application Support (with a tilde) into the Search bar in Finder - but this brought no results. Is there another place I should try to type this, to find that second user-specific library you refer to?
As to your other request - I’m looking at "Privacy and Security " in my OS - but don’t see any reference at all to “Local Network” within that. So I can’t check for “Dorico 5” and “Steinberg License Engine.” I do see, however, that “App Store and identified developers” is indeed checked in “Security” there.