Cubase Pro 12 -- installation of upgraded license

[havran]

Has anyone bought a Cubase Pro 12 license that was upgraded from an earlier version (e.g., Cubase Pro 11)?

If so, was the dongle (eLicenser) ever involved in the installation of Cubase Pro 12, or did you only need the new Download Access Code?

No speculative answers or guesses, please -- I'd like to hear from someone who actually bought and installed an upgraded v12 license.

Thanks!

[andrew71]

I upgraded to Cubase Pro 12 from Pro 11 on release. During the upgrade/activation process the dongle license is changed to a status along the lines of 'non-transferable' and I believe the eLicenser license has to be present for the activation to take place.

Whether it's possible to put the eLicenser in a different computer and still run Cubase Pro 11, I don't know, but I suspect it would be.

[havran]

@andrew71: Thank you for your reply. I have also gone through the upgrade process from v11 to v12.

I have also contacted Steinberg support about transferring the license. They have detached the dongle containing the Cubase 11 license from my Steinberg account, and issued me a new Download Access Code (DAC) for Cubase 12 to pass on to the buyer.

What I'm trying to find out is whether the buyer would only need the DAC to install Cubase 12, or whether he would have to wait for the dongle to arrive.

It seems like he would not need the dongle to install version 12, but I want to make sure that is true before we proceed with the sale. Otherwise I will have to consider faster shipping at a higher cost.

[FakeNatty]

From my searches on reddit. People who discussed this concern all said that:

- Cubase 11 license remains on the dongle as non-transferrrable.
- Cubase 12 license is a license for Cubase 12 itself, not dependent on Cubase 11 once upgraded to 12. Cubase 11 is only needed during the upgrade activation to 12.
- Dongle is only useful if you need it for other Steinberg products that haven't migrated to dongle-less licensing.

[havran]

@FakeNatty: Oh, good! I was just thinking about checking Reddit for the answer. Thank you.

[havran]

Answer: We proceeded with the sale and my buyer reports that he was able to install and activate Cubase Pro 12 immediately using just the new Download Access Code.

[dellboy]

Answer: We proceeded with the sale and my buyer reports that he was able to install and activate Cubase Pro 12 immediately using just the new Download Access Code.

Interesting. So you retained the dongle with a Cubase 11 license on it and its yours to keep?

[havran]

Answer: We proceeded with the sale and my buyer reports that he was able to install and activate Cubase Pro 12 immediately using just the new Download Access Code.

Interesting. So you retained the dongle with a Cubase 11 license on it and its yours to keep?

That dongle with the Cubase 11 license has been deactivated from my Steinberg account and now belongs to the person who bought the Cubase 12 license from me, per Steinberg's terms for the license transfer.

[dellboy]

That dongle with the Cubase 11 license has been deactivated from my Steinberg account and now belongs to the person who bought the Cubase 12 license from me, per Steinberg's terms for the license transfer.

And have Steinberg themselves explicitly conveyed this to you, or is it just your own personal understanding of the license agreement? The original statement seems ambiguous to me. When I upgraded from version 10.5 to 12 I understood the following statement to mean that the old dongle was mine to keep for as long as it carried on working. It clearly says that the elicenser on the dongle cannot be transferred..................

--------------------------------------------------

"Can I sell licenses? If so, how?

Yes, you will still be able to sell your retail licenses using the Steinberg Licensing system. We will provide details of this process in the future.

Note, however, after you have updated an existing license for a Steinberg product to a version that uses the new Steinberg Licensing system, although the license for the previous version will remain in your eLicenser, you cannot resell, transfer or update/upgrade that license."

--------------------------------------------------

[havran]

That dongle with the Cubase 11 license has been deactivated from my Steinberg account and now belongs to the person who bought the Cubase 12 license from me, per Steinberg's terms for the license transfer.

And have Steinberg themselves explicitly conveyed this to you

Yes.

If you have any other questions, please contact Steinberg Support directly.

[havran]

That dongle with the Cubase 11 license has been deactivated from my Steinberg account and now belongs to the person who bought the Cubase 12 license from me, per Steinberg's terms for the license transfer.

And have Steinberg themselves explicitly conveyed this to you, or is it just your own personal understanding of the license agreement? The original statement seems ambiguous to me. When I upgraded from version 10.5 to 12 I understood the following statement to mean that the old dongle was mine to keep for as long as it carried on working. It clearly says that the elicenser on the dongle cannot be transferred..................

--------------------------------------------------

"Can I sell licenses? If so, how?

Yes, you will still be able to sell your retail licenses using the Steinberg Licensing system. We will provide details of this process in the future.

Note, however, after you have updated an existing license for a Steinberg product to a version that uses the new Steinberg Licensing system, although the license for the previous version will remain in your eLicenser, you cannot resell, transfer or update/upgrade that license."

--------------------------------------------------

@dellboy -- Sorry for the curt tone in my previous reply.

Originally I also read that text on Steinberg's site as meaning I would get to keep and use the dongle and the Cubase Pro 11 license that was used as the basis for the upgrade to Cubase Pro 12 (CP12) -- that it would only become NFR and non-upgradeable -- but that turned out not to be the case. However, this is in line with other companies' policies when it comes to transferring older foundational versions along with an upgraded version of a license.

My experience of the procedure to release the upgraded CP12 license for resale:

After I submitted my request to resell to Steinberg, it took about two weeks for them to reply, so for anyone looking to resell their upgraded CP12 license it's probably better not to list it before you have completed the process to release the license for resale, to avoid disappointing your customer with a long wait for the transfer.

As part of the process, the company rep had a look at my Steinberg account and identified the dongle that contained my Cubase 11 license. I had to move a couple other licenses off that dongle to prepare for having it deactivated from my account. (Luckily I already had a couple of spare eLicenser dongles).

I don't know what would happen if someone sold their upgraded CP12 license but kept their CP11 dongle and re-registered it in their Steinberg account. I'm not in a position to test that, but I imagine it might trigger an alert in their system.

[yzcoruhT]

Any Cubase user here? Would like to ask you for something "stupid"... more via PM. Thanks

[EnGee]

I'm in the same boat! But I have Groove Agent 5 license in the dongle. Will this be erased from the dongle? or can I use it even after selling the Cubase 12 (upgraded from 11)?

I might have to refund the buyer and keep v12 till they migrate GA5 to the new system

[mothra]

You'll have to wait until Groove Agent is migrated over to the new licensing system it sounds like. There is no way to remove it other than buying another dongle and transferring it there.

@havran - that makes total sense you have to send the dongle with it. The reason you were entitled to the 'upgrade' was based on you owning the license for 11 so that 'upgrade' license is technically invalid without an 11 license. In my situation, I bought 11 last December when they announced you got a free upgrade to 12 when it was released. I wouldn't expect I'd be able to keep and still use my 11 license if I sold 12. The only reason my 12 license exists is because I bought 11 when I did, and I would imagine that would need to follow along wherever my 12 license goes as its proof I was eligible for the license in the first place.

[EnGee]

You'll have to wait until Groove Agent is migrated over to the new licensing system it sounds like. There is no way to remove it other than buying another dongle and transferring it there.

Yes, this is what I thought! Thanks

I've cancelled selling it. I've decided to keep it. It might be the last Cubase version I have if they drop VST2 in the future!