Offline authorization will be discontinued for R11 and earlier - This is serious

[bernardh]

Just went though the whole process to make sure my ignition key was still working. Got R11 + rack extensions running on fresh install of zero-network windows 10. Ignition key still working after being in a drawer for 5+ years.

Is there a way to download previous versions of Reason? I have a boxed copy of 11, but it’s just a serial number inside, and my account page only has a link for 12 (which I bought digitally).

What I’d really like to do is install 12.5 (the last version with CodeMeter) on my old Intel Mac and then get the 12.5 license on my old Ignition Key.

https://www.reasonstudios.com/download/reason11
https://www.reasonstudios.com/download/reason1253

[fieldframe]

https://www.reasonstudios.com/download/reason11
https://www.reasonstudios.com/download/reason1253

Perfect, thanks!

[Jackjackdaw]

You can’t go into a coffee shop and buy one coffee and then sit there for ten years. They are going to need you to buy another coffee at some point.

Whilst I do appreciate the analogy of a coffee shop, let's bear in mind that software isn't akin to a beverage that gets consumed. It's more like a tool that we purchase to utilise for a specific purpose. Picture buying a spanner that suddenly necessitates an additional fee just to turn it in a certain direction you previously could turn it no problem. That's the sort of inconvenience we're dealing with here. It's not about lingering in the coffee shop for ten years; it's about being able to wield the tool we paid for without having to endure an additional charge to restore fundamental functionality the tool had at purchase time.

But you never bought the spanner, you bought a license to use that spanner, and not even every spanner that RS will ever make but one particular version of that spanner.

[Loque]

Why not just use the mobile phone as wifi hotspot? Mine works in bathroom too

The context of the discussion was the use of a better dongle, rather a better replacement of it. Something physical you already have with you. My phone is good enough for banking, Google, Microsoft and Steam authentification. So some app you connect via Bluetooth or WiFi, but as a validation for a few seconds for that handshake.
It wasn't something they wanted to do, unfortunately.
If they do I hope RS will call it 'Figure Connect'

I don't see a need for such a app. It would only make sense if you don't have a internet connection with your mobile phone, but why would you carry a mobile phone with you in such a area and that for more than 1 year? And mobile banking wouldn't work either there...

[joeyluck]

Why not just use the mobile phone as wifi hotspot? Mine works in bathroom too

The context of the discussion was the use of a better dongle, rather a better replacement of it. Something physical you already have with you. My phone is good enough for banking, Google, Microsoft and Steam authentification. So some app you connect via Bluetooth or WiFi, but as a validation for a few seconds for that handshake.
It wasn't something they wanted to do, unfortunately.
If they do I hope RS will call it 'Figure Connect'

Well the great thing about this new authorization method is that Reason Studios manages it. So you never know. Not sure this would be the method I would want, but point being is they should have the flexibility to make changes down the road.

[bernardh]

Whilst I do appreciate the analogy of a coffee shop, let's bear in mind that software isn't akin to a beverage that gets consumed. It's more like a tool that we purchase to utilise for a specific purpose. Picture buying a spanner that suddenly necessitates an additional fee just to turn it in a certain direction you previously could turn it no problem. That's the sort of inconvenience we're dealing with here. It's not about lingering in the coffee shop for ten years; it's about being able to wield the tool we paid for without having to endure an additional charge to restore fundamental functionality the tool had at purchase time.

But you never bought the spanner, you bought a license to use that spanner, and not even every spanner that RS will ever make but one particular version of that spanner.

Fine: picture licensing a spanner that suddenly necessitates an additional fee just to turn it in a certain direction you previously could turn it no problem when it was first licensed.

Can you name any other high-profile piece of software where a version that's not really much older than 24 months is downgraded to this extent and made useless to many who bought it, under terms which have now changed substantially for them and where at the time of buying the license there was no indication such a change would occur?

[QVprod]

Not sure about the expecting upgrades and entitled dig though, I don't read my post that way and at no point stated these should be free or spend the time doing this.

Sorry general statement. Not aimed at you specifically.

[Billy+]

Thanks for the response Joey

Your original title said "Offline authorization will be discontinued - This is serious". They introduced a new offline authorization for R12.
The title was adjusted to have context to better inform forum members and not be misleading (and to simply match the title of the article you are quoting). The "This is serious" wasn't removed. Nobody was trying to twist your words, but add context. Then I guess you had a big response to that and then there was an exchange. Let's all please be nice to one another.

I am happy to accept your response which as always seems to be the most reasonable, however

Your original title said "Offline authorization will be discontinued - This is serious". They introduced a new offline authorization for R12.
The title was adjusted to have context to better inform forum members and not be misleading (and to simply match the title of the article you are quoting).

my points are very simple and maybe need reiterating as someone who owns a perpetual R11 suite license after 20+ years of upgrades and separate RE purchases

if after the cut off date I purchase an RE there is no option other than online authorization upon every startup of Reason (11) which is a concern, especially given that support is also going to be dropped as the solution is to

upgrade to R12 or suck it.

Secondly

I do accept 12 months is a reasonable length of time especially as this includes 3 devices now as apposed to 1

but my ignition key and / or machine authorization didn't have this new limitation for a perpetual license

I could / can use my ignition key in any device and it's not time limited nor device limited.
I could use my machine authorization on a single device and it too would not be time limited.

I'm cutting my post short as I would prefer to keep it short and to the point.

[moneykube]

I have the current reason 12.6 on my main computer authorized >I guess now for a year and then reauthorized in a year if reason remains solvent and there are no unexpected internet problems... sigh... ok I guess. BUT, I have reason 10, on a 2012 MacBook Pro, for field recordings, on an older laptop that functions fine with the current configuration including all the racks I need , authorized on a dongle. If sync all is gone and a developer updates a rack, does this also mean no more updates or bug fixes for racks that work on both systems> that I purchased for both systems? Occasionally Reason 10 also asks to re-sync licences (rewrite licences )although nothing has changed ,and nothing was purchased. Does this mean the connection to the server that re-syncs the licences will no longer function???

I purchased or received over 16 pages of racks that I use on both machines. I need no more devices and would like the software I purchased as a perpetual user to continue to work the way it works now until my field music studio computer dies. I don't need to buy anymore racks for it at all, but would like the updates from the many developers that update their racks often to work under the agreement> I bought the software. If I need a new rack I can use it on my main computer. No big deal there.

Do I have to authorize any updates at home... put the computer to sleep and travel to the gig now? This makes little sense to me.

I remember "backward compatible" was a thing that the Propellor Heads >or now Reason Studios prided themselves upon and used that as a selling feature for countless years. How hard is it really, for them to have a page on their server to sync what you purchased on an ignition stick to use in off line mode as the product was advertised to do... and does do now. Seriously
How hard is that really to do... it is a damn web page that doesn't change, unless they remove it.

Right now I buy racks or get updates on my main computer... then... I use sync all with my ignition stick on my old laptop running Reason 10 with ABSOLUTELY no problems....

Where sync all started screwing up was when reason 11 and 12 were released( both perpetual purchased> THIS sync all and sync problem was not progress, it was a hindrance that was introduced by the company when they updated the software, but refused to deal with the sync all issue that existed in reason 11 and 12> until 2 years into reason 12, with 12.6 and a NEW authorization system... um wow.)... the newer programs had problems syncing racks BIG TIME, but the old reason 10 IS flawless and fast, with code meter and the Dongle they sold me to work off line.

This seems like 2 steps backward and kind of insulting, as I have invested heavily in this company since Rebirth. It is concerning to me at any rate. I don't change anything on my old laptop but the updates and racks I purchase. No OS updates... No other updates... Only Reason. I time machine backup every time as well. If my computer isn't fried... Reason 10 should work offline with the dongle with no need to connect to the net unless a rack I purchased is updated or reason decides for some unknown reason it needs to arbitrarily update licences that were already licensed.

EVERY perpetual licence I have purchased from countless companies >continue to work as they did when I purchased them for the machines I purchased them for... including protools that I have on Five 15 to 20 year old ancient apple computers, and ALL the software programs and plugins I bought at that time> except of course accessing the web was taken away due to "progress"

i Do NOT need the web for the programs to work either.

I created a feature film with 5 of these slow computers, working around the clock for MANY years. They still work as well. The G5 overheated and died a terrible death ... but 2 G3's, a G4 and ( believe it or not) a 6400, still work as they did with the software I purchased for them.

I hope someone from reason studios addresses this because I all see here is "Danger ,Will Robinson, Danger !"

... or perhaps I am reading more into this then I should.

Paragraphs for the diction police added afterward LOL

Screen Shot 2023-06-03 at 10.15.21 PM.png (155.12 KiB) Viewed 65323 times

[rcbuse]

Occasionally Reason 10 also asks to re-sync licences (rewrite licences )although nothing has changed ,and nothing was purchased. Does this mean the connection to the server that re-syncs the licences will no longer function???

I don't have any proof, just anecdotal observation, but I really think that authorizer just reaching out to the server triggers this. When my machine is behind a firewall that blocks propellerheads and reasonstudios, I won't see that message for months. As soon as that machine pops it head out from behind the firewall and sees their servers, "You need to resync or run without REs!"..

[Jackjackdaw]

The spanner still turns in all directions but officer Codemeter who used to check your spanner license is now retiring . He will rubber stamp all spanner licences held in toolboxes he has previously checked but will not check any new toolboxes. If you want a new toolbox for your old spanner then you have to show it to officer Phonehome instead. Officer Phonehome is younger and does a few things differently but is a better fit for the Spanner company going forward.

[challism]

Agreed. I'm just replying to the doomsday prophets here. I'm not worried because it is not something to worry about. It will roll the way it will roll

I'll come back in the years to come and find this thread

[MadGadget]

Obviously, the sync all feature will also be lost, which I presume means yes, if a developer were to update an RE, you will not be able get it after the cutoff. And yes, if you did sometimes find that Reason would suddenly ask to re-sync (because of whatever license issue it had on your machine), then that will be gone too.

Interestingly, I still have the old Propellerheads ignition stick, but it now only works correctly in the machine that is connected to the internet for Reason and the RE's. If I disconnect that machine, the key still works fine for Reason and the RE's.

However, If I then move the key to one of my other machines that is not connected (exactly the same build), the key works for Reason, but not the RE's, it pops up a message that 'some RE's' need updating or 'start Reason without the RE's', whereupon I can start Reason, but no RE's.

I was hoping that the key would mean that I could use it as a fall back if the 'installed machine license' were to suddenly kick up the 'some RE's need the licensing updated' message that has happened in the past (mainly due to trials ending etc).

So, it doesn't look like the ignition stick is the answer to lock things in before the cutoff.

[DaveyG]

Occasionally Reason 10 also asks to re-sync licences (rewrite licences )although nothing has changed ,and nothing was purchased. Does this mean the connection to the server that re-syncs the licences will no longer function???

I don't have any proof, just anecdotal observation, but I really think that authorizer just reaching out to the server triggers this. When my machine is behind a firewall that blocks propellerheads and reasonstudios, I won't see that message for months. As soon as that machine pops it head out from behind the firewall and sees their servers, "You need to resync or run without REs!"..

This is a really valid point. My R11 is authorised offline and occasionally makes me update/rewrite licences even though nothing has changed. No update, no trials or anything. At present it's a mild irritation but is that going to stop working? That would be bad with a capital B.

[gbuck]

Don't worry folks, RS has sold everything to Gibson. We'll be fine.

[crimsonwarlock]

Obviously, the sync all feature will also be lost...

I don't see what the sync-all feature has to do with the licensing architecture. I've been running R11 suite for years with online authorization, and it doesn't make any difference for sync-all. Also, the sync-all feature doesn't auto-update new RE versions, it just syncs the current state of your REs to your machine. You must update the RE individually in your account.

[MrFigg]

Obviously, the sync all feature will also be lost...

I don't see what the sync-all feature has to do with the licensing architecture. I've been running R11 suite for years with online authorization, and it doesn't make any difference for sync-all. Also, the sync-all feature doesn't auto-update new RE versions, it just syncs the current state of your REs to your machine. You must update the RE individually in your account.

I hope they have. Sync all sucks.

[bernardh]

The spanner still turns in all directions but officer Codemeter who used to check your spanner license is now retiring .

Officer Codemeter may have been an imperfect individual, but he possessed an admirable level of trust. If you assured him of your innocence, he would wholeheartedly believe you. For life. On the other hand, Officer Phonehome will only trust you while you are conversing with him on a particular occasion or, in exceptional circumstances, he will extend his trust without further conversation for a maximum of 12 months. Once those 12 months elapse however, you are automatically jailed and treated as a criminal until you prove otherwise by engaging in a new conversation with Officer Phonehome to reiterate your innocence.

When presented in this manner, Officer Phonehome doesn't come across as a particularly pleasant individual.

Considering that it is our money which ultimately contributes to the salaries of Officer Codemeter and Officer Phonehome, it would have been appreciated if we had been consulted regarding the selection for the job. At the very least, management should have ensured that Officer Phonehome emulated the trusting conduct of Officer Codemeter (who was clearly sacked) before they promoted him to the job.

[Jackjackdaw]

Well I agree , officer Phonehome is a nasty pig. But it’s business isn’t it, which leads back to the coffee shop analogy.

[DaveyG]

Right now I'm thinking about someone in the future asking AI a question and getting a completely bewildering analogy about Officer Codemeter and Officer Phonehome because the AI trawled through this site. Maybe it will even invent some more officers. Garbage in, garbage out.

[Jackjackdaw]

A T1000 about to terminate an insubordinate meatbag gets its circuits fried and shuts down when its victim begs for one last phone call to his wife.

[moneykube]

Occasionally Reason 10 also asks to re-sync licences (rewrite licences )although nothing has changed ,and nothing was purchased. Does this mean the connection to the server that re-syncs the licences will no longer function???

I don't have any proof, just anecdotal observation, but I really think that authorizer just reaching out to the server triggers this. When my machine is behind a firewall that blocks propellerheads and reasonstudios, I won't see that message for months. As soon as that machine pops it head out from behind the firewall and sees their servers, "You need to resync or run without REs!"..

ok... so if the old computer key is synced and I totally disconnect from the net on that machine, theoretically, it should not come up with the message I need to re-sync any licences. The only reason I have it connected at home is to re-sync licences after an update to a rack or when I buy a new one. I can live with that (I guess) although, it kind of sucks that rack updates will stop on that machine. If reason does ask to re-sync licences, that would be a BAD thing, as there will be no way to do so. I will disconnect the machine from the internet totally, as the only site I visit with that machine is my products page.at reason studios. Hopefully everything will remain as it is now if it is unhooked from the net. Oddly your observation gives me some hope. I have yet to "try" any rack. I only re-sync the updates and the last racks I have purchased. Here is hoping the machine does not need to call home, if disconnected from the net. It has everything I need on it now... and more.

[moneykube]

Obviously, the sync all feature will also be lost...

I don't see what the sync-all feature has to do with the licensing architecture. I've been running R11 suite for years with online authorization, and it doesn't make any difference for sync-all. Also, the sync-all feature doesn't auto-update new RE versions, it just syncs the current state of your REs to your machine. You must update the RE individually in your account.

um... maybe in reason 11 For me , sync all does do this flawlessly with Reason 10, after I update and sync my main computer... it does auto update the ones updated and any new purchases made on my main computer every time. I update each Re individually on my main computer. Then fire up the laptop and sync all downloads a pile of updates and new racks all at once as it did once and imo , should continue to do.This has been the way for me, since my main computer was updated to 11 suite and then 12.

[crimsonwarlock]

it does auto update the ones updated

Mattias stated specifically that that is not the case because it was requested so many times to NOT do that. You have to update the RE in your account manually first.

They changed it somewhere in the last few years, so maybe you remember from before that.

[moneykube]

it does auto update the ones updated

Mattias stated specifically that that is not the case because it was requested so many times to NOT do that. You have to update the RE in your account manually first.

did it last night... no issues... It did it with 10 racks !