Swap Cubase 12 to Cubase 11 license?

Hello,
I checked the forum but didnt find the exact same situation I’m in so here I am.

I did some work on Cubase 11 (trial) then decided to go for a license. In the mean time Cubase 12 was out so I bought a Cubase 12 license (guess they’re not selling 11 anymore?), but I found out that all my projects are “broken” since they were all using Prologue or Mystique which are no longer supported…

Is there any way for me to “swap” my license for a Cubase 11 license? I seem to understand it’s not sold by Steinberg anymore but I have very little interest in the Cubase 12 new features :confused:

Or maybe I can get a refund? I ordered the software 11 days ago so I’m running out of time if some 14-day warranty applies here, and my support ticket is still open.

Little bit lost here, any help is welcome :slight_smile:
Thank you

You can still use them in Cubase 12 (at least on a PC don’t know about Mac) by copying them over from the Cubase 11 installation. Search the forum for a thread that has all the details.

Hi,

On Mac you would need to run Cubase either on the Intel processor or in the Rosetta 2 mode. In the Native M1 mode these plug-ins don’t work.

Your license covers Cubase 11. Just go to the download manager and download and set it up. Cubase 11 and Cubase 12 are installed in separate folders so the two programs can coexist happily side-by-side. That way, you can use Cubase 11 whenever you want access to Prologue or Mystique.

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I kept looking through the forum and FAQ and I’m not sure it’s actually covered since I don’t own a Cubase 11 license :((( From the FAQ :

After I update to Steinberg Licensing, will I still be able to run previous versions of the products I’ve bought?

The new Steinberg Licensing system does not apply to versions of our products prior to the first version that uses the new system: so if you buy, say, a new license for Cubase 12 as a brand new customer, you cannot run Cubase 11 or earlier

Looks like I have my answer but it’s sick, especially considering that it’s apparently not possible to get a refund once the software got downloaded…

That should be just because of the new licensing system, since versions before 12 aren’t covered and still require the eLicenser. Previously, a Cubase license covered all previous versions. I would contact a Steinberg person directly and ask. Maybe @Matthias_Quellmann would be able to help

Edit: Update - I found that item in the FAQ and read the whole thing and unfortunately it seems pretty clear. New customers who purchase Cubase 12 won’t be able to run previous versions, but existing customers upgrading to 12 still can run previous versions.

I did that too, unfortunately I couldn’t make it work so far :confused: It involves copying files from the C11 folder that are not in my C11 folder (like the pulseOSC dll), maybe that’s why.

Unless I find those files and can make it work, I feel like I’m going to have to sell my license - a feature available “in the future” according to the Steinberg FAQ.

You could get those files by installing Cubase 11 even though you do not have a licence for it. However, I think that even if you got the files installed (which is an unsupported thing in any event), the plugins will not work without an eLicenser licence for Cubase.

Yep I read that too.
I’m aware that i should have read the changelog between 11 and 12 or maybe tried 12 after trying 11 instead of jumping on a new license, but I still find it pretty harsh to be totally out of options for not considering that some features could actually be removed…
Anyway, we’ll see what the support team answers.

Thank you all for the help.

good point, although I thought you needed a dongle to run the Cubase 11 Trial

Cubase Elements 11 Trial did not require a USB eLicenser. Cubase Pro 11 Trial required a USB eLicenser. I don’t think there was a Cubase Artist 11 Trial - I believe those wanting to trial Artist were steered to the Pro trial.

Hi,

You are right. Only Pro and Elements Trials.

@Raumsog do you know anybody with a valid Cubase 11 license that would let you open your Projects in their DAW? If so, Render the impacted Tracks to Audio and use that going forward on these Projects. Alternatively you could just swap out the non-working VSTi’s for ones that do work. Sure it will be a different sound, but not necessarily worse one if you choose wisely

Hi,

Would Import from Project work in this case?

Hi Raino,
Yes I went to a friend who had an old Cubase 5 installed, imported my projects there and froze my MIDI tracks using Prologue. At least something!