Changing the Country Associated with an Adobe Account

[sivihk]

TL;DR: It seems like Adobe has not created a viable solution to change the country associated with one of their accounts. So, I'm affraid I will have to refrain from using their products until such a solution has been created. 

Yesterday I spent 1.5 hours speaking with Adobe's customer and technical support teams trying to change the country associated with my account from Canada to Germany so that I can continue to pay for my subscriptions with my German credit card.

Neither Rashim from the customer support team, nor Madhup from the technical support team, nor Gopal from the customer support team could help me.

Rashim informed me that this article on the Adobe website is inaccurate: https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/change-country-associated-with-adobe-id.html

He cancelled all of my active subscriptions so that the country associated with my account could be changed. This did not work, so I was told to create new eamil account just so that I could create  a new Adobe account with Germany as the associated country. Additionaly he reassured me that the technical support team would transfer my cloud data to the new account.

Unfortunately Madnup, from the technical support team, was not able to do this. He told me I needed to have an active suscription on both my old account (with Canada as the associated country) and new account (with Germany as the associated country) for him to be able to transfer the data. I explained to him that the purpose for transitioning to an account with Germany as the associated coutry was to be able to renew my subsccription and that I couldn't do this with for the account with Canada as the associated country. He wasn't able to resolve this and transferred me back to Gopal from the customer support team.

Instead of helping me, Gopal left the chat. 

Now, I'm left frustrated, without a solution to continue using Adobe products. It seems like Adobe has not created a viable solution to change the country associated with one of their accounts. So, I'm affraid I will have to refrain from using their products until such a solution has been created. 

[kglad]

The country associated with your adobe id must match the store you purchase from and must match the payment address. if that doesn't work for you, don't bother proceeding. otherwise, change what's necessary:

change your country on adobe.com, https://www.adobe.com/international/selector/

change country associated with adobe id - https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/change-country-associated-with-adobe-id.html

change credit card and/or billing address, https://helpx.adobe.com/manage-account/using/update-billing-information.html

change currency - https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1999694

change store - http://www.adobe.com/store_selector/storeselector.html

change adobe.com website language - https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1999693

change age - https://helpx.adobe.com/nz/creative-cloud/kb/you-eligible-cc.html

[sivihk]

Thanks for the response, @kglad. Unfortunately "change country associated with adobe id" redirects me to a payment page with Canadian dollars as the currency. This cannot be changed. 

[kglad]

unless you use a reseller, you can't work around this

The country associated with your adobe id must match the store you purchase from and must match the payment address

check klarna.com and

https://adobedealreg.secure.force.com/PartnerSearch?lang=en

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Sivihk, I'm sorry. It can be very difficult to change countries. Often, the best solution is to create a new account with a new membership. Please continue to work with our support team by using the steps listed in https://adobe.ly/4gS4GlP to update your support cases.

I would also recommend bookmarking https://adobe.ly/4i38YrF for information on how to manually transfer any needed files or settings from the different accounts. ^JW

[sivihk]

Thanks for the follow-up, @Jeffrey_A_Wright. Another point of frustration is that each of the customer support chat agents I've spoken to seem to have a different understanding of how to resolve the issue.

Some say I should be able to change the payment method and associated country, others say I will be able to change the payment method and associated country once my current billing cycle for an android subscription of lightroom mobile on the account has run out, and others say I will never be able to change the payment method and associated country.

The most recent information I've received is that if I create a new account, with Germany as the associated country, the technical support team will be able to migrate my Lightroom Cloud files without any loss of metadata (rating and flags) or structure (abum and folders). To do this, I was told that I must pay for a subscription on the new account, and that the data migration would happen within 24 hours.

Now I've been told that the technical support team cannot find the over 500 files I have on this account.

I am paying for a Lightroom subscription on my new account that I cannot use, because my files have not been migrated. And so, the frustration continues...

Would you be able to check up on Adobe Case ADB-38656560-Y8Q9 to see what the issue with the data migration is?

[Shivangi_Gupta]

Thanks for your response, sivihk. I understand you have informed the customer support team about the files stored on cloud. They usually respond within next 24-48 hours.
Meanwhile, did you try taking the file back yourself following the steps listed in the article shared by my colleague above? 

Let us know.

^Shivangi

[sivihk]

@Jeffrey_A_Wright , today all of the sudden, I can change the country associated with my old account.

This again, attests to fact that the customer support team does not have a clear and unanimous understanding of this issue and how to solve it.

Now I will just continue using my old account. So, the subscription I purchased with the new account can be cancelled and refunded. The new account can be deleted. And the request to migrate my lightroom cloud data can be cancelled.

[Shivangi_Gupta]

Thanks for keeping the thread updated. Did you follow the steps listed in this article? https://adobe.ly/43pRcen

Let us know. We'll make sure it gets more eyes. 

^Shivangi

[sivihk]

Hi @Shivangi_Gupta, I was successful in completing these steps now. 

Since the new account and subscription is no longer necessary, it would be great if I could get some support 

1. cenceling and refunding subscription I purchased with the new account, 
2. deleting the new account, and
3. canceling the request to migrate my lightroom cloud data.

Would you be able to ensure that happens via Adobe Case ADB-38656560-Y8Q9?

[kglad]

@sivihk 

can you cancel following make sure you're aware of the cancellation terms by selecting your plan type (at the top of the page here), https://helpx.adobe.com/manage-account/using/creative-cloud-subscription-terms.html

if you're unable to follow the steps described, you'll need to await help from an adobe employee for the next step.  (if you don't get a reply here from a badged employee within 24 hours, repost.)

and for info on how to cancel your subscription, this page describes the few steps involved, https://helpx.adobe.com/manage-account/using/cancel-subscription.html

p.s. if you're contacted by anyone (via email or private message), it's much more likely to be a scammer than an adobe representative.

[Shivangi_Gupta]

I understand that you don't need the new account. Since the new account is only 2 days old, you can cancel it without any charge following the simple steps listed in the article shared by @kglad above.

Let me know if you have any questions about that.

^Shivangi

[sivihk]

@Shivangi_Gupta, @kglad, what you're telling me about a refund being issued is not reflected in the cancellation process. (See attachment.)  

[sivihk]

@Shivangi_Gupta, @kglad, I've been able to successfuly complete the steps you suggested, however, logging back into my old old account, I see that the over 500 Lightroom Clound images I had are now gone. 

[Shivangi_Gupta]

I'm sorry to hear about that. It might be best to reach out to support again or wait for their response to your email. They should be able to check this for you and provide further assistance. https://adobe.ly/4i6Xxzi

^Shivangi

[sivihk]

Hi @Shivangi_Gupta, it seems like the support team transfered my Lightroom cloud files from my original account to the new one I had created. Since we've now found out that the new account is not needed to make subscription payments with my German credit card, I would like to continue using my old account. 

Accordingly the files need to be transferred back to my original account. The support team has told me that I cannot do that unless I remove 0.375 GB of cloud files from my account. It is. however, unclear what these files are and how to download them. (assets.adobe.com does not provide the functionality to download multiple files at once.)

Perhaps you can provide some clarity here. 

[sivihk]

Here is another example of the issue with downloading and clearing cloud files as the technical support team has requested:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/creative-cloud-desktop-ideas/ability-to-download-folders-multiple-fil...

It's possible, but certainly not easy when dealing with hundreds of files. 

@Shivangi_Gupta or @Jeffrey_A_Wright, can you please check in on Adobe Case ADB-38656560-Y8Q9 and ensure that my Lightroom Cloud files are restored to the way they were before? Your help is greatly appreciated. 

[Shivangi_Gupta]

Thanks for tagging us here, @sivihk.

Did you speak with our support team about this?

[sivihk]

Hi @Shivangi_Gupta, I've been in touch with the support team but they haven't been able to solve the issue yet. 

[sivihk]

@Shivangi_Gupta, @Jeffrey_A_Wright, I am still waiting on a solution. In the meantime, I wanted to give you a few more instances of this not working:

• https://community.adobe.com/t5/creative-cloud-services-discussions/how-to-download-adobe-files-from-...
• https://community.adobe.com/t5/creative-cloud-services-discussions/how-do-i-download-multiple-files-...

At the end of the day, all I need is for the technical support team to restore my account to the way it was. All lightroom cloud files should be returned to where they were taken. Metadata (rating and flags) or structure (abum and folders) should be preserved. 

The sooner the better, since I am actively paying for a lightroom subscription I can't use. 

[Shivangi_Gupta]

Thanks for sharing these instances. 

Since community is a public forum, we have our limitation to sharing the discussing the details. I'd recommend you continue the conversation with our support team. 
I'm sure they'll provide you the best possible solution.
^Shivangi

[sivihk]

Hi @Shivangi_Gupta, thank you for your feedback.

If it isn't apparent from my original post in this thread, the support teams seem not to follow through when there isn't the added accountability of the issue being discussed on a public forum. 

This afternoon, I was informed that Support Case ADB-38656560-Y8Q9 was closed without any further context or a solution. 

The support I've received from the customer support and technical support teams through the chat and by email has been at times sporadic, inconsistent, and unhelpful.

Accordingly, I feel I have no other option than to post my issues and grievances on your public forum. 

Since the technical support team hasn't been able to help me, do you have any other suggestions about how to resolve the issue with restoring the lightroom cloud files on my original account?

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Sivihk, I am sorry you continue to encounter problems with your account transfer and recovering your assets. I see case ADB-38833729-M2F5 is still in process. Please bookmark and review https://adobe.ly/4h95sLo for information on how to review all and update your recent support cases. This includes case ADB-38656560-Y8Q9 that was closed since it was a duplicate of ADB-38833729-M2F5.

If you want to discuss the topic of Lightroom cloud storage, Sivihk, and any files associated with it then I would recommend starting a new discussion in the Lightroom ecosystem (Cloud-based) at https://adobe.ly/41n4rJZ. The support staff and the community are more aligned about working with Lightroom Cloud-based storage and your active support case. 

Finally, Sivihk, please bookmark https://adobe.ly/4bqTQCr for important information on how to back up any cloud-based documents. I personally run the Lightroom Downloader app to regularly back up any of my Lightroom files from my Individual account. The Lightroom Cloud-based storage Community may have additional suggestions you can utilize to back up any important images and assets in the future. ^JW

[sivihk]

Thanks for the clarification, @Jeffrey_A_Wright!

I overlooked case number ADB-38833729-M2F5, but have bookmarked the https://adobe.ly/4h95sLo so that I can actively monitor my open case(s).

I haven't heard back from the technical support time yet, but I trust they will provide timely and helpful support. 

I will try the Lightroom discussion board. Thank you for recommending that. 

Shortly before my Lightroom cloud files were removed, I did actually perform a backup with the Lightroom Downloader app. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find any information about how to use my personal backup to restore my Lightroom Cloud account. Additionally, I was under the impression that even if I could re-upload them to my account myself, I might lose metadata (rating and flags) and file structuring (albums and folders). Do you have any information on this?

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

You are welcome, Sivihk, and I am happy to hear you already have a backup of your important Lightroom assets!

The Lightroom ecosystem community may have additional information on minimizing disruptions while restoring your catalog from the backup files you downloaded with the Lightroom Downloader app.

For future viewers of this discussion, if you have an individual subscription or membership, then see https://adobe.ly/43mpXB4 for information on how you can back up the files locally or transfer them to a new account. I recommend you perform these steps as part of your regular backup routine. The frequency depends on how many changes you make and the importance of the files stored. There is less risk for files in cloud storage, but it doesn't hurt to take a proactive approach and keep local backups for anything stored online. ^JW