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Participant
Aug 5, 2026 4:05 PM UTC
Question

I am trying to deactivate my Flash Builder 4.5 (on 2 machines) so that I can activate on 2 other machines. I called installation support and they directed me here.

When I try to use the deactivation feature within Flash Builder, it say “Deactivation was not successful.  Please try again.”  

    8 replies

    Participant
    Sep 25, 2026 7:51 AM UTC

    Hi,

    I have a new PC and I am trying to insert the key, but it says it is already used in max 2 computers.

    I assume one of them it was because I needed to replace the motherboard of this new PC and also did a windows reinstall, so I cannot decativate that “old” one. 

    Is there any solution? I have applications I still need to support.

    Thanks

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    Nancy OShea
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    Sep 27, 2026 8:19 PM UTC

    ​@nuno84,

    Unfortunately, unless you can deactivate from at least 2 devices, you can’t continue using this license. 

    Which Adobe application was this for? 

     

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    Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
    Participant
    Sep 28, 2026 1:38 PM UTC

    Hi Nancy,

    First of all thank you so much for taking the time to help.

    What if I have no way to deactivate? Because I used in old computers that I don’t have or were formatted and the motherboard changed.

    Is there a way to request a reset to Adobe so they invalidate every active licence from their side? Because I don’t have a way to deactivate.

    Thank you so much

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    Jon Fritz
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    Aug 6, 2026 12:32 PM UTC

    I’m reasonably sure you’re simply out of luck here.

    The final version of the program came out in 2012 at version 4.7. Main support ended in 2017 and all extended support ended in 2019.

    Just in case you were still developing for it, Flash Player itself ended all support in 2020 and all Flash content has been blocked since 2021.

    I’m pretty sure, like the vast majority of Adobe programs from before the Creative Cloud subscription service, the licensing servers have been deactivated and there is no way to deactivate or activate the program.

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    Participant
    Aug 6, 2026 4:53 PM UTC

    Thanks for the candid answer.  We built so much on this technology.  I was just trying to maintain it until we finish migrating off it.

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    Participant
    Aug 5, 2026 10:26 PM UTC

    Also, it may be that it is not an issue with deactivating but an issue with a 4.5 license key needing a 4.0 license key.  I primary issue is that I can’t activate on my new machine.

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    Nancy OShea
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    Aug 7, 2026 1:30 AM UTC

    Best advice: keep using Flash Builder (formerly called Flex Builder) on your old machines for as long as you can keep using them.

     

    Flash Builder end of life

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Flash_Builder

     

    Flash end of life

    https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/end-of-life-alternative.html

     

     

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    Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert