Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

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panjan
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Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by panjan » Sat Aug 20, 2022 7:09 am

Hi All

** UPDATE ** THIS IS NO LONGER AN ISSUE AFTER GETTING THE LATEST MACBOOK PRO 2023 (M2 PRO) **

After any macOS system update on my MacBook Pro (2013), of which there are usually a few each year, I have to re-authenticate my Ableton Live 11 Suite.
This means having to request new unlocks and waiting up to 4 days to get them - thus halting all work!!!

Does anyone else have this ridiculous problem?
Last edited by panjan on Wed Jul 12, 2023 8:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

[jur]
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Re: Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by [jur] » Sat Aug 20, 2022 1:16 pm

This is definitely not expected.
You should contact https://www.ableton.com/en/help/
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panjan
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Re: Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by panjan » Sat Aug 20, 2022 5:27 pm

Thank you 👍

jsillari
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Re: Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by jsillari » Sun Sep 18, 2022 6:09 pm

This has happened to my installation several times already without having updated MacOS or anything else on the system (MacBook Pro M1 Max, Monterey, 12.6). Each time it happens, I have to open a support ticket and wait several days before Ableton either enables more authorizations or unlocks further authorization requests. Of course, Ableton Live is useless during the waiting period since it won't save anything. I've recommended to Ableton to revise their authorization method (e.g., iLok) to allow users to continue using software for which they paid good money despite encountering authorization issues. However, the advice has fallen on deaf ears (or a truly apathetic contempt for their paying customers).

Terrorbeat
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Re: Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by Terrorbeat » Mon Sep 19, 2022 3:24 pm

Weird, I've gone through every update for Monterey, updated my machine to the Ventura Beta for about a week and went back to Monterey, have not had to authorize Live since I bought it and initially installed it last year.. Even moving from Monterey to Ventura and back to a Time Machine restored backup, still authorized here.

jsillari
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Re: Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by jsillari » Tue Sep 20, 2022 9:44 am

You cannot believe the hell I'm going through to get Ableton Support to unlock further authorizations on the same computer. Ableton refuses to acknowledge that there's a bug with the authorization process. Support claims that any changes to the MacBook or its OS may trigger an authorization reset and a need to re-authorize. If that is true, it would explain why I've had to submit five re-authorization requests over the last six months -- that is according to records provide to me by Ableton Support. Apple Computer routinely sends out updates to the MacOS which are automatically installed on the computer. Ableton Support also suggest that someone may have stolen my credentials. If that's true, there's really no way I, or any other user, can substantiate that claim since the authorization history in the user account file shows a different HW code for each authorization, even if the user knows for certain that the same computer had been used to make the authorization request. It's obvious from the authorization history that there's a bug in the process, perhaps associated with users on Mac M1 (AMD) platforms.

[jur]
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Re: Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by [jur] » Tue Sep 20, 2022 10:39 am

You can disable macOS auto-update
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scheffkoch
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Re: Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by scheffkoch » Tue Sep 20, 2022 12:16 pm

"there's a bug in the process, perhaps associated with users on Mac M1 (AMD) platforms"

...zero problems here with an m1 pro...which is obviously not AMD...
macbook pro m1pro, macos monterey, rme multiface via sonnet echo express se I, push 2, faderfox mx12, xone:k2

fishmonkey
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Re: Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by fishmonkey » Wed Sep 21, 2022 2:12 am

jsillari wrote:
Tue Sep 20, 2022 9:44 am
You cannot believe the hell I'm going through to get Ableton Support to unlock further authorizations on the same computer. Ableton refuses to acknowledge that there's a bug with the authorization process. Support claims that any changes to the MacBook or its OS may trigger an authorization reset and a need to re-authorize. If that is true, it would explain why I've had to submit five re-authorization requests over the last six months -- that is according to records provide to me by Ableton Support. Apple Computer routinely sends out updates to the MacOS which are automatically installed on the computer. Ableton Support also suggest that someone may have stolen my credentials. If that's true, there's really no way I, or any other user, can substantiate that claim since the authorization history in the user account file shows a different HW code for each authorization, even if the user knows for certain that the same computer had been used to make the authorization request. It's obvious from the authorization history that there's a bug in the process, perhaps associated with users on Mac M1 (AMD) platforms.
if this was a bug then there would likely be many users experiencing it (and yelling about it on the forum).

if you really think that your computer is somehow unexpectedly generating new hardware codes, you can try following the offline authorisation process the next time you are forced to authorise. that way you can see whether the hardware code has really changed or not:

https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/artic ... ware-code-

my guess though is that Ableton has evidence that your authorisation is somehow compromised...

josh2020
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Re: Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by josh2020 » Tue Jul 11, 2023 8:28 pm

By any chance have you created an Option.txt file in your Ableton preferences? I was having the same problem about needing to reauthorize after an OS update, but when I removed this, I no longer needed to reauthorize. Ableton opened up as normal after I trashed the Option.txt file and emptied my trash.

panjan
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Re: Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by panjan » Wed Jul 12, 2023 8:32 am

Hi All

I don't have this problem anymore since upgrading my laptop to a new MacBook Pro. The problem used to occur on my old MacBook Pro 2013.

rsearles35
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Re: Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by rsearles35 » Wed Oct 04, 2023 4:02 pm

I have an open ticket with Ableton with this exact problem. Every single Mac OS update (including minor version changes) prompts me to reauthorize Ableton Live the next time I launch it. Every time I update my OS, I have to request another authorization from them. This also prevents me from installing Live on more than one computer (I have a desktop and a laptop). This is making me want to switch to Logic Pro...

TwistedGenetics
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Re: Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by TwistedGenetics » Tue Nov 21, 2023 9:34 pm

Same for me twice in a week :roll:

I have invested so much money with Ableton, pre paid for the update to 12, brought a push 3 etc etc. Now im stuck with a very expensive brick that usually takes Ableton over a week to sort out.

[jur]
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Re: Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by [jur] » Tue Nov 21, 2023 9:41 pm

TwistedGenetics wrote:
Tue Nov 21, 2023 9:34 pm
Same for me twice in a week :roll:

I have invested so much money with Ableton, pre paid for the update to 12, brought a push 3 etc etc. Now im stuck with a very expensive brick that usually takes Ableton over a week to sort out.
I'll have to check the various release notes, but I'm pretty sure a fix has been introduced recently (probably in L12b).


[edit]
Good news, the fix is in L11.3.20b5, see here.
When running a new version of Live for the first time, Live would sometimes copy preferences and retrieve information from a user-made copy of an old preferences directory. This could lead to symptoms such as settings being lost or Live needing to be reauthorized depending on the contents of the user-made copy. This behavior is now fixed.
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TwistedGenetics
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Re: Authorization needed after every Apple macOS update

Post by TwistedGenetics » Fri Nov 24, 2023 9:15 pm

Well I’m running 11.3.13 and it’s asked for authorization?

again it’s been 4 days since I raised a ticket and now it’s the weekend. It will be 6 days without use the use of ableton. I just brought bitwig and using the downtime to learn it.. you snooze you looze

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