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Known Participant
Aug 13, 2024 12:52 PM UTC
Answered

How to continue using the CS perpetual license I purchased

Many years ago, I bought a set of Photoshop CS1 boxed products. Although pirated software was rampant in my country at that time, I did not agree with the practice of using pirated software, so I spent a high price to purchase it. However, now it seems that this was actually a wrong decision. Purchasing genuine Adobe software actually does not provide any guarantee! CS1 for Win is the first product to use activation technology, and CS1 for Mac does not require activation. Unfortunately, I purchased the for win version!Because I am not an industry user, I only use it occasionally and it remained idle for many years afterwards,Recently, when I wanted to use it again, I found that it could no longer be activated,I have already communicated with Adobe customer service 6 times regarding this issue. Can you believe it?They should be very clear about the problem I am facing, but they cannot solve it. They repeatedly provide mechanical responses(EOL), urging you to pay the subscription fee or seek help on the forum! However, during communication with the customer service department, it was learned that Adobe had closed the activation server, resulting in the inability to activate!But they refused to solve the problem that caused me trouble because the version I was using had already stopped serving. Unless I pay to purchase a new version!Oh my god, when I tried to reason with the customer service, they only told me that the product had already been discontinued,But the question is, the product has been discontinued, what is the connection between this and users who have already purchased permanent licenses continuing to use the product?I don't need technical support, nor do I need to use this product on the latest system.I just hope to continue using the products with permanent authorization on my old computer with the old system installed.But let's take a look at what Adobe has done? Constantly asking me to purchase new subscription products, no matter what I say, mechanically repeatedly sending and rejecting my reasonable demands.But I just want to continue using the product that I purchased with a perpetual license, what did I do wrong?
The following is a Q&A on Adobe's official website regarding activation issues when launching CS products for the first time.

Q: What happens if the product is discontinued?
A: Adobe is fully committed to honoring the terms of its Product License Agreements. In the event that a product is discontinued, Adobe will enable automatic approval of all activation requests for that product or provide a means to remove activation outright. In either case, the customer will not experience any change in software capabilities.

Q: What happens if Adobe releases a newer version of Photoshop CS software? Will I be able to activate the older version?
A: Yes. Even after the older version of the product stops shipping, you can activate your copy of Photoshop CS.

Q: Will I be able to use the software in perpetuity? What happens if Adobe shuts down?
A: Adobe's Product License Agreements typically grant the user of an Adobe product the right to use it in perpetuity. Adobe plans to honor these agreements. In the unlikely event of the company's shutting down, we will enable automatic approval of all activation requests or provide other technical means allowing users to continue using our products.

Adobe's current approach is too disappointing, greedy and promises cannot be fulfilled! I hope brothers who have similar experiences can tell me how you solved this problem
I don't want to give up on this issue. It is my right to continue using the product I purchased, and Adobe should also fulfill its promise at that time to provide a version that can be used normally by all users whose software cannot be activated due to the deactivation of the activation server

kglad
kgladCorrect answer
Community Expert
Aug 13, 2024 2:36 PM UTC

you can't activate anything prior to cs5.

28 replies

Participant
Nov 14, 2026 8:09 AM UTC

I have had a very similar experience.

I purchased Adobe CS6 after carefully confirming with Adobe that my purchase was legitimate and eligible for activation. When I received the software, I contacted Adobe Customer Support and followed their instructions for installation and activation. Adobe successfully activated CS6, and I was able to use the software without any issues for my personal projects.

Several years later, I needed to transfer CS6 to a newer laptop because Microsoft no longer supported my existing Windows 10 device. Before doing anything, I again contacted Adobe Support, explained the situation, and was advised that the transfer could be completed.

I was specifically instructed to:

  1. Uninstall CS6 from my existing Windows 10 computer.
  2. Install the original CS6 software on the new computer.
  3. Follow the normal activation process on the new Windows 11 laptop.

I followed these instructions exactly as provided. However, when I attempted to activate the software on the new machine, I was informed that this version of CS6 could no longer be activated. Shortly afterwards, I began receiving prompts encouraging me to purchase a subscription-based Adobe product instead.

This was extremely frustrating because I had relied on Adobe's guidance throughout the process. Had I been informed from the outset that activation would no longer be possible, I would have considered alternative solutions before removing the software from my original computer. Instead, after following Adobe's instructions in good faith, I was left unable to use a product that had previously been activated and functioning correctly.

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kglad
Community Expert
Community Expert
Nov 14, 2026 3:48 PM UTC

​@Peter John_Levene2925 

 

the instructions you posted are incorrect.  what you were told and by whom your were told it, i cannot verify, but fyi, you should

 

  1. deactivate cs6 (using a computer that can reach adobe’s servers*)
  2.  then install the original cs6 software on the new computer. (uninstallation isn’t necessary, but won’t hurt as long as deactivation was registered on adobe’s end.)
  3. activate you cs6 on your new computer

 

*

https://community.adobe.com/t5/download-install-discussions/activation-limit-reached-for-non-subscription-adobe-desktop-applications/td-p/14804413?linkId=100000376554410

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kglad
Community Expert
kgladCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
Aug 13, 2024 2:36 PM UTC

you can't activate anything prior to cs5.

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l_8871Author
Known Participant
Aug 13, 2024 2:44 PM UTC

Adobe should fulfill its commitment to provide special versions to permanently authorized users affected by activation

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kglad
Community Expert
Community Expert
Aug 13, 2024 2:53 PM UTC

that ship sailed so many years ago i can't even remember anyone with cs complaining.

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