I have a Creative Suite 5.5 Design Standard license (Education edition, purchased from Adobe in Italy in 2011). The installer rejects the serial number with the error: "This serial number is not valid for this product"

Forum|Forum|8 days ago
September 23, 2026
4 replies
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Summary: I bought Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Design Standard, Education edition (Windows, boxed), directly from Adobe in Italy in 2011. I still have the box with the product code (DSGNW3-...) and the emails from Adobe containing the product code and my serial number. I am still a teacher, as I was at the time of purchase.

Problem: the installer rejects my 24-digit serial with "This serial number is not valid for this product." I believe the serial was issued to me by Adobe through the EMEA Education fulfillment process, so it should be linked to my product code. I have already read the help articles on Education order fulfillment outside North America and on invalid or revoked serial numbers, and they do not solve my case.

Request: please can Adobe send me a new correct serial, a replacement, or an offline activation option for CS5.5. I can provide photos of the box, the emails and proof of current eligibility as a teacher. If this cannot be handled here, please escalate my case to the Licensing team. THXXXX

jane-e

Community Expert

@fabiov94192819

I don’t know why Adobe’s help page says the CS 5.5 is subscription, because it never was. CS6 was both perpetual and subscriptions. After that it was all subscription. I’ve reported the page in a back area.

As a volunteer, I can’t escalate anything, but you can repost to the Account, Payment, & Plan forum if Adobe staff doesn’t move your thread. Here’s the link:

https://community.adobe.com/account-payment-plan-4

Jane

jane-e

Community Expert

@fabiov94192819

CS5.5 was released 15 years ago in 2011. This is from Adobe Help:

“Creative Suite 5.5 subscription serial numbers are no longer supported

“If you have a Creative Suite 5.5 subscription serial number, you can no longer activate the software on a new computer. Creative Suite 5.5 subscriptions are no longer supported, and new activations for this subscription type are not available. If you already have Creative Suite 5.5 installed on your current device, this change doesn't affect you. To continue using Adobe Creative apps and services, you can purchase a Creative Cloud subscription.”

https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/apps/troubleshoot/licensing-activation-issues/unable-to-reach-adobe-servers.html

Jane

F

fabiov94192819Author

Participant

Hi Jane,

Thank you for your reply, but the article you linked refers specifically to Creative Suite 5.5 subscriptions.

My copy is NOT a subscription: it is a perpetual, boxed Education version (CS5.5 Design Standard) purchased directly from Adobe in 2011. I have the physical retail box, product code, and official Adobe order confirmation emails right in front of me.

The software is installed on my system, but it is stuck requesting activation/serial validation, which now fails or the serial is falsely flagged as invalid.

Could you please clarify where in the End User License Agreement (EULA) or purchase terms for perpetual licenses Adobe states that a legally purchased boxed product would expire or become permanently inaccessible?

If this forum cannot handle perpetual license activation issues, please escalate this thread directly to the Adobe Licensing / Account Support team.

Thank you,

Fabio

creative explorer

Community Expert

@fabiov94192819 The End of Support for CS5.5 is January 31, 2014. https://helpx.adobe.com/ca/support/programs/adobe-support-policies-supported-product-versions.html#Gold

I would be generally be surprised if the Adobe’s customer care service would be even able to activate this for you as the app EOS is 12 years ago. I do feel for you as I can see my copy of CS3, CS5, CS5.5 and even CS6 on my shelves (I have no clue why I even kept them);

Even if you tried to deactivate the apps, the Adobe servers are likely shut-down. Under the table, Adobe explicitly states the End of Life as the point where software updates, bug fixes, OS compatibility patches, and technical assisted support (chat/phone) permanently cease.

I would say, if you need Photoshop, and if you are stil in Education, there is an Education rate for teachers and students. And if you work in Education, check to see if the school would pay for your subscription.

Or, if your prefer, and don’t want to pay a yearly subscription, you could get Photoshop Elements, available as a 3-year term license starting at around $138.60 CAD (it could change depending which country you are in); The cool thing is that it’s Amazon Prime Day next week, so it could be even cheaper than that. (Think of $46 a year)

Once you activate it, say October 2026, it will expire in October 2029. And then just buy another Photoshop Elements which should have new features upgraded by then.

I would also be a little leery in using older software on newer Mac OS or Win10/11. I would think it would be open to susceptible security issues.

m

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