Activation and deactivation of Adobe products

Background information and common issues related to licensing technologies for Adobe
products, including server addresses and ports.

In Acrobat 8, CS 3, and earlier products, you activate your software on the phone or by going
online. The license information is sent to Adobe through the method you select. After the license
is verified, the product is activated and available for use. Activate on every new computer on
which you run your product. If you want to install on a new computer, first deactivate on your
previous primary or secondary computer and then explicitly activate on the new one.

Activate over the Internet

When you first open or install your software, the Activation wizard appears.

1. Click the Activate Now button.

2. When you see the Activation Successful message, click the Next button.

Activate by telephone

Although it is faster to activate over the Internet, you can activate by phone.

1. When you call 866-772-3623, be at your computer.

2. Have the activation number provided in the Activation screen ready to give to the Adobe
representative. The representative then gives you an activation authorization code.

Solutions to common activation problems

TRY THIS FIRST

• Contact Support if you switched out the hard drive or reconfigured your computer
• Deactivate on one computer before using your software on another

More solutions

• You have already activated on the authorized number of computers

• You get an activation error after using your software on VMWare or another virtual machine
• You cannot deactivate because the Deactivate option is unavailable (dimmed)
• You get an error message when you try to activate Acrobat 9 on a Dell computer
• Your computer can’t connect to the activation site because of network problems
• Your computer is behind a firewall that blocks access to the activation site
The two most common reasons for activation errors are (1) a computer reconfiguration and (2)
using the software on too many computers.

Call Support if you switched out the hard drive or reconfigured your computer

The Activation Server sometimes does not recognize your computer after you switch out the hard
drive or otherwise reconfigure your computer.
 • Contact Adobe Support. You can't solve this problem on your own.

Have your serial number ready. (Look on the CD or DVD case, either on the back cover or on a
sticker, or in the e-mail confirming your purchase). If you don't know your serial number, try to find
it first by reading Find a product serial number (tn_15290).

Deactivate on one computer before using your software on another

Before trying to activate on a different computer, deactivate on the computer on which you last
used the product.
Important: Uninstalling your product on one computer does not deactivate it on that computer.
Explicitly deactivate by following these directions.

• Make sure that you are connected to the Internet.

o In Creative Suite 4 and 5, choose Help > Deactivate. In Creative Suite 5,
deactivate on virtual machines after you finish working on them.
o In Creative Suite 3, choose Help > Deactivate to start the Deactivation wizard.
When you finish, select Erase My Serial Number From This Computer.
o If you uninstalled your software without deactivating, reinstall on the old computer
and deactivate. If your old computer is not available, contact Adobe Support.

For a full discussion, see You have already activated the product on the authorized number of
computers, next.

You have already activated the product on the authorized number of computers

• Deactivate (CS5 products)

• Deactivate (Acrobat X, Acrobat 9, and CS4 products)
• Deactivate (Acrobat 8, CS3, and earlier products)
• If you uninstalled a product without deactivating it
If you have reached the limit of authorized activations, you can deactivate the product on one
computer and reactivate on another. (Alternatively, you can purchase another license from
the Adobe Store.)
You need an Internet connection to deactivate, and you cannot cancel the process after you start
it.
Note: If you received a reissued a serial number from Adobe Support, use the last serial number
provided. You can install with the old number, but it can cause an activation error.

Deactivate (Acrobat X, Acrobat 9, and CS4 products)

After you activate an Adobe product, the Deactivate option appears in the Help menu.

1. Connect to the Internet.

2. Choose Help > Deactivate.

Use this option to deactivate your product before you uninstall it. If the Deactivate option is
dimmed, see You cannot deactivate because the Deactivate option is unavailable (dimmed).

Deactivate (Acrobat 8, CS3, and earlier products)

In earlier products, you deactivate by transferring activation of your Adobe software from your
original computer to a new computer. After you install the software on your new computer, you
are asked to reactivate the software. At this time, uninstall the software from your older computer
to comply with the license agreement. The uninstaller asks whether to transfer the activation, so
that activation is available for another installation on another computer using the same serial
number.

1. Connect to the Internet.

2. From the Help menu, choose Deactivate to start the Deactivation wizard.
3. If you want to activate on another computer, select Erase My Serial Number From This
Computer.
4. When you see the Deactivation Successful message, click the Exit button.

In most circumstances, this activation proceeds smoothly. Some older versions of Adobe
software, such as RoboHelp 4 and Serious Magic products, do not enable activation transfer. If
you are using software that does not enable transfer, contact Adobe Support.
Note: In a product suite, deactivation applies to all suite components. You can’t run any of the
components until you reactivate.

If you uninstalled a product without deactivating it

1. Reinstall the product on the old computer, connect to the Internet, and then choose Help
> Deactivate.
2. If the old computer is not available, contact Adobe Support.

You cannot deactivate because the Deactivate option is unavailable (dimmed)

The option Help > Deactivate can be dimmed for the following reasons:

• You are trying to deactivate Acrobat X, or Acrobat 9 and it is part of the suite. Try to
deactivate from another product in the suite.
• Your company purchased the product under a volume licensing agreement. In this case,
the serial number is not associated with an activation count. The Deactivate option is not
applicable to you.
• The activation failed (silently). Because the software was never activated, you can’t
deactivate.

If you can’t resolve the problem, contact Adobe Support.

Your computer can’t connect to the activation site because of network problems

During the activation process, Adobe Creative Suite 4 and Creative Suite 5 use port 443 to
connect to the activation site at https://activate.adobe.com. The software uses this connection to
detect how many times you have activated the software.
To determine whether you can connect to this site, follow these instructions to “ping” the
activation server. If this test fails, configure proxy settings for Internet access in Network System
Preferences. If you need assistance with this task, contact your Internet Service Provider or IT
Administrator.

Windows XP

1. Click Start > Run.

2. Type cmd in the Open box and then press Enter.
3. At the prompt, type ping activate.adobe.com and press Enter.
Windows Vista/Windows 7

1. Click Start, type cmd in the Start Search box, and press Enter.
2. At the prompt, type ping activate.adobe.com and press Enter.

Mac OS

1. From the desktop, choose Go > Utilities.

2. Double-click Terminal.
3. At the prompt, type ping activate.adobe.com and press Enter.

You have access if this test returns the following string: activate.adobe.com [ip address] (Ignore
the other information returned.)
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Your computer is behind a firewall that blocks access to the activation site

Retail copies of Adobe Creative Suite 4 and Creative Suite 5 use https port 443 to activate.

• To complete activation successfully, configure software- or hardware firewalls to allow

access to activate.adobe.com on https port 443.
Note: For prerelease software, the address is practivate.adobe.com on the same port.

Contact the software or hardware firewall manufacturer for configuration information, or contact
your IT Administrator.
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Activation error code numbers

If your activation attempt fails with an error code number, such as 93:-12 or 93:-14, look up the
code in Activation error codes. Follow the directions there.