As we announced back in November 2019 in our article Pro Tools Reinstatement Pricing To End Soon - We Have The Facts, that Avid discontinued their reinstatement plans for users who had allowed their support and update plan to lapse. We were under the impression that the remaining stock held by dealers had long sold out but it transpires that a handful of dealers still have some stock. We have the details…

The Background

Avid released a Reinstatement FAQ Knowledgebase article dated November 27th 2019, announcing that with effect from January 1st, 2020, Avid would no longer be offering Reinstatement Plans to reactivate an annual upgrade and support plan for either Pro Tools or Pro Tools Ultimate software.

From January 1st 2020 it was no longer be able to purchase a reinstatement plan from Avid Online Store, for either Pro Tools or Pro Tools Ultimate. However, it was possible to purchase a reinstatement plan from an Avid dealer for as long as they have stocks of the reinstatement plan you need, either for Pro Tools Standard or Pro Tools Ultimate. Once Avid dealers have sold out it will no longer be possible to buy a Pro Tools Reinstatement Plan.

What Is Reinstatement?

Avid’s aim was that all perpetual Pro Tools and Pro Tools Ultimate owners would take out and renew an annual upgrade plan every year and so always have access to the latest version of Pro Tools.

As we know, not everyone chose that option, with some users not prepared to take out an annual upgrade plan choosing instead not to spend the money and allow it to lapse.

To encourage those users back onto an annual upgrade plan, Avid offered a Reinstatement Plan, which for a price, enabled users with a lapsed upgrade plan to buy back into an annual upgrade plan. It is this option for Pro Tools and Pro Tools Ultimate perpetual license owners to get back onto an annual upgrade plan that Avid discontinued on December 31st 2019.

Is This The End of Perpetual Licenses For Pro Tools?

Avid says in their Reinstatement FAQ article that “there are no plans to discontinue perpetual licensing. You may still purchase a new perpetual license and, if you own a perpetual license with an active plan, you can continue to stay up to date with the latest versions of your software by purchasing an annual renewal each year.”

Which Dealers Do And Don’t Still Have Stock

Having heard that there might still be some dealers with a stock of reinstatement plans, we undertook some research and found that there are a handful of dealers that still have stock of Pro Tools Standard and Pro Tools Ultimate Reinstatement Plans.

This list isn’t exhaustive, it’s not practical to check every dealer across the world, but we hope it helps, especially if you are trying to track down a reinstatement plan so you can stay with a perpetual license and get up to date.

Pro Tools Ultimate - No Stock

Dealers who no longer have stock or who have removed the product from their site include RSPE, HHB, Thomman, Westlake Pro, Sweetwater, Vintage King, and B&H.

Pro Tools Ultimate - Limited Stock

Mediaspec in the UK - At the time of writing their website is reporting that there are currently 2 left in stock at the special price of £750.

Eastwood Sound And Vision in the UK have told us that they have 32 left in stock at the price of £812.50 ex UK VAT

Alto Music in the US is showing that you can still buy it at $999 but there is no indication of the amount of stock they have.

Pro Tools Standard - No Stock

B&H, Westlake Pro, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Vintage King, HHB, and RSPE

Pro Tools Standard - Limited Stock

Music Lab in Australia is showing that you can still buy it $449 (Aus) but there is no indication of the amount of stock they have.

Thomann - in Germany is showing that you can still buy it for €219 but there is no indication of the amount of stock they have.

UPDATE: Something to be aware of when buying a reinstatement plan:

Don’t add your Reinstatement to your Avid account and don’t redeem your Code until you’re ready to use it – it’s important to note that the clock on your Software Updates and Support Plan starts when you redeem the code.

From the Reinstatement FAQ on the Avid Knowledgebase:

Q: If I purchase a reinstatement and do not immediately redeem, will it expire?
A: No. When you purchase a reinstatement from a reseller the code does not expire and you are able to use it at a future time. (Important to note that the clock on your Software Updates and Support Plan starts when you redeem the code in my.avid.com/products/redemption.) Avid will continue to honor reinstatement redemptions after we discontinue selling them.