Need help reactivating my Photoshop CS6 on new computer

[muratk48612561]

Hi everyone, I’ve been a licensed Photoshop CS6 user since 2011. I bought it directly from the Adobe website back then and have been using it on my old computer without any problems for many years. Last week, I bought a new computer and installed CS6 again using my original installer and serial number. When I try to activate it, I get a message saying that I need to deactivate it from another computer — but I already did that before uninstalling it from my old PC. My Adobe account shows no activated devices, so it seems the old activation is still stuck on Adobe’s legacy server. I contacted Adobe Support, but they told me CS6 is no longer officially supported and suggested I post here for help. Could someone please guide me on how I can get my Photoshop CS6 reactivated on my new PC? I still have my original serial number, purchase confirmation, and proof of purchase from the Adobe website. Thank you very much for any help or advice you can offer. Best regards, Murat

[creative explorer]

@muratk48612561 that is correct, CS6 is no longer officially supported. Adobe's official End of Support for these perpetual licenses was 2014. It may work on the new systems, but, I would be very wary because Adobe stopped providing security patches for CS6 shortly after 2014, the software is vulnerable to new exploits discovered in the years since. Running unsupported software, especially a program that interacts with files and the internet, poses a security risk to your computer and network.

But, saying that, here's a post from Sep 16, 2025 that may help you
https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/apps/troubleshoot/licensing-activation-issues/cant-activate...

[kglad]

you're probably stuck.  but you can try reactivating on your old computer after updating its os and default browser.  if that's successful you can then try deactivating on that old computer after updating.

[Nancy OShea]

Too many things have changed in 13 years: the devices we use, servers, web security, operating systems, etc... Nothing stays the same forever.

MODERN OPTIONS:
==============
FREE Acrobat Reader
https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pdf-reader.html

FREE Online PDF Editor
https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/online/pdf-editor.html\

Paid Acrobat (Standard, Pro or Studio)
https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pricing/compare-versions.html

Creative Cloud Annual Photography plan
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography.html

FREE or Paid Adobe Express
https://helpx.adobe.com/express/using/express-overview.html

Creative Cloud Bundles & Single Apps for mobile, web & desktops
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html

System Requirements.

- https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/system-requirements.html
- https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/system-requirements.html
- https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-cc-gpu-card-faq.html

Hope that helps.

[John T Smith]

>Adobe account shows no activated devices

Online checking of activations is only for subscriptions, not old serial number programs

If your old computer is Windows 7 you MAY have not actually deactivated

Read if you have Win7

TLS 1.2 is now required to connect https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/multi/eol-tls-support.html
-If you have Windows 7 be sure to do the EASYFIX.MSI in step 2 of the above link
-test your browser https://clienttest.ssllabs.com:8443/ssltest/viewMyClient.html
-http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/activation-network-issues.html
-https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/kb/unable-to-reach-adobe-servers.html
-https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/troubleshoot-download-install-logs.html#error113
-https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/mem/configmgr/core/plan-design/security/enable-tls-1-2