Goodbye to the eLicenser dongle (coming soon to a theatre near you)
Moderator: James Steele
Forum rules
The forum for petitions, theoretical discussion, gripes, or other matters outside deemed outside the scope of helping users make optimal use of MOTU hardware and software. Posts in other forums may be moved here at the moderators discretion. No politics or religion!!
The forum for petitions, theoretical discussion, gripes, or other matters outside deemed outside the scope of helping users make optimal use of MOTU hardware and software. Posts in other forums may be moved here at the moderators discretion. No politics or religion!!
- mhschmieder
- Posts: 11289
- Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Annandale VA
Goodbye to the eLicenser dongle (coming soon to a theatre near you)
Apparently Steinberg is dropping the eLicenser dongle in favour of some other authorization scheme.
This has also resulted in Vienna Symphonic Library switching to the iLok, but they'll be supporting iLok Cloud as well as the iLok dongle.
A lot of people will be affected by this. The iLok holds more licenses, is faster and more reliable, less likely to break, and has better license protection.
Not only that, but once this switch is fully consolidated, we can free up a valuable USB slot for stuff that is connected to a USB hub (dongles don't like hubs).
This has also resulted in Vienna Symphonic Library switching to the iLok, but they'll be supporting iLok Cloud as well as the iLok dongle.
A lot of people will be affected by this. The iLok holds more licenses, is faster and more reliable, less likely to break, and has better license protection.
Not only that, but once this switch is fully consolidated, we can free up a valuable USB slot for stuff that is connected to a USB hub (dongles don't like hubs).
iMac 27" 2017 Quad-Core Intel i5 (3.8 GHz, 64 GB), OSX 13.6.6, MOTU DP 11.31, iZotope RX 10
RME Babyface Pro FS, Radial JDV Mk5, Hammond XK-4, Moog Voyager
Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35
Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, Johhny Marr Jaguar, 57 LP, Danelectro 12
Eastman T486RB, T64/V, Ibanez PM2, D'angelico Deluxe SS Bari, EXL1
Guild Bari, 1512 12-string, M20, Martin OM28VTS, Larivee 0040MH
RME Babyface Pro FS, Radial JDV Mk5, Hammond XK-4, Moog Voyager
Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35
Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, Johhny Marr Jaguar, 57 LP, Danelectro 12
Eastman T486RB, T64/V, Ibanez PM2, D'angelico Deluxe SS Bari, EXL1
Guild Bari, 1512 12-string, M20, Martin OM28VTS, Larivee 0040MH
- HCMarkus
- Posts: 9762
- Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2006 9:01 am
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Rancho Bohemia, California
- Contact:
Re: Goodbye to the eLicenser dongle (coming soon to a theatre near you)
Just gotta' say, my dongles seem very happy attached to a gigantic 12 port hub... the hub (which stays powered on at all times) is problematic for other gear (it would crash my Cyberpower UPS), but the dongles are content.
Anybody need one of those Vienna dongles? I bought Ensemble Pro and the required dongle but never ended up using it, as DP's ability to host VIs improved substantially once pre-rendering was implemented.
Anybody need one of those Vienna dongles? I bought Ensemble Pro and the required dongle but never ended up using it, as DP's ability to host VIs improved substantially once pre-rendering was implemented.
HC Markus
M1 Mac Studio Ultra • 64GB RAM • 828es • macOS 13.6.4 • DP 11.31
M1 Mac Studio Ultra • 64GB RAM • 828es • macOS 13.6.4 • DP 11.31
- mhschmieder
- Posts: 11289
- Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Annandale VA
Re: Goodbye to the eLicenser dongle (coming soon to a theatre near you)
Someone said elsewhere that Steinberg is also moving to iLok; there was speculation earlier that they were switching to a different type of authentication. That statement has now been challenged, but it may be an issue of semantics, if Steinberg is allowing iLok Cloud so that a dongle isn't an absolute requirement (the original statement was that Steinberg is dropping dongles).
I ordered an iLok V3 from Sweetwater tonight, as my iLok V2 is full now, and I have a gazillion VSL licenses.
As with HC above, I can part with extra eLicensers and iLoks (V1 and V2) for anyone who needs them as a stop-gap. As I'm not charging anything for them, I hope it is not against forum policy to make this freebie offer for forum members.
Some people held off on VSL due to the eLicenser, but they promise that license transfer will be free and easy once the iLok system is set up for their libraries. So some people are looking for free dongles for now, so they can grab a few VSL libs knowing that they will soon be able to consolidate them to their existing iLok dongles.
So many vendors have left eLicenser over the years, that Steinberg and VSL were about the only ones left that still used it. This added to the reluctance of some people to consider products from vendors who use a dongle that takes up a precious USB slot but may not carry many licenses.
I ordered an iLok V3 from Sweetwater tonight, as my iLok V2 is full now, and I have a gazillion VSL licenses.
As with HC above, I can part with extra eLicensers and iLoks (V1 and V2) for anyone who needs them as a stop-gap. As I'm not charging anything for them, I hope it is not against forum policy to make this freebie offer for forum members.
Some people held off on VSL due to the eLicenser, but they promise that license transfer will be free and easy once the iLok system is set up for their libraries. So some people are looking for free dongles for now, so they can grab a few VSL libs knowing that they will soon be able to consolidate them to their existing iLok dongles.
So many vendors have left eLicenser over the years, that Steinberg and VSL were about the only ones left that still used it. This added to the reluctance of some people to consider products from vendors who use a dongle that takes up a precious USB slot but may not carry many licenses.
Last edited by mhschmieder on Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
iMac 27" 2017 Quad-Core Intel i5 (3.8 GHz, 64 GB), OSX 13.6.6, MOTU DP 11.31, iZotope RX 10
RME Babyface Pro FS, Radial JDV Mk5, Hammond XK-4, Moog Voyager
Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35
Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, Johhny Marr Jaguar, 57 LP, Danelectro 12
Eastman T486RB, T64/V, Ibanez PM2, D'angelico Deluxe SS Bari, EXL1
Guild Bari, 1512 12-string, M20, Martin OM28VTS, Larivee 0040MH
RME Babyface Pro FS, Radial JDV Mk5, Hammond XK-4, Moog Voyager
Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35
Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, Johhny Marr Jaguar, 57 LP, Danelectro 12
Eastman T486RB, T64/V, Ibanez PM2, D'angelico Deluxe SS Bari, EXL1
Guild Bari, 1512 12-string, M20, Martin OM28VTS, Larivee 0040MH
Re: Goodbye to the eLicenser dongle (coming soon to a theatre near you)
Hi.mhschmieder wrote: ↑Fri Mar 05, 2021 8:56 pm Apparently Steinberg is dropping the eLicenser dongle in favour of some other authorization scheme.
This has also resulted in Vienna Symphonic Library switching to the iLok, but they'll be supporting iLok Cloud as well as the iLok dongle.
A lot of people will be affected by this. The iLok holds more licenses, is faster and more reliable, less likely to break, and has better license protection.
Not only that, but once this switch is fully consolidated, we can free up a valuable USB slot for stuff that is connected to a USB hub (dongles don't like hubs).
Where did you see that they are moving to ilok? I think that would be great, as I have no issue with ilok. But the very last line of their announcement says flatly
I know there is the ilok cloud, but the definitive nature of the statement will set them up for a raft of complaints from people about “bait and switch”. Seems like they would have softened the “will be” to “can be” or some such.It’s too early to announce details on the schedule or the new environment, but one thing is for sure: The future will be dongle-free.
10 core iMacPro | 64 GB RAM | OS 12.6.7 | LOGIC PRO | STUDIO ONE 6 | CUBASE 12 | BITWIG 5 | DP 11 | MOTU Interfaces | Waaay Too Many Plug-ins |
http://www.gesslr.com
- mikehalloran
- Posts: 15242
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sillie Con Valley
Re: Goodbye to the eLicenser dongle (coming soon to a theatre near you)
They’ve been promising to replace eLicenser for three years, now. It will happen when it does, I suppose.
What’s next — deliver a working Download Assistant? They don’t bother responding to my support requests anymore, instead emailing me direct download links,
What’s next — deliver a working Download Assistant? They don’t bother responding to my support requests anymore, instead emailing me direct download links,
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4.1, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4.1, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
Re: Goodbye to the eLicenser dongle (coming soon to a theatre near you)
Same here. I've always had all the dongles on a cheap 7 port powered USB2 hub, and for a couple of years, that hub has been connected to the Mac via another 10 port powered USB 3 hub.
2018 Mini i7 32G 10.14.6, DP 11.3, Mixbus 9, Logic 10.5, Scarlett 18i8
- mhschmieder
- Posts: 11289
- Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Annandale VA
Re: Goodbye to the eLicenser dongle (coming soon to a theatre near you)
I have edited my response to be less definitive and to offer an explanation for what might have been a matter of semantics.
I'm not sure if it's cool to link to other forums here, but the statement was made on a composer's forum and in turn that statement was sourced from a forum I've never heard of called The Front Page The Sound Board. And there, I read the source statement that wasn't even directly from Steinberg and which has semantic ambiguity.
So let's say we don't yet know for certain what Steinberg is replacing eLicenser with, but VSL is definitely moving to iLok and will support iLok Cloud.
There are pluses and minuses to moving any of our existing dongle-based iLok licenses to iLok Cloud from our dongles; some of mine automatically install in both forms so maybe that's the norm? I don't know; it changes now and then and some vendors don't allow conversion of license types.
I'm not sure if it's cool to link to other forums here, but the statement was made on a composer's forum and in turn that statement was sourced from a forum I've never heard of called The Front Page The Sound Board. And there, I read the source statement that wasn't even directly from Steinberg and which has semantic ambiguity.
So let's say we don't yet know for certain what Steinberg is replacing eLicenser with, but VSL is definitely moving to iLok and will support iLok Cloud.
There are pluses and minuses to moving any of our existing dongle-based iLok licenses to iLok Cloud from our dongles; some of mine automatically install in both forms so maybe that's the norm? I don't know; it changes now and then and some vendors don't allow conversion of license types.
iMac 27" 2017 Quad-Core Intel i5 (3.8 GHz, 64 GB), OSX 13.6.6, MOTU DP 11.31, iZotope RX 10
RME Babyface Pro FS, Radial JDV Mk5, Hammond XK-4, Moog Voyager
Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35
Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, Johhny Marr Jaguar, 57 LP, Danelectro 12
Eastman T486RB, T64/V, Ibanez PM2, D'angelico Deluxe SS Bari, EXL1
Guild Bari, 1512 12-string, M20, Martin OM28VTS, Larivee 0040MH
RME Babyface Pro FS, Radial JDV Mk5, Hammond XK-4, Moog Voyager
Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35
Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, Johhny Marr Jaguar, 57 LP, Danelectro 12
Eastman T486RB, T64/V, Ibanez PM2, D'angelico Deluxe SS Bari, EXL1
Guild Bari, 1512 12-string, M20, Martin OM28VTS, Larivee 0040MH
- mikehalloran
- Posts: 15242
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sillie Con Valley
Re: Goodbye to the eLicenser dongle (coming soon to a theatre near you)
This is the official announcement — or non-announcement depending on how you look at it.
https://forums.steinberg.net/t/license- ... ead/701407
Dear customers,
For many of you this is the announcement you have been waiting for a long time. While we put our heart and soul into developing ground-breaking products in your best interests, we haven’t accomplished our promise to provide you with the user experience you deserve in every part of Steinberg’s technologies in recent time.
We have been listening to your feedback for years, but significant changes need time, and we had to carefully lay out our vision for the future. But now the time has come to put our approach to license management at the center of our attention.
We have decided to adopt a new license management technology that everyone will benefit from to prepare for coming requirements.
An authorization system shouldn’t get in your way, but support you in the onboarding process.
Anti-piracy protection technology shouldn’t restrict you as the customer, but secure your investment.
A license management shouldn’t stop you from using your products, but enable you to be creative, whenever and wherever you are.
At this point in time, all we can tell you is that everyone at Steinberg is strongly committed to providing you as soon as possible with a solution that offers more flexibility, more reliability and, of course, a seamless migration.
It’s too early to announce details on the schedule or the new environment, but one thing is for sure: The future will be dongle-free.
The Steinberg Team
So, dongle-free? Ok.
Haven't accomplished our promise…
Yea, no kidding…
https://forums.steinberg.net/t/license- ... ead/701407
Dear customers,
For many of you this is the announcement you have been waiting for a long time. While we put our heart and soul into developing ground-breaking products in your best interests, we haven’t accomplished our promise to provide you with the user experience you deserve in every part of Steinberg’s technologies in recent time.
We have been listening to your feedback for years, but significant changes need time, and we had to carefully lay out our vision for the future. But now the time has come to put our approach to license management at the center of our attention.
We have decided to adopt a new license management technology that everyone will benefit from to prepare for coming requirements.
An authorization system shouldn’t get in your way, but support you in the onboarding process.
Anti-piracy protection technology shouldn’t restrict you as the customer, but secure your investment.
A license management shouldn’t stop you from using your products, but enable you to be creative, whenever and wherever you are.
At this point in time, all we can tell you is that everyone at Steinberg is strongly committed to providing you as soon as possible with a solution that offers more flexibility, more reliability and, of course, a seamless migration.
It’s too early to announce details on the schedule or the new environment, but one thing is for sure: The future will be dongle-free.
The Steinberg Team
So, dongle-free? Ok.
Haven't accomplished our promise…
Yea, no kidding…
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4.1, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4.1, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro