KVR Audio

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Mon Dec 08, 2014 11:11 am

I had a problem with Waves licenses going missing, because my computer for some reason got assigned a new MAC address in the Waves License Center.

I have recieved this advice from Waves support:

If you have been switching between network adapters, this may be the reason. If the NIC you used to connect while activating the first time is disabled - the computer will become a disconnected device since WLC now sees a different network adapter. The licenses may be associated with a VPN, Bluetooth, Wireless or Ethernet adapter, or any other connectivity device. Please open WLC and disable all network adapters (via your device manager), then enable them one at a time. With one of them – the “Untitled” computer (E.....) will show up as a connected device in WLC.

At this point I suggest you move the licenses to a USB flash drive to avoid this reoccurring – the USB has a unique ID which cannot be changed.

I have only used WIFI to connect the computer to the Internet (I have no knowledge of that network adapters have been switched on the computer). I feel a little uneasy about disabling networks adapaters, even in WLC as I have no experience with that, and if it can affect other progs/apps.

I am not so happy about moving licenses to a USB, then I need to use a "dongle" everytime I want to use the Waves stuff.

I feel most inclined to ride my luck, as it all works at the moment, but should there be problems again, I can not recover my licenses again until a year from now, as I already have just done that.

jdnz · Post by **jdnz** » Mon Dec 08, 2014 1:32 pm

the 'usb device' doesn't have to be a pendrive, can be an external USB hdd, so if you've got an external that's always plugged in you can tie the licenses to that rather than have to use up a usb port for a pendrive acting as a dongle

if wlc explicitly listed ALL NICs in your machine and let you associate licenses to the one you choose, as opposed to just listing 'your computer' and randomly picking one (of possibly many) interfaces they'd cut down the number of license issues by a factor of 10.

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Mon Dec 08, 2014 3:38 pm

I have a SD-card permanently in the computer, so I sent the licenses to that.

Waves plugs are still working, so that went well

But what happens if the SD-card holding the licenses should get damaged or lost?

jdnz · Post by **jdnz** » Mon Dec 08, 2014 7:14 pm

Numanoid wrote:But what happens if the SD-card holding the licenses should get damaged or lost?

in that case you're back to having to do a recovery (same as if you bind if to a pc and it get stolen/destroyed).

fluffy_little_something · Mon Dec 08, 2014 7:28 pm

Actually, it would not be bad if that system were adopted by all developers. One could have a single dedicated USB pen (or maybe the tiny memory card in USB internet modems) holding all licenses, and there would be no more reason for developers to try and prevent license transfers.

chokehold · Post by **chokehold** » Mon Dec 08, 2014 7:53 pm

I think if you have an iLok, you can use that as a "USB device" as well.
(...but without using the actual iLok license thing)

simon.a.billington · Post by **simon.a.billington** » Tue Dec 09, 2014 1:53 am

Actually, I thought the same with the iLok. Was under the impression that was where my licenses were over the last 1-2 years....

As it turned out, I had accidentally renamed my computer showing up in the License Centre to iLok!! Don't really know hoe that happened, but it did. So it seems my licenses were on the computer althea time.

I've done a recent migration to a new computer and I can in fact say that iLok won't work, not with the Version 9 series anyway.

Make sure if you do have any issues that you are paid up on your WUP.

Andy Gone · Post by **Andy Gone** » Wed Dec 10, 2014 12:35 pm

Numanoid wrote:I had a problem with Waves licenses going missing, because my computer for some reason got assigned a new MAC address in the Waves License Center.

Today computers have so much stuff inside

Had absolutely the same issue, moved licenses to a USB. Don't like too much using extra dongle, but I already have to use iLok for other stuff I have, so no big difference. Also I keep my installers on the same USB, so I'm completely mobile with all my plugins.

UPD: In case USB is lost or damaged, you can use recovery function at Waves site.

Mace404 · Post by **Mace404** » Wed Dec 10, 2014 1:33 pm

chokehold wrote:I think if you have an iLok, you can use that as a "USB device" as well.
(...but without using the actual iLok license thing)

Nope. Only USB storage devices are usable.
Contacted Waves to ask if it was possible to store it to any (aka iLok) USB device and the answer was no.
They use the storage descriptor as unique ID. An iLok does not have this.

Mace404 · Post by **Mace404** » Wed Dec 10, 2014 1:33 pm

edit: do not quote if you want to edit.

p_wats · Post by **p_wats** » Wed Dec 10, 2014 5:55 pm

I had a similar issue with Waves when I tried them for the first time during the Black Friday sale: My computer doesn't have an Ethernet Adapter, but I'm often plugged into a hub that does have one. The WLC would only recognize my computer when I was plugged into that hub, but the other 80% of the time it told me I didn't have licenses.

They said it was a bug in their WLC and that the only way for me to use their plugins was with a USB stick. At this point I had only pulled the trigger on one plugin and didn't want to carry a stick around for that single license, so I got a refund and told them to let me know when the bug is sorted.

jdnz · Post by **jdnz** » Wed Dec 10, 2014 7:04 pm

p_wats wrote:They said it was a bug in their WLC and that the only way for me to use their plugins was with a USB stick. At this point I had only pulled the trigger on one plugin and didn't want to carry a stick around for that single license, so I got a refund and told them to let me know when the bug is sorted.

it's not so much a 'bug' as a fundamental design limit of modern PCs - there's no unique machine id (apple at least have the machine serial no readable in software) so it makes it hard to generate a unique machine id. Using the MAC is definitely the easiest solution - but not ideal (not all machines will have a ethernet/wifi NIC, and of course if you're using a usb/pci NIC it can die, be replaced there go all your licenses). Other solutions aren't much better as they tend to tie to hard drives instead (again same scenario if one dies).

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Wed Dec 10, 2014 7:17 pm

jdnz wrote:it's not so much a 'bug' as a fundamental design limit of modern PCs - there's no unique machine id (apple at least have the machine serial no readable in software) so it makes it hard to generate a unique machine id.

In the bigger picture of NSA snooping and big brother watching over us, it might be best in the end that it is like that

audiosabre · Post by **audiosabre** » Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:22 am

I think the new Waves licensing system is the worst one in the industry. No other plugins will deactivate their licenses depending on whether I have my internet browser open or not (srsly?). I've also had to recover some licenses once

I wish they kept ilok; I never had licensing issues with it (for years), and now it's a regular thing. I regret upgrading them to v9. Dongle free, they said, a more flexible system, they promised.

I'll never buy WUP. I'd rather give my credit card details to Nigerian scammers.

Andy Gone · Post by **Andy Gone** » Thu Dec 11, 2014 6:43 pm

audiosabre wrote:I think the new Waves licensing system is the worst one in the industry. No other plugins will deactivate their licenses depending on whether I have my internet browser open or not (srsly?). I've also had to recover some licenses once

Did you contact Waves support? Or are you just moaning? This is not normal behavior of Waves licensing based on what you describe.

Advice needed where it is best to keep Waves licenses?