The eLicenser was the licence-management technology that protected Steinberg software for many years, in two forms: the USB-eLicenser, a hardware key or dongle, and the Soft-eLicenser, a software container stored on the computer. Steinberg replaced it with Steinberg Licensing, which it introduced in January 2022, and closed the eLicenser service on 20 May 2025.[1] Between 2022 and 2023 the older system was gradually superseded; the Help Center states that the transition was completed in November 2023, since when all current Steinberg products use Steinberg Licensing.[2] For a licence manager the issue is no longer how to buy dongles but how to account for the ones still in the estate.
The two containers
Licences activated by an Activation Code in the eLicenser Control Center were stored either in a Soft-eLicenser or on a USB-eLicenser.[3]
| Property | Soft-eLicenser | USB-eLicenser |
|---|---|---|
| Form | File on the hard disk acting as a virtual licence container | Hardware dongle in a USB port |
| Identifier | Serial number of two groups of ten digits | Serial number of 12 or 13 digits depending on revision |
| Computer binding | Bound to a single computer | Usable on any suitable computer with the software installed and the dongle connected |
| Survives disk failure or OS reinstall | No: licences are irretrievably lost | Yes |
[3] The EULA’s contractual counting differs slightly from the technical description. For software protected by the USB-eLicenser alone, the licence may be installed on one or at most three of the licensee’s computers, but used on only one of them at a time through the dongle. Software protected by the Soft-eLicenser, OEM software and trial software may be installed and used on one computer only.[4] The catalog records the dongle form as the USB-eLicenser licence and the file form as the Soft-eLicenser licence.
What the closure changed
After 20 May 2025 the licence servers are shut down, which has these consequences according to Steinberg.
- Licences cannot be changed. Activating, reactivating or transferring a licence to another eLicenser is no longer possible, and the Maintenance function of the eLicenser Control Center no longer works.[3]
- Soft-eLicenser licences are fragile. They are lost with the platform change or reinstallation of the operating system, for example after a hard drive crash, and recovery is no longer possible. A deactivated Soft-eLicenser, shown by a red serial number, cannot be reactivated.[3]
- Licences cannot be moved. It is no longer possible to move a licence from a Soft-eLicenser to a USB-eLicenser or from one USB-eLicenser to another.[1]
- Lost or defective dongles cannot be replaced. Steinberg Zero Downtime, the service under which a registered user could obtain a short temporary licence (the 25 hour All Application License) and replace a dongle for a handling fee, was discontinued; it is not possible to replace any licences contained on a USB-eLicenser.[5][4]
- Spare dongles are useless. Because licences cannot be transferred to another USB-eLicenser, buying spare dongles for later use does not help.[1]
What continues to work is substantial. eLicenser-based products can still be used without limitation as long as the licences are available on the dongle or Soft-eLicenser, and the last release of each product that supports eLicenser remains valid. Steinberg no longer provides eLicenser-related support, though regular product support continues for the products on its list, and the last eLicenser Control Center remains available for download.[1]
Which products are eLicenser products
The Help Center lists the last releases that are compatible with the eLicenser technology. They include Cubase Pro, Artist, Elements, AI and LE 11, Nuendo 11, Nuendo Live 2, Dorico Pro and Elements 3.5, HALion 6, HALion Sonic 3, SpectraLayers Pro and Elements 8, WaveLab Pro and Elements 11.1 and WaveLab Cast 1.2, among others. A few products also support Steinberg Licensing, including Backbone 1.5, Groove Agent 5.2, Padshop 2, Retrologue 2, The Grand 3.2.10 and WaveLab 11.1, and their licences can be switched.[2] Steinberg describes most product releases since the start of 2022 as Steinberg Licensing products and older ones as eLicenser products. A quick test is to open the eLicenser Control Center: eLicenser-based products stored on dongles or Soft-eLicensers appear there.[1]
The releases table is a useful inventory key. A Cubase 11 licence, for example, is an eLicenser licence that can still be used on its dongle, while a Cubase 12 or later licence is held in a Steinberg ID. Steinberg adds that a Cubase 15 licence can open Cubase 12 to 14, “but no Cubase generation before that” because earlier generations used eLicenser.[6]
Registering eLicensers in MySteinberg
After the closure, eligibility for updates is determined from the licences associated with the eLicensers registered in the MySteinberg account, not from the eLicenser connected to the computer. Registration happens in the Licensed Devices section and the registered eLicenser and all licences on it are then listed there.[7][1] Steinberg calls registration mandatory when updating to the current product version and states that without it, it cannot offer further assistance.[1] For a licence manager, registration also creates the record of which person or entity owns which dongle, and it is the point at which a dongle sale must pass through Steinberg.
Migrating to Steinberg Licensing
eLicenser-based products are incompatible with Steinberg Licensing and cannot be used in it.[1] Migration therefore creates a new licence, by one of three routes.
- Update or upgrade with a Download Access Code. The customer buys the matching update or upgrade in the online shop, receives a Download Access Code, and redeems it in the Steinberg Download Assistant. The assistant checks for a registered eLicenser with an updatable licence and confirms the update, after which the new licence appears in the Activation Manager instead of the eLicenser Control Center.[7]
- Voucher. For products that already support both systems, a voucher named “Upgrade to [product name] with Steinberg Licensing” appears in MySteinberg. Redeeming it creates a Steinberg Licensing licence. The old licence is kept but cannot be upgraded or updated again.[8] The eLicenser to Steinberg Licensing upgrade voucher program records this.
- Support. Cubase AI and Cubase LE users are directed to contact support for a current licence. If a legacy licence has Verification Pending or Expired status because an update was started before the closure, support can activate the new licence permanently.[1][9]
Old activation codes beginning with 0240 can still be entered in the Steinberg Download Assistant if the product also exists with Steinberg Licensing.[1] A still unused code yields a licence for the latest version for free if a Steinberg Licensing version exists; if not, the code cannot be used.[10]
If a registered dongle is lost or broken, the licences can still be upgraded to a Steinberg Licensing version where an update is available, because eligibility is based on the registration. If the licences cannot be upgraded because the product is discontinued, Steinberg support is the contact. The support team may be able to retrieve the dongle number from proof of purchase or earlier activation codes.[5]
Transfer and resale of legacy licences
Selling an eLicenser licence is possible but constrained, and the Resale Wizard separates the cases.
- USB-eLicenser, unregistered. The dongle can be passed on without contacting Steinberg, and the new owner registers it in their own account.[11]
- USB-eLicenser, registered. The seller sends a change-of-ownership request with the account e-mail, name and dongle serial number, and Steinberg confirms when the dongle has been removed from the account.[11]
- Several licences on one dongle. Since licences can no longer be changed, they can only be transferred as a whole with the dongle.[11]
- Soft-eLicenser. Licences cannot be transferred to other users and thus cannot be sold, which in practice means selling the whole computer.[1][11]
- After updating. Once a licence has been updated to a Steinberg Licensing version, the licence for the previous version remains in the eLicenser, but it cannot be resold, transferred or updated or upgraded again.[12]
Older legacy models, such as parallel-port dongles, iLok dongles for early Nuendo, copy-protected CDs and serial numbers, are described by Steinberg as more than two decades old. Software of that age cannot be updated or registered, and Steinberg gives no further detail on reselling it.[11]
Product-specific notes
- WaveLab. WaveLab 11.1, released on 2 June 2022, supported both systems. A WaveLab 11 licence stored in an eLicenser before that date could continue to be used or be switched, but WaveLab 11 was the last version allowing an eLicenser-based licence, and new Download Access Codes for WaveLab 11 redeemed after 1 June 2022 produce Steinberg Licensing licences.[13]
- Effect suites. The Basic FX Suite and Advanced FX Suite supplied with audio interfaces moved to Steinberg Licensing with version 3.0.0 released on 12 November 2024, and the eLicenser-based licence can be replaced with a voucher.[14]
- Third-party products. Other companies that used the eLicenser system were expected to move to their own licensing systems, which Steinberg says to raise with those vendors.[12]
Practical checks
- List every USB-eLicenser and Soft-eLicenser in the estate, with the computers they sit in and the licences on them.
- Check which are registered in MySteinberg and under whose Steinberg ID.
- Decide for each legacy licence whether to migrate, keep running as is, or retire, remembering that a Soft-eLicenser licence is lost with the machine’s disk.
- Do not count a legacy licence and its migrated successor twice; after a voucher the old licence is retained but cannot be upgraded again.
Out of scope
- Support for eLicenser installation problems, which Steinberg no longer provides.
- Pre-2002 licensing schemes beyond the Resale Wizard’s summary.
- Prices for updates, which depend on the product and the shop.