Membership FAQ

Some of you may be concerned about the servers going down.
To be honest, I think Cakewalk will offer a fix before this happens, so no need for panic.
 
However one can see from the Membership FAQ where you stand as far as the servers going down.
 
https://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Knowledge-Base/2016000074/Membership-FAQ
 
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My membership expired, can I still use my software?

This depends on if you officially "own" it.

• If you paid "upfront" or through the "annual" payment option, then you are given 12 months of updates and automatically own your version of SONAR.
• If you paid "monthly" or through the "rent-to-own" payment option, then you must complete 12 consecutive payments to obtain ownership status.

How do I check if I "own" my version of SONAR?

Simply launch SONAR and then go to the Help > About menu. If you see the words "Status: owned", then you own it! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
As a simple test:
1- Go to device manager and disable your Wi-Fi, broadband, exc connection or simply unplug your internet.
2- Open Sonar and create a test project and save it.
3- If you are able to save your project then you will be able to use Sonar without the servers for as long as you live.
 

 
If this is what you see then you can not make an Offline authorization. However it is nice to have a back up off line authorization.
If you have another PC install sonar and go through the steps
https://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Knowledge-Base/2007013384/Offline-Activation
 
1- After installing SONAR, open the Help menu > Offline Activation > Export Activation Request to open the Save activation request dialog box
2- Select the folder to which you want to save the activation request, then click Save. This generates an activation request file with a .crq extension
3- Copy the .crq file to an online computer (using a USB drive, for example).
4- Open SONAR's Help menu > Offline Activation > Import Activation Response to open the Import activation response dialog box
5- Select the .dat file that you downloaded and click Open. A toast notification will let you know that SONAR is activated and ready to use.
 
This off line authorization will be good for the life of Sonar.

You should be all set.
However I cant help you with payment decisions. I (personally speaking) would not be making anymore payments to Cakewalk.
Noel or Keith will have an answer for use shortly.
it was Thanksgiving here in the US yesterday and typically Friday is also observed. Though I see them working diligently trying to come up with a solution.

rmfegley
There's one thing that perhaps I've misunderstood since I first upgraded to Platinum from X3 on a monthly payment plan. I upgraded and started making monthly payments in 2/2016. I made my 12th consecutive payment in 1/2017, which gave me ownership of Platinum, including all the updates I'd received up until that point. However, I was under the impression that the 12 consecutive monthly payment requirement would start again in order to keep ownership of all the updates that I began getting in 2/2017, and that if I stopped making payments before making 12 more consecutive payments, my ownership would revert to only those updates I'd received as of 1/2017.
 
In retrospect, that idea seems like it would be a prohibitively complicated licensing scheme, which would require me to reinstall the last updated version from my previous 12 month plan. So the case is instead that, regardless of Cakewalk's current status, I own also the nine updates I've paid for and received this year as well? Yes, when I checked the About screen it does say "owned."

And I guess the other issue is authorization should I need to reinstall, which I guess Noel Borthwick has unofficially addressed elsewhere. I'd sure feel a little more at ease about it if I actually had said licensing file delivered to me and stored somewhere.

I agree with you man.
But set up an offline authorization if possible. Its not like your going to get any more rolling updates.
By the way, I agree about the unauthorized post from Noel.
they need to get here soon and announce at least their plan to users. Not "We will be in touch".
 
I cant stand third person "I heard from so and so".
They need to post something today.

SiberianKhatru59
So since my "About" box says "Valid Through ∞" and "Status: Owned", does this mean I don't have to worry about authorization anymore?  Or do I only have to worry about it during machine rebuilds and or new machine installs? 

Obviously, this is confusing for those of us who, you know, only want to make music and actually paid the price of entry (and then some) -- IE, I never bothered looking into it before because I didn't think I had to.

you'll be good until you do a rebuild or try to install it on a second PC.
That's why I suggest making an off line authorization now.
 
Of course I don't think Cakewalk is going to leave us out in the cold.
I just want a back up plan personally. that's why I posted this info hoping to help others.

Thanks Chuck and Karyn for the info.

 
In the event Gibson turns that server off right now, we are all screwed.
Im actually a little shocked that im the only one who is looking at worst case scenario here.
I love Cakewalk but when any company closes down, they don't owe their users anything.
I think its a very kind gesture of Cakewalk to create this "permanent authorization code". They owe it to their users.
 
However, what if its not done by the time the servers go down ?
Hence the reason for this thread. Something I have yet to see a thread titled. IE - A clear explanation of what membership means and what will happen if the servers go down before we are given this "permanent authorization code".
 
Im not waiting around for a fix from a company that is no more. Im creating a fail safe back up plan.
So if I do reinstall Sonar at a later date, I have an off line authorization code.

Slugbaby

guitarwiz1
Mine says: Valid through 6/14/2018 -Status owned.
What concerns me is I still owe two more payments.
Do I need to make those payments or should I cancel my auto pay?
 
I'm still fairly new to Sonar and would like to continue using it. I have looked at some of the other D.A.W's and they seem to be way out of my price range for what I actually need it for. Reaper seems to fit the bill, but I like what I have going now.
 
If I am able to use Sonar after the 6/14/2018 I'll be happy. I'll just miss the bug fixes and feature updates.

I would ASSUME that you'll still need to pay your last two installments.
You had the option to pay at once, or split it over 12 payments.  It's not a subscription, regardless of the terminolgoy.  Cakewalk (as a business) hasn't shut.  It's just the future development/support that's stopped.  So while you won't get any upgrades, you're still probably obligated to pay for what you've got.

AFAIK Cakewalk has frozen all its assets. The Cakewalk store is closed.
I'm guessing as a kind gesture, users that were on a pay to own plan will receiver an unlock code.
As Cakewalk can not fulfill their obligations to customers, customers shouldn't make any more payments.
that's just my 2 cents though. 

chuckebaby

Slugbaby

guitarwiz1
Mine says: Valid through 6/14/2018 -Status owned.
What concerns me is I still owe two more payments.
Do I need to make those payments or should I cancel my auto pay?
 
I'm still fairly new to Sonar and would like to continue using it. I have looked at some of the other D.A.W's and they seem to be way out of my price range for what I actually need it for. Reaper seems to fit the bill, but I like what I have going now.
 
If I am able to use Sonar after the 6/14/2018 I'll be happy. I'll just miss the bug fixes and feature updates.

I would ASSUME that you'll still need to pay your last two installments.
You had the option to pay at once, or split it over 12 payments.  It's not a subscription, regardless of the terminolgoy.  Cakewalk (as a business) hasn't shut.  It's just the future development/support that's stopped.  So while you won't get any upgrades, you're still probably obligated to pay for what you've got.

AFAIK Cakewalk has frozen all its assets. The Cakewalk store is closed.
I'm guessing as a kind gesture, users that were on a pay to own plan will receiver an unlock code.
As Cakewalk can not fulfill their obligations to customers, customers shouldn't make any more payments.
that's just my 2 cents though. 

chuckebaby

Slugbaby

guitarwiz1
Mine says: Valid through 6/14/2018 -Status owned.
What concerns me is I still owe two more payments.
Do I need to make those payments or should I cancel my auto pay?
 
I'm still fairly new to Sonar and would like to continue using it. I have looked at some of the other D.A.W's and they seem to be way out of my price range for what I actually need it for. Reaper seems to fit the bill, but I like what I have going now.
 
If I am able to use Sonar after the 6/14/2018 I'll be happy. I'll just miss the bug fixes and feature updates.

I would ASSUME that you'll still need to pay your last two installments.
You had the option to pay at once, or split it over 12 payments.  It's not a subscription, regardless of the terminolgoy.  Cakewalk (as a business) hasn't shut.  It's just the future development/support that's stopped.  So while you won't get any upgrades, you're still probably obligated to pay for what you've got.

AFAIK Cakewalk has frozen all its assets. The Cakewalk store is closed.
I'm guessing as a kind gesture, users that were on a pay to own plan will receiver an unlock code.
As Cakewalk can not fulfill their obligations to customers, customers shouldn't make any more payments.
that's just my 2 cents though. 

My two remaining payments only equal $10.00 so that's not a big problem.
I just don't want to cancel my payments and be locked out of the software, and at the same time I don't want to make the final two and still get locked out.
 
I sent a support ticket, so I'll wait for an official response before I make a decision. (That is...if there is anyone to read the ticket.)
 

M@

chuckebaby
Im not waiting around for a fix from a company that is no more. Im creating a fail safe back up plan.
So if I do reinstall Sonar at a later date, I have an off line authorization code.

But that offline authorization would only work on the exact PC configuration the authorization-request was started from? Or not? Any user who upgrades their PC e.g. from regular HDD to SSD will likely need re aurhorization.....

I didn't, nor moving from Win7 to Win10 did I need a reauthorization.

 

M@
But that offline authorization would only work on the exact PC configuration the authorization-request was started from? Or not? Any user who upgrades their PC e.g. from regular HDD to SSD will likely need re aurhorization.....

I think this is a valid point as I think the code generated by SONAR at the time of activation is linked to computer hardware.

I too am very interested in whether the offline activation code generated by the above described method will work on a separate computer.
 
I have my main laptop that I use as my Sonar computer that has been activated Online and the Help -> About Sonar.. reports "Valid through infinity. Status: owned.". This would seem to mean that I cannot create an offline install file for this specific computer.
 
If I install Sonar on another computer purely for the purpose of creating the offline registration file, that is not the computer I will wish to use for Sonar in the future, as it's only an old i3 processor laptop, too underpowered for Sonar use. 
 
What I need is a way I can install Sonar on any computer of my choosing in the future and to be able to use the offline activation on that (new) computer, which I do not yet own.
 
So, the test that Andrew has kindly suggested he will try is a very important test.  If you do manage to complete that test, I'd be very interested in the outcome.
 
Thanks,
Steve
 
 
 

You should find that you have all the Command Center downloaded installer files with all the different versions of all the applications in the following folder:
 
C:\Cakewalk\Command Center\Downloads
 
Or somewhere similar if you changed the install paths.
 
Cheers,
Steve

Many thanks to bwbalint and AndrewLMacaulay for carrying out those tests, very much appreciated.
 
Shame the news is not what we hoped.
 
Thanks,
Steve