Locate the activation code. If you bought your copy of Cubase in a box, the activation code will be printed on the "Essential Product License Information" sheet inside the product’s box. If you downloaded Cubase from Steinberg's online shop, the activation code can be found in the confirmation email you received when you purchased.
Go to Steinberg's "Product Activation" website (see Resources). There are two different processes for licensing your software, depending upon which version you have. If you have Cubase LE, Cubase AI and WaveLab LE, each Sequel Content Set or the boxed retail software products Sequel and WaveLab Elements, you'll need to go through a slightly different process involving the Soft-eLicenser rather than the USB-eLicenser.
Download the eLicenser Control Center (eLCC) for your operating system. Once download is complete, launch the eLCC installer and follow the instructions to install.
Launch the eLCC once installation is complete. To do so, click "Start menu," "Programs," then "eLicenser" on a Windows PC, or find "eLicenser" in the "Applications" folder of Mac OS X.
Click "Enter Activation Code" and enter the activation code in the field provided. This will download the license. Follow the instructions onscreen to complete the download and activation of the license. According to Steinberg's website, "Activation of the license requires that at least one USB-eLicenser is connected to a USB port on your computer and that it is identified by the operating system. In this case, the "eLicensers" list should display at least one USB-eLicenser."
If you have Cubase LE, Cubase AI and WaveLab LE, each Sequel Content Set or the boxed retail software products Sequel and WaveLab Elements, the license will download to your Soft-eLicenser instead of the USB-eLicenser, but the process remains identical.