If you are trying to activate software on your machine and receive an error that the program is unable to connect to the PreSonus server, please take a look at the list below...
- 3rd-party antivirus software is the largest reason for this to happen. Try completely removing antivirus software from your system, reboot, and test again.
- PreSonus software will not connect to our server over a VPN connection or proxy server.
- It is sometimes necessary to reboot your modem and router to clear cache that might be conflicting.
- Installation of cracked software or malware on a system can create issues. A lot of cracked software contains malware that installs URL redirects on your system. These URL redirects will point Studio One or Notion to a different location, which is why it will not connect to our server. You can try running a malware scan on your system, but it is sometimes necessary to re-install your OS.
- If you are receiving a 403 error message, it is possible that your IP address is being blocked. You can find your IP address by going to the following link. https://whatismyipaddress.com/ Once you have your IP address, you can check if it is being banned from the following link. https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx?AG=GBL&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3rKQBhCNARIsACUEW_aqqAtT5s3sP4T25-ikS3O3SfpHKdf08FN92krdbApn32m8lilzgzwaAgYVEALw_wcB If you are being banned, you will need to contact your ISP for a new IP address.
If you had a cracked version of Studio One on your system, it more than likely re-wrote your Hosts file and added entries to it that prevents the program from calling back to our server. Below are instructions for resolving this issue. (If you purchased your computer second-hand, for example, it is possible that the previous owner had a cracked version of Studio One on it.)
Here is an image of an afflicted Hosts file with the errant entries in it...
Here are instructions for resolving this issue on Mac and Windows respectively. (The image above is from a Windows machine.)
macOS:
1. Go into your Utilities folder and open the Terminal
2. From the Terminal command prompt, type in:
sudo nano /private/etc/hosts
and press enter.
3. Type in your Mac admin password and press enter.
4. Remove all PreSonus entries from the Hosts file on your screen. You will have to use the arrow keys on your computer keyboard to move the cursor into the desired location. You can then use the Backspace key to delete text.
5. Press ctrl + O to save your changes.
6. Press ctrl + X to exit the Hosts file.
7. Enter the following command in the terminal:
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
and press enter. This will clear your DNS cache and resolve your issue.
Windows:
1. Go into Cortana and type in "Notepad" to view the Notepad app.
2. Right-click the Notepad app and choose to Run as administrator. If you do not do this, you will not be able to save any changes to the Hosts file.
3. In Notepad, go to File>Open and navigate to c:\Windows\System 32\Drivers\etc and open the Hosts file. You will need to choose "All Files" when the File>Open window appears as it is set to .txt files by default. Otherwise, you will not see the Hosts file.
4. Remove all PreSonus entries from the Hosts file.
5. Go to File>Save to save the file.
6. You can now close Notepad and Studio One will connect.