A similar issue re internet activation was raised the other day in https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/internet-connection-required-why--130851/

Please note that the 'good old days' were the days when Sony owned Vegas Pro and it was possible to activate via another computer. Vegas Pro 13 was the last version produced by Sony before they sold it and other products to MAGIX. All subsequent versions of Vegas Pro (i.e. 14 onwards) have been produced by Vegas Creative Software under the MAGIX umbrella, and branding is now just Vegas Pro (since Sony no longer have any involvement in it). MAGIX software activation does not retain the activation process historically used by Sony for Vegas Pro 13 and earlier.

Tech support ... made it clear that internet is required for activation.

I guess that's the official answer from MAGIX to your question.

It would be advantageous to some if MAGIX used iLok or similar for activations as an alternative to the online requirement.

@Chris-Pickett

Hi,

Most people have a cell phone with data, so you should be able to use it for linking to the internet by creating a hot spot or tethering. I have 10GB and my wife has 30GB allowance per month. This is what we do when we are away from home. I have done updates of software, connecting with Magix, and uploads to YT through my cell phone.

Just keep the installation file(s) on your computer.

John CB

Thinking about your requirements I think a cleaner option would be to create a system image and revert to that as a backup in the field rather than trying to manually install many components individually.

I often have to work in environments with sketchy cellular service. When time is of a concern, I don't have time for a hotspot solution, despite carrying a cell phone. A system image ins't a viable option as I don't feel like making a daily image to have convenient for "just in case" plus Microsoft saying "It has to be a hard drive, not a flashdrive for us to retrieve your system image". I also have to deal with worst-case scenarios. Rebuilding a system doesn't take much time and I always have my component drivers and scripts that take care of all those being installed so I don't overlook anything. Plus my past experiences with system image restores is rarely favorable. There's always some issue with those.

I mean, for a "professional" product, which Vegas is, I'm often working in a no-excuses environment. I prefer an offline installer. It takes FAR less time than anything else since I can have it readily available.

I'm on the hunt for another solution. It was a fun 12 years, but apparently Magix has told me it's time to move on. Complete waste of upgrade dollars.

@Chris-Pickett

The installation exe is offline - on your system or flash drive, but you have to connect to activate, which takes less than a minute.

John CB

There is an installer that fetches the installation program which is the part that you need to keep, unless I am mistaken. You only need the internet to activate.

I do this with all of my Magix software so that if I ever have to reinstall, I have all of the executables - nothing to download except a patch, in the worst case.

John CB

Chris-Pickett, like you, I would like direct access to the download files (including all the files in the Suite), not the stubby little online download manager, and I would like to be able to enter the serial number and have the program activate immediately (and not be penalized by pirate-paranoid prohibitions that have never stopped a pirate).

@Chris-Pickett @Ecquillii

I just looked and I have both the small exe downloader files and the actual installation exe's for both Vegas Pro Edit 15 (471+MB) and Movie Studio 16 (517+ MB) on my hard drive. They were left there after installation. I suggest that you do a search of your hard drives. You may also find the other third party files on your hard drive; I don't have any for Vegas, so I can't say.

Yes, you will still have to activate.

@Ecquillii Wrong, the activation method adopted by Magix is not perfect, but I expect that it has eliminated most of the flagrant pirating. It is not paranoia - it is real. Please don't come back and tell me about all of the piracy sites; cracked versions exist, but it is now easy to tell a cracked version of Vegas from a real version.

You will still need a connection to get updates.

@Chris-Pickett

If this is so important to you, then I suggest that you carry a second computer with you. If you have to reinstall everything, including Windows, activating Vegas is the least of your problems.

john-brown, whatever your expectations are for its efficacy, I would like to see the actual statistics for how well copy protection works and how much it impedes legal owners. (And, yes, I always save the actual installation EXE, not the download manager. By direct access to it, I meant transparently provide us with a direct link to the installation files, not just the DLM stub, without us having to search a user-maintained thread to find that link! That being so, the solutions you offer do not address or solve the other aspects of the problem as I perceive it.)

My reference to pirating was consistent with the original poster's recognition of the necessity of protection against piracy—with piracy, generally speaking, being the motive for all copy protection measures. As for my word-choice, the word "paranoid" has more definitions, and more utility, than just the delusional one you picked out.

To be clear, and unambiguous, I am decidedly not in favour of measures which hamper legal owners, whatever the reasoning may be. (I, of course, am speaking for myself, and therefore cannot be wrong about my opinion about such things. My own needs and wants are different than—and not as rigorous as—those of the original poster. And also apparently quite different than yours.)

I always like to remember that one of the early contributors to this forum back in the Sonic Foundry days, from whom I and others learned much, was introduced to Vegas Video (as it was called back then) through a pirated copy.

Although I don't post here much, I wanted to affirm my support for a form of copy protection that does not hamper legal owners, and I am thankful to be able to express that opinion.

@Ecquillii

You are entitled to your opinion. My opinion is that if it didn't work or wasn't effective, Magix/Vegas would try something else. I have not felt hampered by the current process.

By direct access to it, I meant transparently provide us with a direct link to the installation files, not just the DLM stub, without us having to search a user-maintained thread to find that link!

What you call the "user-maintained thread"s are under the News tab and are maintained by a Vegas employee, not some user.

...the solutions you offer do not address or solve the other aspects of the problem as I perceive it.)

I just tried to help, not complain. Your lack of helpful suggestions is duly noted.

John CB

Well, I may have inadvertently caused confusion: my request, in the context of this thread, for a direct download link, was to bypass the forum altogether. In a less confusing form: on the MAGIX Service Center My Products page, I can still download the original EXE for my old Sony products, but for the new MAGIX products I am only given a link to the download manager which then downloads the full program. I would like the middle step removed (without having to resort to a work-around).

If your implication in your last remark is that I am complaining, you might be right. But a more generous interpretation would be that there is a difference between complaining about something, and asking for something to be better. 

As for your dig about my lack of helpfulness, I don't understand what you hope to gain by that. Sometimes, even if we cannot offer overt help, we can offer helpful sympathy and support for another's plight. I hope that the issues of the original poster are resolved (by which I mean: truly resolved) to his satisfaction.