Do you have to use something similar to iLok2 in order to launch a UAD plugin, beside of course having the UAD hardware?
How do you install a UAD plugin, does it rely on some kind of online authorization, iLok2 or does it only check for the UAD hardware installed?

I was in fact wondering if it would be possible to buy the hardware and afterward, download the plugins from "somewhere" and use them in your DAW?

 

There is no ilok for UAD plug-ins, if you buy the hardware you are then required to create an account with Universal Audio & then you will be directed to download the " plug-in authorization" which will able you to test all of their plug ins for 14 days with the exception of a few which come with your purchase. You can start the trial plug ins at any time but once you do- the clock starts ticking LOL Then you have the option to purchase the plug ins.
I hear what you are asking & I can assure you the only " place" you will find UAD plug-ins is from UA-period! If you purchase the hardware (apollo) usually the updates they send out resets the 14 day trial plug ins... ( and if you really like ones you have tested then your only option is to save your $$$$$ & purchase your goodies!)

 

Thanks for your feedback, just what I was afraid of.
So it seems they planned it very well. There might be no iLock stuff but it still might be very hard to hack these.

Anyway, seeing what Team openssh has done with iLock2 and Altiverb, never say never...

 

Still there is a weakness in the armor.
Cards, once authorized, keep plugins unlocked even if you sell your card and take it out of your account.
So your best deal is to buy a core card (without plugins) from someone who has a lot of them.
As long as you don't touch the card (no updates) you can use the plugins forever.

I know for sure as i did that before committing to UAD myself

 

Hi Yabiss,

I read about your scheme in another thread of audiosex (buying some cards abroad and selling them back in your country), that was brillant!

What I don't understand here is, assuming I buy a 2nd hand card without any plugins, how would I benefit from all the plugins? And why would someone be willing to sell his card but keep the plugins?

By the way, these plugins are not some kind of exe file that you launch in order to install on your system, just like a regular VST fx?

 

@ Mr Psanter,

Just check the following 2 'UAD Authorization & Registration' Procedures :

'Simplified UAD Authorization'

'Offline UAD Authorization'

After reading all this... I'm just curious how some buyers (customers) may accept to buy any 'UAD' Product without any provided Plugins !?!


By cons, it's true that depending which 'UAD' Product you buy, you can get 3 'Extra' Plugins for FREE to choose among these from 'third-parties' Developers, not the 'Factory' ones.
But as you can easily guess it yourself, to get the 'FULL Collection' of 'UAD' Plugins, you must buy, say, at least 10 of these 'top-of-the-line' Products !!!

 

Very simple indeed. People usually upgrade to a more powerful card so they sell the old one. When transfering the ownership to your account, a UAD user is asked if the card is to be transfered with or without the plugins. Assuming he answers WITHOUT, then the card is transfered to your account without any plugins BUT they still are activated inside the card.
You simply put the card inside your PC or mac and voilà ! you have access to all his plugins. The limitation being of course that you can never add or update any plugins without losing all the others...so...

EDIT : You can actually update but the card has to be disconnected during all the procedure.

The installation process is very simple. You can even do it without the card inside. And no there is nothing special to do. No activation nothing.

 

Last edited: Nov 8, 2019

You are wrong, mate. *no* UAD card can never be without any plugins. There is a minimum of 5 plugins in each card.
And believe me people have been REALLY happy to buy my cards with all plugins i've bought year after year. And when they feel like they can afford it, they clean the card and buy their own plugins.
What's best for you? Buying a 1900$ "custom" card with only 3 plugins (+5 basic ones)? or buying a basic second-hand with all the plugins the guy has already bought. Simple choice i think !

 

@ Yabiss,

*yes* Here, you're right... these that are included as 'Factory' ones (as I name these in my previous Comment).

BUT...

Well... can you then explain me why I've been forced to obtain, from the previous owner of the 'UAD-2' PCIe Card that I bought recently as 'second hand', the following 'UAD' Authorizations to be able to get these 'third-parties' Plugins that the previous owner had, thus gave me his own Authorizations (or Licenses)...






And for your Info (as you can clearly see it within that 'UAD System Profile'), each 'UAD-2' PCIe Card, be 'Solo' as mine or 'Octo', as well as any other 'UAD' Product (e.g. 'Apollo') has its own 'Hardware ID' and 'Serial Number'... and for which previous depicted 'xxxx_authorization.uad' are used (valid), and not usable for another 'UAD' Product, even a similar Model (in my case, another 'UAD' PCIe Card 'Solo') !!!

And if I well understood you, you provided (sold) several 'UAD' Products to several buyers (customers), thus each with their different own 'Hardware IDs' and 'Serial Numbers', and you provided to these same buyers (customers) the same (identical) 'Authorizations' !?!

 

You do NOT need authorization file from any previous owner and i've NEVER given any to anyone of my customers. By not giving my authorization, i'm not committing any felony. I sell my card as is. It is up to the buyer to choose what he wants to do!

As long as this owner did not intentionally erased the plugins by moving it into a "blank" account then generate a blank authorization file to reset the card... You see, you can have more than one set of cards on your account if you have more than 4 UAD2 cards for instance which is not my case by the way. Or you can have an empty "system" (a sub account) on which you transfer your card before selling it. You generate a new authorization file from this new and empty sub account then you drag it on your control panel for the board and all plugins are deactivated...

Something wrong must have been done by the previous owner for you to need those authorization again...

When i closed my internet access then to click on the "authorize button" on the control panel instead of going to the UAD site for the procedure, it gives you a link.

This link can be launched from any computer to generate an authorization file which is perfectly valid for all cards on your account no matter where they are located. For instance, i have one octo in each of two different machines.

i'm aware of the Hardware ID and Serials... it has never interfered with anything.

You, my friend probably seem to have made the mistake of dragging an authorization file that was not valid anymore (account was already transfered) or obsolete (authorization files are linked to software versions). Dragging more than one can make a mess on your card.

These authorization files are oddly named by the way.

You should edit your screen capture in photoshop and erase your ID and serial...

5PM Edit : Okay, i've just tried to move my octo on a macintosh that has never seen a UAD card before and all my plugins were activated with no fuss whatsoever...so i cannot see what happened on your card.

 

Hi Yabiss, i have a question for you.

for a card that as been removed from an owner account but still working, is it possible to install the software on any computer and have access to all plug in? or the card need to be active in the account to activate it on an other computer?

 

What people don't realise too, is you can add more than one card into your system. If someone no longer needs their 2nd, 3rd or 4th card, they will obviously deauthorise the card from their account and sell without plugins as they will still be using them on their first card. When you registed an UAD2 piece of hardware, I believe you get their legacy plugins bundle as I believe they call them, which consists of 3/4 plugins like the EQ1P and 76 compI think.

 

Hi, I hope someone can help me. I bought an Apollo Twin Duo for Windows, I don't know why but I have more than 40 plugins activated and the people of Universal Audio told me that it is a mistake and that I have to validate my plugins again (of course I didn't do it and I haven't returned to connect my pc to the internet) My problem is that my Windows 7 is damaged and I need to format, so I also have to reinstall consolle. I need to know how to install the new version of consolle and validate my Plugins offline, since it is very likely that if I validate my Plugins online I cannot use them again.

 

As I know if you bought the Uad audio interface second hand with the plugins loaded but they did not transferred to your account then sorry, you are going to lose them after updating the uad software or installing a new version. After you reinstall windows you will need to download and install uad software but the only available on their website is naturally the lastest version, it asks you to update the firmware and then is when the black magic will happen.

 

Last edited: Oct 29, 2019

Your authorizations are dongled to the ID of the card you use, which is in turn hardwired to your user account. When you move the card onto, and install drivers onto a new computer, the driver phones home and asks UA what authorisations your card carries (and thereby your user ID). If you have more than one card (authorised to your account) you can split out those authorizations. So you can sell the card and have it's plugs follow it around. As long as you don't officially trandfer ownership of the hardware, you're giving access to your plugs away. If you or the new oener transfers ownership of the hardware they lose access to your plugs.

So you're not selling free plugs to a new owner. You're allowing unlimited free access to your own plugs for as long as the hardware you've sold remains linked to your UAD account. There's a hard cryptography key inside the UAD hardware that UA can identify from your hardware ID. To generate a bogus authorisation you'll need to break military grade cryptography. This system has been used for almost fifteen years and hasn't ever been broken in any meaningful way.

Sooner or later you're going to have a nasty legal issue with people you've sold hardware to.

 

This is not true at all. I've witnessed people update their UAD from v8 to V9 without loosing anything. You just have to remove or disconnect the card BEFORE making any change. Period.

 

Sorry Fudsey but on this issue you are dead wrong pal.
12 years and counting without a glitch ...So far so good . And BTW, i don't know for the country you live in but here, as there's NO WAY to erase plugins from a card you're selling, you cannot be charged if those cards contain all your plugins.
It's up to UAD to come up with a procedure that implies erasing the card before it can be sold and transferred. Not for the legit user to find a workaround to erase them (which is possible by creating a second system with no plugins attached to it.)
Basic law enforcement...

 

Last edited: Nov 8, 2019

Install Windows 7 or 10, reinstall all UAD and when everything is installed. Plug your card again. You're good to go.
If you want to update UAD software in the future, disconnect your card and make the update. Reboot. Reconnect the card when all is done.

 

Feels like a bot. Yet you have my attention

 

Actually you can still update the plugins to the latest firmware, I have been doing that on 2 quad core satellite's for a couple of years now. You just cannot authorize the hardware to you own account. It works along side registered hardware with no problems. I am running an Apollo 8Xp and Apollo 8 black, 1 Octo satellite, and 2 Quad satellites. The 2 Quads where purchased 2nd hand and the guy I bought them from owned about 70% of UAD's plugins at the time, which works perfectly on my system. I purchased the rest of the plugins on my system. I currently have about 95% of their plugins