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cherw67813282
cherw67813282
Participant
July 14, 2022
Question

Serial number expired or invalid years ago while I was using the program

  • July 14, 2022
  • 2 replies
  • 1355 views

Thsi is a complaint because Adobe is an awful company to work with, it may be deleted. Just got off the phone with Adobe CS and am crying. I purchased PE2019 in January 2019, installed and registered the product and used it for years. My computer SSD crashed last fall and I just now got to installing it again. I got an error message when I entered the serial number "Your Adobe serial number has expired or is invalid" and a phone number to call for assistance. It also says to call the number if I was a victim of fraud to see if I qualify for discounts, but I don't believe I was a victim of fraud, I believe I'm a victim of a greedy and heartless software company. Why care about people who buy a small program to use and enjoy when you can cancel their serial numbers and make them pay a monthly fee. CS didn't care that I have the original receipt from the purchase and also can't explain why I was able to use the product with a serial number that they claim was deactivated the same month that I registered the product in 2019. They also couldn't explain how that program kept working for me even though the serial number was bad the whole time. All they would tell me is that the email address I gave them was not the one they have on record, and there is no other way to verify that I am the rightful owner. Assistance for a victim of fraud? Doesn't exist. My only option is pay full price for the current version or a monthly fee. Sorry guys, the last few years have been tough and I just don't have it. Adobe doesn't need my business anyway, I'm just a single person trying to do the best I can.

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

Nancy OShea
Community Expert
Nancy OSheaCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 15, 2022

1. Who did you pay?  Did you purchase directly from Adobe or from a 3rd party seller?   

2. Did you share your license with other users?

 

We hear complaints from time-to-time when users realize they have been cheated by 3rd party sellers.  Sadly, there is nothing fellow product users here can do except sympathize & tell you to contact the seller.  Next time, deal directly with Adobe or buy genuine products from authorized re-sellers only.

 

The good news is that Elements doesn't cost much.  You can get a new version for less than $100, no subscription needed.

https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements.html

Creative Cloud Photography Plan (approx $10/month for 12 months). Includes the following:

  • Photoshop CC and Photoshop on iPad
  • Lightroom on desktop, mobile and the web
  • Lightroom Classic
  • Portfolio website + hosting
  • Creative Cloud Express (free starter plan)
  • Bridge
  • 20 GB cloud storage (upgradable to 1 TB).

https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography.html

Premium Creative Cloud Express ($10/month).

  • Creative Cloud Express app (web and mobile)
  • Premiere Rush (desktop and mobile)
  • Photoshop Express (mobile)
  • Spark Video (mobile)
  • Spark Page (mobile)
  • Adobe Portfolio + hosting
  • 100 GB of cloud storage
  • All premium templates and design assets including the entire collection of over 160 million royalty-free Adobe Stock photo collection.

https://helpx.adobe.com/express/using/express-overview.html

Creative Cloud All Apps (51 + apps & services) and Single Apps Plans
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html

 

Hope that helps.

 

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
kglad
Community Expert
kgladCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 14, 2022

1. when an adobe program is activated with a serial number, the serial number is checked as at that time. 

 

2. if a subsequent check finds a serial number is invalid, the program will continue to work properly in perpetuity, because adobe perpetual programs (eg, pse) do not again contact adobe activation servers

 

3. when a reinstall (and reactivation) is attempted, the serial number is again checked by adobe, and at that time (as happened to you) they can deny activation.

 

4. serial number invalidation can occur for a number of reasons, not all of them requiring malicious intent by the serial number owner.  eg, if someone else obtains that serial number, that would invalidate your serial number, and that can occur without your knowledge or cooperation.

cherw67813282
cherw67813282Author
Participant
July 15, 2022

Here is a quote from your Adobe Genuine FAQS:

"The Adobe Genuine Service periodically verifies whether installed Adobe apps are genuine or not, helping protect customers from security vulnerabilities and harmful malware that may be present in non-genuine apps.* When Adobe apps are found to be not genuine, the AGS can inform the user through notifications. The notifications provide detailed information on how to resolve the issue. In an effort to block fraudulent activity and help safeguard the user's machine, Adobe may disable the non-genuine Adobe app."

 

From your Adobe Genuine Service page:

"The service is designed to:

  • Periodically verify whether the Adobe apps installed on your machine are genuine. 
  • Notify you through pop-up and in-app notifications if non-genuine Adobe apps are found. 
  • Provide detailed information on how to resolve the issue via the notification. 
  • Provide access to a specialized customer support team via the notification. "

Also:

"an effort to block fraudulent activity and help safeguard your machine, Adobe may disable the identified non-genuine Adobe app."

 

#4 above seems to say that if someone tries to use my serial number, from my genuine Adobe product without my knowledge, that the serial number would be deactivated and I would lose the use of the program and have to re-purchase it?

kglad
Community Expert
kgladCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 15, 2022

1. these are user-to-user forums.  ie, i'm not adobe and i'm not an adobe rep

 

2. despite your quotes, i've never seen anyone stating their software was disabled (after a successful activation) and i've posted over 100,000 times on the adobe forums.  you're a perfect example of that. ie, like all others i've seen, you didn't learn of a problem until you tried to reinstall.

 

3. you can't (legally) purchase older adobe software.  well, actually you can, but it's a diffcult (perhaps impossible) process: it's pretty unlikely that any ebay/amazon vendors are able to conform.  and i'm pretty sure no other onlone vendor even thinks they're selling legal sotware so they wouldn't try.

 

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