Participant

Question

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2012 ID Registration

Forum|Forum|3 months ago
October 8, 2025
5 replies
261 views

Good morning, I'm looking for help installing Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 on a new PC with Windows 11. After a lot of effort, the installation was successful, but now it's asking me to register the product by logging in with my Adobe ID. Unfortunately, it no longer recognizes the email address I used to register in 2012. I have the software in its original box. What can I do? Thank you for your valuable help.

Download and install

B

bifidus_acti

Participant

I have the same problem. After formatting and reinstalling the operating system I installed the original software PSE12

I can login with my Adobe account by browser, the software is on my account but PSE12 doesn't work anyway.

When I try to log in by the popup, it gives me a error about a clock not being synchronized. But clock is ok...

Is there a way to make it work offline without connecting to Adobe servers?

Greg_S.

Community Expert

@innovative_rebel2686 are you the same person as @alberto_6178 ? If so, it looks like you are signed in under two different Adobe accounts. That is why I suggested looking at your account profile to see which email address is associated with it. And if you are signed into the wrong account, it would be no surprise that the program doesn't recognize it. You can sign out of one account and sign into the other so that the program will apply the correct credentials when you try to activate it.

A

alberto_6178Author

Participant

Hi Greg, I can confirm it's me again. I tried creating another account to see if I could sign up with a new email address, but to no avail. Adobe support also confirmed that my Photoshop serial number was uploaded to a deactivated account. I don't know if this is a glitch. I've been using the program for 13 years on just one PC without ever having any problems.

Glenn 8675309

Legend

A 100% A.I. answer which seems pretty good to me....

If Adobe no longer recognizes your old email address, the account may have been deleted, or there may be a typo. If you no longer have access to the email account, you will need to contact Adobe Support to recover your account.

If your account was recently deleted

Adobe accounts are sometimes permanently deleted after a period of inactivity. You may be able to reactivate a recently deleted account:

Go to account.adobe.com.
Enter the email address of the account you want to retrieve.
Click Continue.
Select the Retrieve option.
Enter your Adobe account password. Your account will then be reactivated and you will be signed in.
You must reactivate your account within 27 days of deleting it.

If your email was misspelled

If you receive an error like, "We couldn't find an account with that email address," you may have mistyped the email.

On the sign-in screen, click Get help signing in, then select Find your account.
Follow the on-screen instructions to recover your email address.

If you no longer have access to the old email

If you can no longer access the email address you used to create your Adobe account, you will need to contact Adobe Support directly. For security reasons, a new email cannot be associated with your account without verification.

How to contact Adobe Support:

Use the Adobe website:
- Go to helpx.adobe.com/contact.html.
- Click the chat icon in the bottom-right corner.
- To get a human agent, type "AGENT" into the chat and wait for a representative to respond.
Use social media: You can also contact Adobe Support on their social media channels, like Reddit, where users have received assistance.

When you contact support, be ready to provide details for verification, such as:

The email address you are trying to recover.
Any additional emails or phone numbers that may have been associated with your account.
Information that can prove your identity as the account owner.

I

innovative_rebel2686

Participant

Hi, I wrote to the Agent and the verification process gave me this response: "I checked and see that this product appears on a disabled account, and I can't even see the profile for that account. Therefore, I need to forward this case to our support team. Once we receive a response from them, I'll be able to share it with you via email". Now I'm waiting. Hopefully. Meanwhile, thanks.

Greg_S.

Community Expert

If you go to your Adobe account profile, does the correct email address show up under Account information and access?

If not, log out of that account and sign in using the email address you used to register the program.

I

innovative_rebel2686

Participant

Hi Greg, unfortunately, the email address (Access ID) I used to register is no longer recognized. I also called Adobe support, and they also don't see the email address I used to register the program.

Greg_S.

Community Expert

Are you able to log into the Adobe account that you used to register Elements 12?

Are you getting any error messages? If so, please tell us what they are. Better yet, give us a screenshot.

A

alberto_6178Author

Participant

Hi, unfortunately, this is the problem. The account I registered with in 2012 is no longer recognized by Adobe. I'm sure it's the correct account because it's listed on the box. Here's the screenshot (translation: Required Login - To prevent Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 from freezing, you must register by logging in with your Adobe ID within 2 days. Enter your Adobe ID to register the product). Thanks.

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