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Participant
October 15, 2026
Answered

Licence Adobe CS 5.5

Hi everyone,

I have a question.

In 2024, I installed Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 on my laptop running Windows 11, and everything works fine. The software is not registered to my Adobe ID (and I can no longer register it).

I am now having trouble installing it on my desktop computer, which also runs Windows 11. During installation, I get an error message stating that the activation limit has already been reached and that my serial number cannot be accepted.

I have read that Adobe shut down its licensing servers. Am I right in understanding that, because these servers are no longer available, the installed software cannot verify the license and therefore reports an error?

In other words, if I deactivate the software on my laptop to free up an activation so that I can install it on my desktop, is there a risk that I will still be unable to activate it on the new computer? In that case, I would have voluntarily deactivated the software on my laptop and might no longer be able to reactivate it there either, all because the licensing servers are no longer working.

Have I understood the situation correctly?

Thanks in advance for any clarification.

    John T Smith
    John T SmithCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    October 15, 2026

    The server for CS4 and earlier is gone, and the server for CS5/5.5/6 is no longer maintained, so if you have a problem nobody at Adobe is able to help

    An activation limit message is due to having used both of the 2 allowed activations… so at some point you activated on a 2nd computer

    DE-activating on your laptop **should** work… but if something goes wrong you are correct, you won’t be able to use the program at all

    3 replies

    kglad
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 15, 2026

    yes, there is a (significant) risk you’ll lose use of cs5.5 if you deactivate, but not because the server isn’t working.  the cs5.5 deactivation and activation servers are working.

     

    for more information read https://community.adobe.com/t5/download-install-discussions/activation-limit-reached-for-non-subscription-adobe-desktop-applications/td-p/14804413?linkId=100000305463075 

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    John T Smith
    Community Expert
    John T SmithCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    October 15, 2026

    The server for CS4 and earlier is gone, and the server for CS5/5.5/6 is no longer maintained, so if you have a problem nobody at Adobe is able to help

    An activation limit message is due to having used both of the 2 allowed activations… so at some point you activated on a 2nd computer

    DE-activating on your laptop **should** work… but if something goes wrong you are correct, you won’t be able to use the program at all

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    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 15, 2026

    Deactivation or activation of CS5 is no longer supported.

    So unfortunately in effect you cannot do anything about that version anymore. 

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