No this is wrong. I took that advice on here, bought an iLok, activated the plugins to the iLok, installed UAConnect on my offline computer, plugged in the iLok and that computer needed to see the Internet to activate UAConnect... It isn't possible without letting UA rifle through your underwear drawer first... on top of the iLok... and the UAConnect Ap... and the Apollo Dongle... I mean... seriously??? Is this software seriously meant to run flawlessly with all of that junk installed? AND the Internet connection at some point... AND the weeks of the whole thing falling to shit and not working

 

So many Is conflicting stories here.. Online Vs Offline.. What Works and What Doesn't.. But no fault of our own.. Blame it on UAD..

 

Yes, and that's a shame!
I wish UA and others would stop this bullshit and just let us store the licences on a standard usb stick, like PA does.
But honestly? If you have no problem spending $200+ on a plugin, you usually have enough money to afford a $50 usb dongle. From a financial point of view.

 

Ok, I will clarify my previous statement:
No, the UA connect app does not need a permanent internet connection. The app needs access to the internet exactly once!

 

Thanks for the clarification. I have my plugins authorized on my ilok cloud and as soon as I close the UA Connect app on my system, if I try to load or use any UADx plugin, it immediately launches the UA Connect app and tries to authenticate.

It's annoying but not enough for me to fork out 50 bucks for an ilok usb dongle. Hopefully in the future theyll sort out a better system. Knowing UAD, I wont hold my breath. It is what it is.

 

Got some clarification. I asked, As we know it the Spark Subscription requires UA Connect to use the UAD Plugs.,

Question to him was, Does the New Bundles require a UA Connect?

He Said, Only For Activation.. I got back to him and said, This will go a long way of actually me moving forward owning UAD Plugs Through there New Bundles using my Apollo Hardware Interface...

 

Yes. UA Connect needed for downloading and activation native versions of plugins. And then every time I add them to track it automatically starts also. So looks like UA acts like dongle.

 

So if you are offline the native plugins won't run?

 

They will, if you activate them and place licenses on physical iLok USB.

 

No, they work but UA Connect starts also and run in background, smth like Codemeter.

 

PA doesn't have a standalone API 2500. They have the Lindell Audio 50 Series Channel which combines the API 550 A/B, 560 EQs, the 2500 VCA and a FET comp which I forgot (which is really great and not available from anywhere else). And it's currently available for 39.99 $ – which is an incredible deal.

 

API 2500

 

I Cancelled UAD Spark Sub and went with Plugin Alliance Sub

 

My experience... I own a bunch of the UAD Sharc plugins, that I get UADx licenses for...

I bought an iLok and activated these licenses on the iLok stick, on my online computer. I downloaded all the plugins and transferred them to my offline computer. Installed UAConnect on the offline computer. The plugins don't work...

iLok isn't the issue, since that aspect is authorised to the iLok dongle...

UAConnect needs to see the Internet at least once to activate them, on top of the iLok protection as Sinus Well said above. There is no way of getting around this that I can see. UA wants your computer to see the Internet before they allow you to use the UAD plugins that you already own as UADx

UAD Sharc plugins that you own can be installed offline without issues. That's been the case for years because they authorise to the hardware

If anybody knows any different please explain the process. I've wasted hours and £50 on an iLok trying to install on an offline computer

 

Oh, I totally missed that one. "Inspired by API 2500…". Haven't tried it. I hope it sounds better than the horrible serif font they chose fro the faceplate. It looks like a "oh, yeah, ah, the Times New Roman type font is just a place holder, I change that at the end" kinda situation…

 

It's ~ the same font API uses fwiw

 

I have a ton of UAD plugins, and almost all the UADx/Native etc now.

I can 100% confirm their use of iLok is completely fucking annoying. It frequently gets in the way of a smooth running session. Even something like, it's 1am, I wana record a riff real quick - start up the DAW aaaaand UA Connect is all NO SON I DON'T THINK SO. Spend the next 5 sleepy minutes goofing around with UA Connect and, yeah that riff is long gone...

I LOVE their plugins (hardware too) but their use of iLok has got to get worked out a little better. UAD used to be the MOST bullet proof audio software out there. Their use of hardware as a dongle was actually really good in this regard. Everything just WORKED. But this is not the case any more. In fact, idk if anyone else has noticed, UADx doesn't even work on Monterey/M1 outside of Rosetta. I've gone through the process of confirming this bug with UAD and am waiting on an update.

 

It's still a bad font. Looks dated af. I like how Waves handled it. Looks way better. Timeless. The level of idioticity of developers to incorporate bad design descisions made on the hardware side (I am not talking about the sound!) into the gui of a plugin just to make it look more "authentic" is mind-boggling.