Last week’s post announced that Avid had provided a limited window to reinstate expired Pro Tools perpetual licenses. Until December 31st, perpetual users on older versions of can buy back in to the software and receive current versions of the audio editing app.
That’s not much time to decide, of course. What if you are happy with your current version of Pro Tools? Maybe you’d like to use a feature from a future version, but have no desire to upgrade now. Updating this month will lock you features you won’t really use. The end-of-year limit forces you to update now, regardless.
Worry not. Today’s post describes a way “bank” Pro Tools licenses and use them whenever you prefer.
Why “Bank” Pro Tools Perpetual Reinstatement Licenses?
The current offer from Avid is a great opportunity. If you’re on, say, a 2019 version of Pro Tools, you could pay a one-time price and get the current 2021.12 version today. If you buy from Avid’s website, this Pro Tools reinstatement upgrade will be applied immediately – and you get keep your perpetual license, too.
That may not suit everyone though. Why? Well, as mentioned, you may not want to upgrade now. There’s another benefit, too.
Current perpetual license owners must renew it yearly to keep it active. If it lapses, you’ll need to buy an entirely new license – for far more than the yearly perpetual license renewal fee. That’s still a yearly payment though. Here’s a way to spread out the costs:
- Buy multiple reinstatement licenses today. According to Avid, these codes never expire.
- Turn off your current Pro Tools perpetual licenses yearly-auto renewal, if it is on. (You’ll find this in your Avid account product page.)
- Let your Pro Tools perpetual license expire.
- Use this version of Pro Tools software as long as you want. Since the license is perpetual, you won’t be charged more. Please note though that you’ll only be able to use that last available version of Pro Tools before the license expired.
- When you see a version of Pro Tools you want, activate your reinstatement license.
Why is this compelling? Well, since most Pro Tools users don’t need frequent upgrades, they can safely let their perpetual licenses expire. They can happily use the pre-expiration version of Pro Tools for years, and skip out on the yearly renewal fee. Later, they can use a reinstatement code to get back up to date, whenever it suits them.
The Financial Benefits of Delaying Pro Tools Reinstatement
How do the numbers work out? Let’s take a look:
Typical fees for Pro Tools Standard (USD):
| Year | Purchase | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inital purchase | $599 |
| 2 | Yearly renewal | $199 |
| 3 | Yearly renewal | $199 |
| 4 | Yearly renewal | $199 |
| 5 | Yearly renewal | $199 |
| Total | $1395 |
Letting a perpetual license expire, and reinstating it every other year:
| Year | Purchase | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inital purchase | $599 |
| 2 | Allow license to expire with no upgrade | $0 |
| 3 | Apply reinstatement license | $249 |
| 4 | Allow license to expire with no upgrade | $0 |
| 5 | Apply reinstatement license | $249 |
| Total | $1097 |
That’s saving $298 in five years. To some, that may not seem like much. However, if you are reinstating less actively, say 2 times in 6 years, the difference is $497 ($1594-$1097). Spread it out to 7 years, and the difference is $696. For the prosumers in the crowd, those numbers may start to become more appealing. What’s more, some pros have a stable workflow and rock-solid hardware that they don’t touch for a decade. Upgrading once every ten years? That saves $1542 ($2390-$848).
There’s also the benefit of control. With this method, you can choose whenever you’d like to upgrade, instead of being forced to pay every year.
How to Apply a Pro Tools Reinstatement Code
How do you do it? Here’s how to save up reinstatement codes and use them whenever it’s best for you:
A quick note: double-check both your license’s validity and the reinstatement code before trying this method. If a perpetual license expires without being renewed, it must be abandoned at its latest version.
- Buy a Pro Tools reinstatement from Sweetwater, B&H, on eBay, or elsewhere. The retailer will send you a code. (Note: Don’t buy the reinstatement from Avid; that will apply your reinstatement immediately.)
- Log into your Avid.com account.
- Click “Register Software with Code”.
- On the following page, enter the code in the text field beneath “Enter Code” and click “Register Product”.
- On the page after that, specify where you’d like the license applied: to a new iLok account, or an existing one.
- After a moment, your products will display. The reinstatement will appear like this in your account.
- When you’re ready to upgrade, click “Select upgrade options”.
- A new screen will load with your expired perpetual licenses. Select the one you’d like to reactivate and click “Submit”.
And that’s it!
Here’s a similar guide (some of the UI is out of date) from Avid on YouTube:
Where to Buy a Pro Tools Reinstatement Code
I bought my reinstatement licenses at B&H. It was pretty simple. I had to wait about two days to get the code after the purchase, and then I was good to go.
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