Used iLok, any use?
 

Some people sell used iLoks on ebay. I just bought an iLok 3 for pretty cheap but I am not sure what I can actually do with it. It says that is has an "unknown version of Pro Tools" on it. but to be honest, I am not counting on anything. It was cheaper than a blank iLok would be. But then I realized, if it is attached to abother account, will I be able to replace my aging plastic iLok with it with my existing license? Or could it be stuck on whatever it already has on it?
ANd if it does have a PT License on it, what validity would that have?

I have been using the same version for about a decade but I may want to grab a new perpetual license before they're gone.

Re: Used iLok, any use?
 

I've never done it, but I can't see why you can't change the user account on an iLok. Shure ILM can do this. Won't mean a thing if it has a license on it. You'll have to have the ilok username/password to use it.

They're already gone. Well, Avid no longer sells perpetual licenses. Resellers might still have perpetual licenses for sale.

If your old license is PT10 or later, there is a 'upgrade-to-current'-sale right now - expiring within hours, that's $100 off the regular price.

Re: Used iLok, any use?
 

Buy used USB dongle like device on eBay and plug it into my computer??... fat chance. Gen 3 metal ones are might be harder to break the guts out of... I've not tried. But it's not too hard to replace the guts of similar USB memory sticks and turn anything you connect to a USB port into potential compromise device.

I'll pay list price and hope that supply chain is s bit more trustworthy.

Re: Used iLok, any use?
 

If it has a license on it, the iLok can't be moved to another account.
So nothing. You'll be buying something useless if you have no access to the account that managed it before (or, at best, you need to know what licenses it has and you'll be stuck with those never being able to adjust them.)

If you are doing all this for a <$50 dongle that controls hundreds of dollars of software, you might want to rethink.

Re: Used iLok, any use?
 

I did this before from my blue original ilok to one of the black iLok 2 models. it was a Pro Tools express license and it was listed as unregistered so I got the PT Express license (no good to me but I got it) and I was able to register this one to me.

Now for the one I just bought, we will see. If it has a newer version of PT than 9 that I already have, I guess I will have a newer version but if it is registered to another user I think I can use that version but would be a dead end, no upgrades, is that correct?

Also, sweetwater still shows perpetual in stock. I haven't called to see. The thing is I have no need for a newer version. But the end of perpetual makes me want to buy one for the future.

Re: Used iLok, any use?
 

Not a good place to try and save a few bucks. Let us know how it works out. I expect it will go how BScout explained.

Re: Used iLok, any use?
 

Maybe. It is more likely that licenses are now activated and tied to an account so you cannot use them to upgrade. You just hoping that a license appears and enables a Pro Tools version that is compatible with your computers operating system options? How are you going to get software downloads?

Or maybe it’s a lost/stolen iLok and the licenses are marked for deactivation… and when you go online with ILM… they will be removed. And not likely to happen with low cost/iLok sales but realize how bad things can go… in the past one plugin vendor saw licenses that were purchased from it fraudulently with a stolen credit card and when those license were sold on eBay and showed up in the eBay purchasers iLok account the vendor nuked *all* their plugin licenses in that account. Can’t recall if they ever got them back.

Messing around like this seems an unnecessary hassle and waste of time and maybe some risk. Just buy a physical iLok from a trusted source. If you want a Pro Tools license buy one new from a dealer or direct, or purchase used with an iLok account transfer and ideally Avid transfer of ownership if you plan on using the license (vs using to upgrade from).

Used iLok, any use?
 

I had sold a turnkey system a while back for a sale gone bad. The buyer never payed me for the software, just partially the hardware. I then left him with the system for about a year and a half and made my ultimatum. I told him not to connect to ILM. That I had problems with my ilok account. This is after he refused to pay me even for the transfers of ownership. I preceded to report it to ilok as a loss. Never received my money. I heard later he sold it, and the new owner connected to ilok. Supposedly it deactivated all the licenses on the new owner’s end. I was unaware it was the same system at the time. We both knew the third owner. The third party asked me what happened “There was no software”. I told him probably the second party who sold you it stole the software, while I didn’t realize that it could have been the same item. I then advised him to buy a used copy of the software on eBay. I also would like to add, even though it might seem contradictory, that the software was never used simultaneously. The third party reported the software deactivated, I then proceeded to use it on my end after the deactivation . It was considered a loss. All the software has been ever since obsolete with no upgrade options. His hardware can still be upgraded to this day. I offered the second party an upgrade path before he supposedly resold it, but it resulted in an argument with him not wanting to pay me or for the upgrade. He resold it afterwards to the third party mentioned before with a subsequent deactivation on their end. So, in other words, I recouped my losses from a deadbeat second party for a sale gone bad by reclaiming the software.


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Re: Used iLok, any use?
 

Ah yes....to expound a little on used iLoks and such, consider these:
1-Unless the iLok includes the account info(login and password), then the iLok will never be of any value OTHER than to use whatever license(s) may be on it.
2-If you DO get the account login info and can log on, then you MAY have some options such as:
A-Transfer any license to your account(and pay the transfer fee)
B-if you remove/deactivate all licenses, you MIGHT be able to disconnect the iLok from that account(in which case, you PROBABLY could then register it to YOUR account.
3-As said by others, for use as a spare/backup iLok, this is a bad idea and you should buy a new/unregistered iLok
4-remember that you can use any number of iLoks on any computer(with enough USB ports), regardless of who's account any belong to:o

Re: Used iLok, any use?
 

Good info. It's sitting in my mailbox now but I am away for the 4th.

I bought iloks on ebay in the past but always the Mpwered version as part of a package with an interface. The license had been preloaded and unregistered so in worked out fine.