Note: This article has been updated on August 19, 2020.
As of May 31, 2020, a range of legacy products from Native Instruments and third-party manufacturers, as well as the activation tool Service Center, will be discontinued. This means that already installed and activated products can still be used without limitation, but it is no longer possible to reinstall or reactivate any of these products on a computer running OS X 10.8 (or lower) / Windows Vista (or lower).
The affected products include discontinued software instruments like B4-II, Pro-53, etc., as well as sample libraries for KONTAKT. You can find the full list in the tables below.
However, we have found a workaround that allows the KONTAKT libraries to be used regularly after May 31st on computers running OS X 10.9 (and above) or Windows 7 / 8 / 10. These KONTAKT libraries now can be registered, activated, and added with Native Access and show up correctly in KONTAKT's library browser. You can find the libraries that still can be used on OS X 10.9 (and above) and Windows 7 / 8 / 10 in the product list below.
Please note that you have to use KONTAKT 5.6.8 or above for this workaround. Users of OS X 10.9, 10.10, and 10.11 can find their KONTAKT installers in this article. If you are using Windows 7 / 8 / 10 or macOS 10.12 (or higher), please use the current version of Native Access to automatically install the appropriate KONTAKT version.
In order to activate these KONTAKT libraries on OS X 10.9 (or above) or Windows 7 / 8 / 10, please follow these steps:
1. Install Native Access (if you have not already):
- Native Access (Windows 7 / 8 / 10)
- Native Access (macOS 10.12 - 10.15)
- Native Access (OS X 10.9 - 10.11)
2. Start Native Access and log in with the email address and password you have used to register your 3rd party KONTAKT library. You can find the library in the tab Not installed. If it is not showing up, please re-start Native Access.
3. In Native Access 1, click ADD LIBRARY and browse to the location of your 3rd party KONTAKT library. You can find detailed instructions for Native Access 2 in the first chapter of this article.
4. Open KONTAKT standalone from:
- Mac: Macintosh HD > Applications > Native Instruments
- Windows: C:\Program Files\Native Instruments
Your library has now been added to KONTAKT's library browser and is ready to use:
Most of the other NI products on the list below have a newer version with the same or enhanced functionality. Please check out our product pages.
After May 31, 2020, the use of Native Access is required to activate and manage your NI products. If you are using an older operating system, you can find legacy versions of Native Access in this article.
The discontinuation will not affect any update, upgrade or crossgrade paths. All of your updates, upgrades and crossgrades based on these products will stay intact.
For addtional info, please read our FAQ section at the bottom of this article.
Here is the list of legacy products that can still be activated in Native Access:
| PRODUCT | MANUFACTURER |
Native Access Activation | RELEASE DATE |
| Akoustik Piano Library | Native Instruments |
|
2007 |
| Elektrik Piano 1.5 Library | Native Instruments |
|
2004 |
| Reaktor 5 | Native Instruments |
|
2005 |
| Boesendorfer290 | East West | |
|
| Colossus | East West | |
|
| EWQLSO Gold Ed | East West | |
|
| EWQLSO Gold Ed Pro XP | East West | |
|
| EWQLSO Silver Ed | East West | |
|
| EWQLSOSilver Ed Pro XP | East West | |
|
| Hardcore Bass | East West | |
|
| Hardcore Bass XP | East West | |
|
| Percussive Adventures | East West | |
|
| PSP Adrenaline | East West | |
|
| PSP Drumkit From Hell 2 | East West | |
|
| PSP Percussive Adventures 2 LE | East West | |
|
| PSP Stormbreaks | East West | |
|
| PSP Vapor | East West | |
|
| Ra | East West | |
|
| SO Brass | East West | |
|
| SO Brass Pro XP | East West | |
|
| SO Percussion | East West | |
|
| SO Percussion Pro XP | East West | |
|
| SO Strings | East West | |
|
| SO Strings Pro XP | East West | |
|
| SO Woodwinds | East West | |
|
| SO Woodwinds Pro XP | East West | |
|
| Stormdrum | East West | |
|
| Stormdrum Intakt | East West | |
|
| Symphonic Choirs | East West | |
|
| Artist Drums | Best Service | |
|
| Artist Grooves | Best Service | |
|
| Chris Hein Horns | Best Service | |
|
| Classical Collection | Best Service | |
|
| Cult Sampler | Best Service | |
|
| Ethno World 3 Complete | Best Service | |
|
| Galaxy Steinway | Best Service | |
|
| Galaxy Steinway 5.1 | Best Service | |
|
| Latin World | Best Service | |
|
| Orient World | Best Service | |
|
| String Essentials | Best Service | |
|
| Altered States | Zero-G | |
|
| Analogue Sequencer Loops | Zero-G | |
|
| Beats Working in Cuba | Zero-G | |
|
| Morphology | Zero-G | |
|
| Nostalgia | Zero-G | |
|
| Outer Limits | Zero-G | |
|
| PSP Afrolatin Slam | Zero G | |
|
| PSP Koncept & Function | Zero-G | |
|
| PSP Nu Jointz | Zero-G | |
|
| PSP Vol 7 The Operating Table | Zero-G | |
|
| PSP Wired - The Elements of Trance | Zero-G | |
|
| Sounds of the 70s | Zero-G | |
|
| Sounds of Polynesia | Zero-G | |
|
| Vocal Forge | Zero-G | |
|
| Celtic Instruments | Big Fish Audio | |
|
| First Call Horns / KP2 | Big Fish Audio | |
|
| London Solo Strings | Big Fish Audio | |
|
| Raging Guitars | Big Fish Audio | |
|
| Garritan Jazz | Garritan | |
|
| Garritan Personal Orchestra | Garritan | |
|
| Virtual Grand Piano | Art Vista | |
|
| CM Session | Computer Music | |
|
| Future Loops | Future Music | |
|
| Virtual Drumline 2 | Tap Space | |
Here is the list of discontinued products that cannot be activated with Native Access:
| PRODUCT | MANUFACTURER |
Native Access Activation | RELEASE DATE |
| Absynth | Native Instruments | |
2003 |
| Absynth 2 | Native Instruments | |
2003 |
| Absynth 3 | Native Instruments | |
2005 |
| Absynth 4 | Native Instruments | |
2007 |
| Absynth Sounds Volume 1 | Native Instruments | |
2003 |
| AC-Box Combo | Native Instruments | |
2005 |
| B4 | Native Instruments | |
2000 |
| B4 II | Native Instruments | |
2005 |
| Bandstand | Native Instruments | |
2005 |
| Battery | Native Instruments | |
2001 |
| Battery 2 | Native Instruments | |
2004 |
| Battery Studio Drums | Native Instruments | |
2004 |
| Electronic Instruments 2 XT | Native Instruments | |
2005 |
| FM7 | Native Instruments | |
2002 |
| Guitar Combos | Native Instruments | |
2005 |
| Guitar Rig | Native Instruments | |
2004 |
| Guitar Rig 2 | Native Instruments | |
2005 |
| Intakt | Native Instruments | |
2003 |
| Kompakt | Native Instruments | |
2002 |
| Kompakt Sony ACID Pro | Native Instruments | |
2006 |
| Komplete 2 | Native Instruments | |
2004 |
| Kontakt 1.0 | Native Instruments | |
2002 |
| Kontakt 2 | Native Instruments | |
2005 |
| NI Essentials | Native Instruments | |
2005 |
| NI Spectral Delay | Native Instruments | |
2001 |
| Plex Combo | Native Instruments | |
2005 |
| Pro-52 | Native Instruments | |
2001 |
| Pro-53 | Native Instruments | |
2003 |
| Reaktor 2.3 | Native Instruments | |
2000 |
| Reaktor 3 | Native Instruments | |
2002 |
| Reaktor 4 | Native Instruments | |
2003 |
| Reaktor Electronic Instruments | Native Instruments | |
2003 |
| Reaktor Electronic Instruments 2 | Native Instruments | |
2004 |
| Reaktor Session | Native Instruments | |
2003 |
| Studio Collection | Native Instruments | |
2001 |
| Traktor DJ (from 2000) | Native Instruments | |
2000 |
| Traktor DJ Studio 1 | Native Instruments | |
2000 |
| Traktor DJ Studio 2 | Native Instruments | |
2002 |
| Traktor DJ Studio 3 / LE | Native Instruments | |
2005 |
| Traktor FS 1.5 | Native Instruments | |
2003 |
| Traktor FS 2 | Native Instruments | |
2005 |
| Traktor Hercules | Native Instruments | |
2005 |
| Twang Combo | Native Instruments | |
2005 |
| Vokator | Native Instruments | |
2003 |
Frequently Asked Questions:
Why did Native Instruments decide to terminate the discontinued activation tool Service Center?
Service Center was already replaced by Native Access in 2016. There was a clear urgency for us to discontinue it due to growing security concerns with the way data is being transmitted. The older technology we are currently relying on is impeding our complete move to an enterprise-grade user authorization service that offers state-of-the-art security features.
Why did Native Instruments decide to remove the possibility to authorize legacy products?
We have kept many of our older products operational and compatible with evolving operating systems and changes in our own ecosystem. At this point the effort required to uphold activation mechanisms for products that have been conceived and implemented more than ten years ago has already obstructed our path towards more modern ways of delivery and use. Major changes in operating systems like MacOS 10.15 (Catalina) have multiplied the issues for our activation processes. It is not possible to update our listed products to work on modern operating systems within reasonable effort.
In regards to 3rd party instruments we have found a workaround (see above). Regarding our own content products, we are currently looking into possible solutions.
Why am I affected by this announcement if my Kontakt library is activating in Native Access?
For the same reason we have to discontinue Service Center, we have to retire our older activation mechanisms. Unfortunately, this affects the listed legacy products. In addition, recent operating system updates have introduced more difficulties which we are no longer able to address.
Is Native Instruments currently looking into any other solutions for affected customers?
Yes, in specific cases we might be able to provide at-your-own risk support for our end-of-life products. We can’t promise anything at this point and technical feasibility needs to be evaluated. We will share more information about this as soon as possible.