Absynth stuck in demo mode

newbreednet · 2025-01-16T16:22:12+00:00

There was an error rendering this rich post.

Was aware of the "death of Absynth" so wasn't expecting to see it in Native Access on my new M4 Pro Macbook, so I tried installing it, but it's stuck in demo mode and won't activate.

The "buy/demo/activate" screen appears but clicking "activate" just opens Native Access again and nothing happens.

The standalone and plugin both work, presets all sound good etc, but Native Access has a purple text next to Absynth that says "demo".

This is using macOS Sequoia 15.1, clean install on a new machine.

I have Komplete 8, 12 Ultimate and 14 Collectors in my NI account.

I've heard reports of Absynth still working for older Apple Silicon installs as well as on a new M4 machine, so it appears that success is possible…

Find more posts tagged with

Accepted answers

newbreednet

Solved!

It seems that getting the old K8 Update licence removed from my account has let Native Access (the most recent version) realise that my Absynth and FM8 serials are valid, so now they are out of demo mode and working fully in both standalone and plugin format on my M4 Pro MBP / Sequoia 15.1!

All comments

newbreednet

does anyone have any similar stories or ideas? Thank you!

Vocalpoint

Did not think Absynth 5 was supported at all on Apple Silicon

See more here:

Apple Silicon Compatibility News – Native Instruments

newbreednet

as I said, it works on my M4 in demo mode, and there are reports elsewhere of people with fully-functional Absynth on Apple Silicon, regardless of the official status. Hopefully others can chime in if they have success stories.

PoorFellow

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/204300#Comment_204300

@newbreednet

Maybe this is one of those cases where you need to run both Absynth and the NTKDaemon in Rosetta mode ? I remember Jeremy_NI mentioning that running NTDaemon in Rosetta mode were used for activation on Apple Silicon.

Q : Why does the installer require Rosetta?

A : Quote Jeremy_NI April 2024 :

AFAIK, some old legacy products and the way registration/activation works for these still require Rosetta.

Q : NTKDaemon will not Install without Rosetta?

A : QuoteJeremy_NI , December 2024 :

Rosetta is still required for the activation of legacy/discontinued software.

Also : GUITAR RIG 5, KONTAKT 5 and SUPER 8 R2Open as Demo Versions on Apple Silicon / M-Systems

Otherwise then call for Jeremy_NI for an opinion.

Vocalpoint

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/204300#Comment_204300

You might want to follow-up with any posts on here featuring users that got it working and see what they did.

NI has clearly stated this app does not work on AS - if you managed to hack it into some sort of playability - you may have just got lucky.

And as Poorfellow/Jeremy_NI notes - Rosetta will be needed for Native Access activation

newbreednet

Thank you @PoorFellow for the suggestions; I've installed the earlier version of Native Access with the older NTKDaemon, alas Absynth remains in demo mode.

@Vocalpoint the success stories of Apple Silicon Absynth are on another forum, I'm in touch with them however we're at a loss as to why it works for some and not for me - if anything, I'm unlucky thus far. Thank you for your suggestions.

@Jeremy_NI I've been invited to ask for your opinion, please! Long story short: trying to install Absynth on an M4 Mac / Sequoia 15.1 but Absynth remains in demo mode. I have Komplete 8/12U/14CE in my NI a/c and I've tried using an earlier version of NA/NTKDaemon without success. Nonetheless there are success stories (on another forum) but we haven't been able to pin down why it works for some but not for others. Any ideas? Thank you!

Vocalpoint

I must say - I am still stunned you got it installed at all.

Considering that NI post seems to indicate this should not work at all - Rosetta or no Rosetta.

PoorFellow

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/204311#Comment_204311

I've installed the earlier version of Native Access with the older NTKDaemon, alas Absynth remains in demo mode.

I have no idea what version of N.A. is required for activation for what products :

Maybe you could even activate using latest version of N.A. , I have no Mac and no way of checking anything, but as always then you ought to check all the prerequisites also.

newbreednet

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/204312#Comment_204312

Well I didn't really do much - it was in Native Access, so I clicked "Install".

I appreciate that Absynth is unsupported so I was surprised to see it in NA at all.

Having been allowed to complete an install, it seems a shame that the plugin can't be activated despite appearing to have full functionality.

Vocalpoint

"I appreciate that Absynth is unsupported so I was surprised to see it in NA at all."

When Absynth went dark back in 2022 - NI reassured everyone that if you owned it prior to shutdown - it would still appear your NA listings for activation.

For how long - that remains to be seen.

But this product is from another time and is not written for Apple Silicon so it is very odd that it even runs. It must be using Rosetta in the background or something. Amazing actually.

newbreednet

"NI reassured everyone that if you owned it prior to shutdown - it would still appear your NA listings for activation……For how long - that remains to be seen"

I've owned an Absynth licence for many years prior to shutdown - so are you saying that indeed, activation is granted and possible?

Vocalpoint

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/204471#Comment_204471

Of course - I use it all the time here - but I am on Windows 10 (22H2).

That said - "activation is granted" goes hand in hand with the "supported environments" for Absynth - which your machine does not meet.

Since this plugin is discontinued and there is no support for it - AND you are attempting to run it in an environment that it was never designed for - you can see where the challenges are.

PoorFellow

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/204471#Comment_204471

so are you saying that indeed, activation is granted and possible?

Also I have Absynth installed , it installed as a breeze using latest Native Access and I never experienced any problem with it. but also I am using Windows (11). As far as I know then you ought to be able to install and use it on Mac too though it might require Rosetta for Apple silicon (?) , Jeremy_NI has not been in the forum since the 15th and I suspect that he will not be back until Monday or later (depending on the reason for his absence).

newbreednet

So…. I've installed Battery 4 and OG Massive, they have installed and activated properly, as normal.

However…. I tried installing FM8, which is Apple Silicon native… and like Absynth it is stuck in demo mode and won't activate.

newbreednet

Potential solution: I was reading in another thread:

"I got a reply by support. The issue is gone now. They had to remove an old Komplete update chain without a base licence from my account. These were licences i apparently used until saturday when they got invalidated after i deleted some NI folders and files. Unfortunately NA wasn't clever enough to figure out that i had another valid Komplete licence in my account."

I did happen to have an old "Komplete 8 update" serial in my account, which sometimes the NI system seemed to think was a full licence (I would be offered Komplete Standard upgrade pricing based on the K8 Update licence sitting in my account) - it seems possible, then, that a clean install Native Access on a new machine with no previous licences activated on it, is noticing that my K8 update licence has no base product and therefore won't activate some licences that it was tying to K8 (Absynth and FM8, for example). If the solution from another thread pasted above remains true, then perhaps NA isn't seeing my K12S→K12U→K14CE chain…

In an attempt to resolve this quickly, I've used the automated system to begin the transfer out from my account of the (potentially offending, and pretty useless anyway) K8 Update serial. Once it's gone from my account, I'll try a clear-out of all NI/NA apps and files and plugins and xml and prefs, and try again.

Quick links

Unanswered questions