Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH Reviews 

Dreadful recently. They were once quite good if you got somebody who knows what they're talking about. Since upgrading to Cubase 11, it seems they haven't got a clue. You attach screenshots, you explain the best you can...you get "yes, you deleted files" or try this but no explanations. Cubase/Steinberg is a dreadful company for after sales support and if I could ditch it, if I hadn't spent so much, I would ditch it within seconds.

I made the mistake of upgrading to a paid version of Cubase about 10 years ago. It was a 4-hour nightmare. I figured that they would have worked out the bugs, but no, in 2021, it is still a time consuming experience to install software that I have paid for. This should be simple. I buy the software. I download the software. I install the software. Done. No! I download software that says it manages my licenses. The software can't see that I paid for the licenses. I spend 2 hours navigating how to get the company to recognize that I bought the licenses. I spend another 2 hours figuring out how to upgrade to the new version of the software.

Grundsätzlich ist es ein gutes Programm. Nur so kompliziert mit den ganzen neuen Download Manager, Library Manager etc.... Außerdem erkennt der HaLion meine Libraries nicht... Habe schon zwei Mal an den Kontakt geschrieben. Ich komme, wenn ich auf "Meine Anfragen" gehe auf die Startseite der Website (???) und das war beim 1. Mal anschreiben auch schon so. Also Kundenservice bzw. Support ist nicht vorhanden! Schade!

Don't pay money for Steinberg software!! The copy protection is so ridiculous, that I can no longer install software I bought, even if I have all original discs, material, keys etc. Just avoid at all costs!

Steinberg software is very expensive and in return you get no customer support at all. I've been sending requests for several issues found in Cubase. They only provide support via "tickets".

It takes several months for them to reply to any ticket you send. And then, they mark the ticket as "solved" regardless on whether the issue is actually solved or not.

I am already looking forward to initiate procedures with German authorities on this matter.

Their software is great, but the support is unreachable, even for paying customers. They have a very complicated licensing system and once a tiny step goes wrong, your paid license is gone (new pc, new install). Support doesn't reply.
License system fails = money lost! Don't buy

I've never understood why Cubase is so popular. The process of uploading, activation codes and reactivation codes is complex especially when you cant login to my Steinberg despite requesting a new password. I used the very early versions in the 90's and they were excellent. The programmers seem to have over complicated everything. I would only recommend this software to trained studio musicians who understand the rationale behind it. For the proverbial man in the street I would avoid it. To cap it all they stopped supporting the programme after it took me seven years to get going on it. I bought a new copy but can't login to get started.
Having read the other reviews i am clearly not alone.

My pain specialist faxed over paperwork several times for 3 MRI's for me. Steinberg said they never received it. So I picked up paperwork for my MRI's at my pain doctor and called Steinberg to schedule. I specifically asked for all three MRI's to be done on the same day. I went on the scheduled day, but they only had me down for one MRI!!! So I had to reschedule!! Steinberg, my time is VALUABLE, TOO!

Schlage mich seit Jahren mit Steinberg herum; dabei geht es immer um dasselbe Problem. Sequel 1,2 und 3 verlieren in regelmäßigen Abständen ständig Programminhalte. Verschiedene Betriebssysteme (Windows XP; Windows 7 und zuletzt auch bei Windows 10), dabei wurden auch noch unterschiedliche PCs genutzt von unterschiedlichen Firmen. Plötzlich, nach ein paar Monaten "verschwinden" entweder Programminhalte oder massenhaft Content. Das Programm selbst zeigt sie nicht mehr an. Mehrfach haben Mitarbeiter daran rumgebastelt - niemand konnte auch nur ansatzweise eine Lösung des "Phänomens" benennen. Immer nur Deinstallation und Neuinstallation. Aber mal ehrlich, das kann es ja nicht sein! Ein Arbeiten mit der Software war eigentlich so gut wie unmöglich. Und nach erneut aufgetretender Problematik teilte man mir nun mit, dass ja der Support am 1. Januar bereits eingestellt wurde - na, schönen Dank! Kundenservice? Das soll wohl ein schlechter Witz sein!

shocking shocking shocking.crashed my imac with cubase 11 elements.files missing.no replies,no help.poor service.ableton eat this company alive.
no idea whatsoever.the software is all over the place,the instructions are for nasa.i doubt any one to understand how these people operate.who ever sat down and dreamed this up?
were you drunk?shambolic rubbish.ive deleted it off my mac and never ever want anything to do with this rubbish software.
award winner as well?im absolutely furious.sat here 46 hours and still cannot get this to work.i want a refund and im not letting them away with it.my screen blacked out.corrupt software.0/10.oh yes i did go mad and punch the walls.if you think im walking away your mistaken.i have consumer rights.update:they emailed me i replied and now they have dissappeared.they just don't care about their customers.how they get away with it is beyond me.

Bought Cubase artist 9.5 some years ago and used it for around 3 years relatively problem free. Around December 2020, my license started acting up and Cubase froze during start up. It turns out that I had started using curveEQ, which was included in the installation, but which somehow had a time limited license for the artist pack (which was not very clear). Due to the way cubase froze, it was impossible to open my projects and deactivate curveEQ: I was in a deadlock. At the same time Halion stopped working (however, without causing software crashes). After bouncing support tickets with unhelpful solutions to unrelated forum threads for about 6 weeks, I got the advice to start a trial cubase pro license, so that I could open my projects again and remove the unlicensed plug-in. After the trial expired, I could open my projects again, but Halion was still not functional. After further support tickets, I still did not get it to work (the songs that I have created over years do not play).

My take on this is that I, as a cubase artist (and not pro) customer, am not prioritized by the support. My feeling from the support responses was that their main objective was not to solve my problem, but to force me to upgrade to pro to save my work. This is somewhat understandable from a corporation. In the end they succeeded, I will probably upgrade to pro, simply because I want to continue making music rather than arguing with support. However, if I started new today, I would absolutely choose another vendor than Steinberg, because I find both the way the licenses are set up and the attitude of the support team unacceptable.

11 PRO update failed and VST Connect 5 that I purchased has never worked. Resorted to Support pages as it was so long without a reply and it recommended windows tool to check for problems and it recommended uninstall and reinstall. Uninstall was done by the tool but the reinstall is not possible so I am now with no application.

Apart from the automated response I have heard nothing on any of my requests, one dating back to early January.

It is an expensive tool, the eLicensing process is a joke and the way updates are applied is fundamentally flawed. If I did not have so much ongoing work in here I would cut my osses but I have invested a lot with them so want to get this resolved.

The system itself I had no problems with and was only trying to update as it was highly recommended by Steinberg.

The support line is open about 2hrs per day which again is ridiculous. It is also based in Germany so expensive to call them up anyway.

I must admit I usually check reviews before purchasing but clearly did not for Cubase and it has come back to haunt me.

If you are not already invested in the software like me then do not buy. They really need to get their act together!

Been using Cubase for years, easier to use the bootleg but thought I would do the right thing and now have several Steinberg products now.
Their registration logic and process is so frustrating and inconsistent. I Remember when you got a CD of software with an activation code. Within half an hour you were using it. Sadly the Steinberg crew are so intelligent they have left logic and instructional design behind, and us mortals along with our brand loyalty. Their business profitability is well as it is however most are bailing from Cubase etc. So Albums1 and 2 via Reel to Reel, Album 3, via Soundscape, Album 4 via Ensoniq Paris, 5,6,7,8 and 9 via Cubase, but bye bye Steinberg if you cant uncomplicate your....well everything!

Der Steinberg support handelt sehr Kundenunfreundlich. Wenn etwas mit dem Programm etwas nicht funktioniert bleibt man auf den Teuren Lizenskosten sitzen.
Bsp von mir: Nuendo 6.5 Projekte lassen sich nicht in Cubase 11 Elements öffnen. Dies wurde vor dem Kauf nicht kommuniziert. Steinberg möchte nun den Lizenzkey nicht zurücknehmen, habe ich ihn doch schon aktiviert. Ja. Das musste ich auch. Sonst hätte ich auch nichts von der Inkompatibilität erfahren. Gerade für einen Studenten nicht schön. Ich sei’s jetzt allerdings, das ich in Zukunft von Steinberg Produkten Abstand nehme.

Ich muss leider einigen anderen Rezensenten (nicht nur auf Trustpilot) recht geben: Cubase arbeitet nicht 100 %ig korrekt. Die Punch In-Punch Out-Funktion geht nicht, der Support konnte mir auch nicht weiterhelfen. Nun gut, ich löste die Sache anders und dachte mir nichts weiter dabei. Doch kürzlich merkte ich, dass auch das Exportieren von Audiospuren als WAV nicht richtig funktioniert! Die Exportdateien sind fehlerhaft, ich habe es mit verschiedenen Sample- und Bitraten probiert, und jedes Mal andere, falsche, Ergebnisse bekommen. Das darf bei einer DAW in dieser Preisklasse schlicht und einfach nicht passieren! Ich bin auch wohl offensichtlich nicht der Einzige mit diesem Problem, wie ich in diversen Internetforen nachlesen konnte. Der Support sagt dazu - nichts. Der Fehler ist wohl programmimmanent. Sehr, sehr ärgerlich. Würde ich heute nochmal vor der Entscheidung stehen, welches Sequenzer-Programm ich kaufe, sie würde mit Sicherheit anders ausfallen ...

I got half price promotion for Dorico and put my all my credit card info in their system. When? About a month ago. Did I receive any confirmation? Yes and no. Yes for the order confirmation and no for the shipment.
I am guessing order(CD) supposed to come from Germany but not worth for them to ship it.
Was my credit card charged? Not yet
Did I contact them?
Yes, but no reply yet.
Solution for Steinberg:
DO NOT BOTHER PEOPLE BY SENDING PROMOTIONAL EMAIL WHEN YOU CANNOT COMMIT!!!

Livré avec la carte son UR22MKII achetée chez Thomann, le logiciel Cubase AI ne fonctionne pas car impossible de l'activer. Je reçois comme bcp d'utilisateurs (forums) ce message :
"Pour compléter l'autorisation, permettez à votre navigateur web d'ouvrir Steinberg Download Assistant. Une fois l'autorisation achevée, vous pouvez fermer la page web et continuer à utiliser Steinberg Download Assistant."
Comment fixer ce dysfonctionnement ?
J'ai contacté le support.
En attente d'une réponse

The license system fails constantly, if you try to move the license from your laptop to another one, you won't be able.

Like many others, Steinberg did not reply to my submitted support ticket. It took them 35 days. I bought an update from Cubase 9 to 11 and had some issues with registration and contacted Steinberg Support. Funny enough they have a lot of time to post stuff on Facebook several times a day and answer questions. I know it’s another department than the support department. But I find it crazy that they do not take advantage of this. I’ve come up with adjustment ideas on how to reach out to the customers and contacted their Facebook group. Not rocket science of course. But they could have stated on their website that, “support tickets was down at the moment. Write to this email”. Instead they just ignored customers complaints and problems to stay “true” to their dysfunctional support ticket system. Wise move (sarcasm may be detected). A glance at Trustpilot will tell a story of a problem, that has been there for quite a while. What kind of programming issue is THAT difficult, that it cannot be solved within months? Yes.....months (in plural). Did they have six year olds as programmers? On Facebook they answered me and explained that, it was an issue on their website after releasing Cubase 11 (if I remember correctly). They could not see the support tickets from customers. Fair enough. But how long can that take to fix? And even if it’s the biggest issue of all computer issues out there, why didn’t the do something as simple as state on the website, that it was down and write to “this” email address, send emails out to customers or something really simple? Why just ignore it? Because email correspondence is communication of yesteryear regarding support apparently and “we will not return to that”. Instead Steinberg kept focusing on a system, that didn’t work. For how long I cannot say. But they did nothing to reach out. Nothing. Finally after 35 days they replied. It was now a matter of many submitted support tickets. No programming issues on the website? Just drowning in support tickets? If that’s the case, why not have an automated message “we are currently experiencing.....) or the same as mentioned earlier? Or maybe it’s a combo. Website issues causing a build up of support tickets. It makes sense. But officially I’ve gotten two explanations. It might be connected of course and I do not know the length of the down period. But there are still many things, they could have done to reach out.

A company has become too big, if they suddenly don’t care. People will buy their stuff anyway. One unsatisfied customer out of a hundred, doesn’t make a difference. Or maybe the people that are working with communication and company strategy might be fresh out of kindergarten. Who knows.

I will probably jump ship when my recordings are done. Never before have Steinberg failed like this. I always enjoyed working in Cubase, so it annoys me, that I need to make a stand. It’s not good enough, Steinberg! I will not support this attitude. Unless they reach out and apologize and offer a discount on the next real update to compensate. But I don’t see that coming.

Consider alternative DAWs. I am considering Logic myself as my new DAW. It’s cheaper and there are no problems.

To be fair. Cubase Pro is a dream to work with. Never experienced huge issues. And they were all solved, if there were any. I like the workflow and the setup and everything. But many DAWs offer the same. So it might be time to say goodbye.

Am 15.09.20 schenkten wir unserem Sohn ein Cubase Update auf Vers. 10.5 Pro. Diese Version hat Aussetzer, bleibt zeitweise komplett bis zu 1 Minute stehen und kann scheinbar überhaupt keine Plugins verarbeiten. Katastrophe. Mein Sohn hat daraufhin 3 x das Support-Formular ausfüllt und um Hilfe gebeten. Es kam nicht eine Antwort. Vor einer Woche haben wir dann festgestellt, dass es auf einmal eine 11er Version gibt. Dieses mal habe ich ziemlich empört eine E-Mail direkt an die info geschrieben, es kam eine automatisierte Antwort, aber kein Mensch der sich zurück gemeldet hat. Nun.... wir werden wohl unser Geld zurück verlangen und uns nach einer Software umsehen, die auch das hält, was sie verspricht. Steinberg jedenfalls, ist durchgefallen und nicht zu empfehlen.

So nun habe ich nachdem sich doch endlich jemand gemeldet hat, die Bewertung von einem auf 4 Sterne erhöht. Wir haben tatsächlich ein kostenloses Update auf Vers. Cubase Pro 11.0 bekommen und eine Entschuldigung! Hat lange gedauert, aber dennoch. Nun werden wir sehen, ob die Fehler von der alten Version behoben sind.