iLok Support Problems

[shane_man15]

Without trying to take up much space and putting this all in a nutshell, since May, I've been without Pro Tools 10, and since May, I've been trying to get answers.
Here's what happened: Went on a trip with some friends out west, lost my iLok, reported it lost, filed the RMA, and haven't heard any thing since.

I was told to contact Avid, but I never entirely understood how you were supposed to contact Avid if their entire phone base or whatever is computer automated. All I wanted to do was talk to a human. Apparently, I didn't wait long enough on the technical help side of things. So, therefore, I never got a hold of Avid for help.

I asked Sweetwater and didn't really get much out of them. Same story. They had also emailed Avid and I was told to order a support code for Pro Tools LE in order to have any help.

I contacted Avid on their facebook page and was told that iLok themselves would be able to help and they gave me a link that didn't help me at all.

So, basically, All I ask is for a little help. What the heck do I do? I just want to get a new license for an iLok I bought in June so I can use Pro Tools again.

Thanks.

[John_Toolbox]

If you lose your ilok, I think you are basically screwed. It's like losing a $100 bill... The bank isn't going to give you a new one if you can't find it.

Do you have business or renters/homeowners insurance? It might be covered under that, though I don't think that insurance would cover it in this situation, probably only if there was a documented theft with a police report.

[shane_man15]

Originally Posted by John_Toolbox

If you lose your ilok, I think you are basically screwed. It's like losing a $100 bill... The bank isn't going to give you a new one if you can't find it.

Do you have business or renters/homeowners insurance? It might be covered under that, though I don't think that insurance would cover it in this situation, probably only if there was a documented theft with a police report.

From what I've seen on the iLok website, you can get insurance for your license. I didn't do that because I was a college student and any money I had went to food and gas.

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by shane_man15

From what I've seen on the iLok website, you can get insurance for your license. I didn't do that because I was a college student and any money I had went to food and gas.

$12.95 per year....and well worth it

[John_Toolbox]

Originally Posted by shane_man15

From what I've seen on the iLok website, you can get insurance for your license. I didn't do that because I was a college student and any money I had went to food and gas.

I think it covers you for up to 30 days to keep you from having downtime, but I'm not sure what conditions it requires for you to be able to maintain a lost license after that. I think the 30 days the ZDT insurance gives you is mainly to give you enough time to contact the vendor of your license(In your case AVID) and convince them to give you a new license.

However, I've never lost an ilok, so I'm not 100% sure what to expect, but I have read some posts from people in your situation before and AFAIK most if not all of them ended up having to buy their license again. You should definitely try and at least talk to a real person at AVID before doing this though. They don't really watch this forum very much anymore, so I think your best bet is to keep calling until you find a way through the labyrinth of answering machine press-this-button-to-do-this-ness and talk to a sentient life form.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by John_Toolbox

I think it covers you for up to 30 days to keep you from having downtime, but I'm not sure what conditions it requires for you to be able to maintain a lost license after that. I think the 30 days the ZDT insurance gives you is mainly to give you enough time to contact the vendor of your license(In your case AVID) and convince them to give you a new license.

However, I've never lost an ilok, so I'm not 100% sure what to expect, but I have read some posts from people in your situation before and AFAIK most if not all of them ended up having to buy their license again. You should definitely try and at least talk to a real person at AVID before doing this though. They don't really watch this forum very much anymore, so I think your best bet is to keep calling until you find a way through the labyrinth of answering machine press-this-button-to-do-this-ness.

Worse case it gives you time to contact your contents/property insurance provider, of course you've listed the licenses/iLocks on you policy and checked what you are covered for....

I would not assume Avid will replace ilok licenses, especially not for misplacement/loss. I would hope you might get further with Avid if there was a clear case of theft with lots of proof/police documentation etc. But i doubt Avid will ever commit up front to do that, and the more they spell out how/if at all flexible they can be the more they open themselves up to scammers.

The right thing to do is make sure you have contents/property insurance coverage and take good care of your iLoks, don't lose them, put a label on them (my labels offer a reward for return and has much phone and email), consider attaching a colored ribbon to make the iLoks more visible so you are less likely to walk away and forget them.

Darryl

[shane_man15]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

Worse case it gives you time to contact your contents/property insurance provider, of course you've listed the licenses/iLocks on you policy and checked what you are covered for....

I would not assume Avid will replace ilok licenses, especially not for misplacement/loss. I would hope you might get further with Avid if there was a clear case of theft with lots of proof/police documentation etc. But i doubt Avid will ever commit up front to do that, and the more they spell out how/if at all flexible they can be the more they open themselves up to scammers.

The right thing to do is make sure you have contents/property insurance coverage and take good care of your iLoks, don't lose them, put a label on them (my labels offer a reward for return and has much phone and email), consider attaching a colored ribbon to make the iLoks more visible so you are less likely to walk away and forget them.

Darryl

The only thing that I could actually provide to show proof that I own it is the emails I've exchanged with Sweetwater and my Voc Rehab Councilor (I was in college and the state offered to purchase it for me in order to better understand Pro Tools when I couldn't get in the studio and for my certification classes.), my RMA that I filed, and all the stuff I received from Sweetwater, including the invoice.

It just doesn't make much sense to have this hard of a time to reach a human being. I've asked my instructor, who is Expert certified, about this and he's told me pretty much the same stuff.

Has anyone even tried to call Avid and talked to a human being on the phone before? Excluding support codes and repairs and such.

[Darryl Ramm]

I did not say proof you owned it, rather proof it was stolen (not lost). If it was not stolen and you do not have some proof of that then I personally would have little expectation Avid will replace it. Folks here and elsewhere seem to be telling you this but you don't seem to want to hear the bad news. It is unfortunate Avid have not replied to you via other contacts but worst case buy a support code if you need to talk to Avid if that is what it takes.

Darryl

[John_Toolbox]

Originally Posted by shane_man15

The only thing that I could actually provide to show proof that I own it is the emails I've exchanged with Sweetwater and my Voc Rehab Councilor (I was in college and the state offered to purchase it for me in order to better understand Pro Tools when I couldn't get in the studio and for my certification classes.), my RMA that I filed, and all the stuff I received from Sweetwater, including the invoice.

I am confused about the facts here, specifically #4.
1. You lost you ilok, it was not stolen, correct?
2. Someone else (The state you go to college in) paid for the ilok, correct?
3. You have an invoice from Sweetwater, proving that the ilok and pro tools software is registered in your name, and was paid for, correct?
4. Why on earth are you talking about an RMA(Return Merchandise Authorization)? What did you return, and why would it have anything to do with this?

The answer to #1 is pretty much going to trump all others. If you lost the ilok, it's highly unlikely there's anything you can do... other than find it or buy another pro tools license.
The answer to #2 is that since someone else paid for this for you, it's not very likely that AVID will have much sympathy.
While #3 proves that you own it, it does not automatically allow you to get a free replacement. What you have is the equivalent of a withdrawal receipt from the bank. It proves that you withdrew $100 cash, but does not allow you to get another $100 bill if you lose the one you got the first time.
#4 is not making any sense to me. Please clarify why you have an RMA and how it is relevant to this situation.

Originally Posted by shane_man15

It just doesn't make much sense to have this hard of a time to reach a human being. I've asked my instructor, who is Expert certified, about this and he's told me pretty much the same stuff.

Has anyone even tried to call Avid and talked to a human being on the phone before? Excluding support codes and repairs and such.

Generally, the only people you can talk to directly at AVID are tech support. I think that in order to get through to them these days, you need a support code, which can either be purchased, or if you recently bought a product, it usually includes a support code that you can use for a limited amount of time.

While I did suggest that you try to contact them, I am not implying that they are going to be able to do anything for you. Like Darryl said it would encourage scammers if this was an easy thing to do.

[shane_man15]

Originally Posted by John_Toolbox

I am confused about the facts here, specifically #4.
1. You lost you ilok, it was not stolen, correct?
2. Someone else (The state you go to college in) paid for the ilok, correct?
3. You have an invoice from Sweetwater, proving that the ilok and pro tools software is registered in your name, and was paid for, correct?
4. Why on earth are you talking about an RMA(Return Merchandise Authorization)? What did you return, and why would it have anything to do with this?

1. Correct
2. Correct
3. Correct
4. Because that's what iLok themselves asks of you. They say if your iLok is broken, lost, or stolen, you file an RMA.

Here is a link to what I am talking about: http://www.ilok.com/broken-lost-stolen-iloks.html

And quoting what they say after you file your RMA: "For a Lost/Stolen iLok RMA: we are not authorized by the software companies to do the permanent license replacements. You will need to contact the software companies directly regarding replacements for the lost licenses.

If you have already placed your RMA report and have a question about it, please reply to the RMA confirmation email you received. Your reply email will go directly to our support team with all of your RMA information attached."

I see where you guys are going with this. I'm not refusing to listen to the bad news, I'm trying to find a solution that doesn't involve me spending $600. I'd rather not spend anything more than I already have (which was purchasing a new dongle) to get myself back on track and in a position to start getting certified like I wanted to be.