How to Roll Back to Waves V16

Jun 23, 2026

If you inadvertently installed a plugin version that cannot run on your operating system or host application and wish to roll back to V16 plugins, follow these instructions.

If you have activated licenses of a newer version, no worries! Licenses of the current plugin version will activate V16 software, as long as the product/s in question exist in V16.

To find out whether a certain plugin exists in V16, visit the V16 Download page and scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Step #1: Uninstall the higher version

  1. Quit any host application.
  2. Launch Waves Central and log in.
  3. On the left-hand side, click the Settings page.
  4. Under Maintenance, click the Uninstall drop-down menu and choose to uninstall the current plugins version.

Step #2: Install V16 software

  •    Click here for an interactive tutorial in Waves Central
    1. Launch the Waves Central application on the computer where your licenses are activated.
      On Windows: via the desktop shortcut or via Start Menu > All Programs > Waves Central.
      On Mac: Applications > Waves Central.
    2. Log into Waves Central.
    3. Click the Install Products page > All Products tab.
    4. Click the View menu and select only V16 Plugins.
    5. Use the search bar to search and select the products you wish to install. Review the selections in the Summary section.
    6. Click the Install button.
    1. Quit any host application.
    2. Download the V16 Offline Installation Folder for Mac | Windows.
    3. Unzip the folder to your desktop.
    4. Navigate to the Waves Waves 1.6.26 folder you just extracted.
    5. In the folder, launch the file named “install.cen”.
    6. Waves Central will open on the Offline Installer page.
    7. Use the search bar to search and select the products you wish to install.
    8. Click Install.

Need any further assistance? Contact Technical Support.