Adobe Acrobat Version 20 Reset License count

Forum|Forum|4 months ago
September 16, 2025
2 replies
413 views

Hi everyone,
I purchased Adobe Acrobat Pro (version 2020) back in 2021 with a license for three devices. I installed it on three laptops, but two of those machines are no longer in service. When I attempted to install the software on new laptops, I received an error stating that I had exceeded my license limit.
I contacted Adobe Support to explain the situation and requested a reset of my license count. Unfortunately, the support representative informed me that they couldn’t reset the licenses and insisted I purchase a new subscription. I find it quite surprising—and frankly disappointing—that a company like Adobe doesn’t offer a way to reassign licenses from decommissioned devices.
After spending over an hour on the phone, I’m still stuck: I own valid licenses, but I can’t use them.
Has anyone else encountered this issue? If so, how did you resolve it or escalate it to someone at Adobe who could actually help? I’d appreciate any guidance. So far, my experience with Adobe’s support team has been very frustrating.
Thanks in advance.

Correct answer kglad

the only way to deactivate is to use a computer that has an activation. if that's impossible, it's impossible to deactivate.

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

MODERN OPTIONS:
==============
FREE Acrobat Reader
https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pdf-reader.html

FREE Online PDF Editor

https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/online/pdf-editor.html\

Paid Acrobat (Standard, Pro or Studio)

https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pricing/compare-versions.html

Hope that helps.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

Jeffrey_A_Wright

Community Manager

Ashok, I am sorry, but Kglad and Nancy are correct. The only way to manage any remaining activations is to deactivate them on the previously activated computer. You can find more information on how to manage any remaining activations for Acrobat at https://adobe.ly/46b8n4i. ^JW

A

Ashok37061367vrcfAuthor

Participant

Thank you for your response. As I mentioned earlier, both of the original SSDs are completely fried and have already been replaced with new ones. Because of this, I had no way to sign out or uninstall Adobe from those two laptops beforehand.
What’s truly frustrating is that Adobe continues to suggest purchasing additional licenses as the only solution, rather than offering meaningful support. This feels less like customer care and more like an attempt to gouge users for more money. It’s disappointing that Adobe tracks the number of active instances but provides no way for users to reset or manage them—especially in today’s technologically advanced world.
To make matters worse, when I log into my account, I can see the license for Adobe Acrobat 20 along with the license key, but there’s no information about how many instances are currently active or any option to remotely sign out. The lack of transparency and control is baffling.
Frankly, I expected better from a company of Adobe’s stature.