activate adobe acrobat 8 standard [Acrobat 8 is dead]

[johni57208771]

I have an older version that I wish to activate. How can I do that?

[8 User]

I just joined the chat and found the Adobe 8 problem.

I, too, recently got a 30 day warning that my product needed to get a new license. I have been using only this version since acquiring it many years ago. I still have the original cd and key. It has served me well all that time and I am very happy with it and the company for producing such a fine product.

However, I respectfully agree with you all, but I believe darow72955065 has hit the nail squarly on the head. The company has not withdrawn support, they have found a way to withdraw a product from the legal owner through trickery. I was going to suggest a class action lawsuit before finding the forum online but that was already considered and a solution found.

I would like to suggest that darow72955065 give us the details on his solution (address used, what was required, names of contacts) so that we may repeat the process. 

Adobe 8 is a great little product that has stood the test of time. I would not like to have to re-buy the replacement product first, on principle. Why should I but the product again. And second, why should I have to get used to another format and have to waste my time with another learning curve. 

I'm a firm believer in the philosophy, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Thank you for your time listening and to darow72955065, keep up the good fight. Someone has to speak up when a large company takes liberties with their loyal users. Their problem is, they designed a great program that stood the test of time and then had to figure out how to keep the revenues coming in.

[darow72955065]

I did give you all the details...you need to complain to Adobe and threaten to take them to court.  But, if they do not provide you with another license to take the place of the one they illegally removed, you may have to get a lawyer and take them to court.  When I threatened to take them to court and ask for class action status they gave me a license to Acrobat Standard X. It is true that one day they will probably do the same thing and remove the license.  When that day comes I will again threaten them and if necessary, I wll seek civil redress.  Only the squeaky wheels get grease.

[defaultetn2ux5tmuvn]

Hello, I'm new here too, I'm in the UK, where we have laws to protect our consumer rights (but they are difficult to enforce and are time limited to 6 years after acquisition). I've been trying to re-install my 'lifetime licence' CD-with-serial-number Acrobat 8 Standard after having to wipe my hard drive and re-install XP (so that I can keep an expensive scanner operating [no driver updates after XP]), but I can't activate it. After being sent around in circles to nothing but dead ends on Adobe's web site, I found this thread and was VERY disappointed. I have searched all over Adobe's web site and I cannot find ANY way to contact them to ask them (no tel. no., no address, no email), even politeley, if they can do anything to honour my 'lifetime licence' (e.g. with a replacement product). I do not need 'support', my product worked 100% OK before I had to wipe my hard disk, and I expect it will work again 100% OK, if only I could get around the pesky 'activation' block. Sorry I can't offer a solution; kglad's hyperlinks just take me around in circles to the same dead ends I encountered before. Perhaps I might be able to uninstall my Acrobat 8 and re-install it, repeatedly, to get 30 days at a time use out of it? All I can say is what a shamefully disgraceful company Adobe are - I do not think I will buy anything from Adobe if this is the way they treat their customers. "Buyer Beware" as we say here in the UK.

[darow72955065]

I am not sure what your question is or how you would go about getting Adobe
to honor their guarantee of a 'LIFETIME LICENSE'. I was able to contact
Adobe and convince them to honor their commitment and provide me with
another software program called Adobe Acrobat X. This software is also not
supported by adobe. IT has run its course. However, they have not removed
it yet as they did to the Acrobat 8. Now! With that being said, Adobe will
one day stop providing this software as it did to the Acrobat 8 software so
we will not be able to get it if we erase the copy we have for some reason.

This is a known ploy of some software companies. They hook you into buying
their software and a few years later try to hook you into purchasing new
software to replace the old software. They tell you they will not support
the software and it is obsolete. They will do whatever they can to get you
to purchase the new software. However, they are violating the fair
practice laws when they demand you purchase the new software.

I told them that I would sue them...that I will make money...my lawyers
will make money and their lawyers will make money but, they will lose
money. They agreed that they promised a lifetime guarantee and provided me
with a downloadable copy of Acrobat X. Which I am using today. It is
different but just a little from Acrobat 8. All I can tell you is that you
must be relentless in your quest to force them to abide by their lifetime
license to use their product and that even if they quit supporting that
product you have the right to use that product for life.

Microsoft ran into this problem. They still allow users to use Windows 95.
98, etc, etc. Adobe does not allow uses to use the Acrobat 8 software.
That is where the guaranteed Lifetime License comes into jeopardy. They are
legally liable to provide the software forever. Because they have
discontinued the license code they have violated their guarantee. They
must then provide a replacement.

My advice is to be relentless or, get an attorney.

Have a nice day

Daro





Virus-free.
www.avg.com

<#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

[try67]

It won't work. You can only use the 30-day trial once.

I believe companies will only learn not to do this kind of thing through the courts and if it hurt them where it counts, ie. in the bottom line.
If you can afford a (class-action) suit and believe the laws in your country support your case, that might be your only recourse at this time.

[defaultvxupvxy4kbqn]

Not true. It still works with Windows 10

[meco73]

Same situation here. I had to upgrade my windows to windows 10 and had to reinstal acrobat 8 and i am getting the same message. By reding this, my question is where can we find an email or phone to contact adobe. Thank you

[try67]

Phone support: https://helpx.adobe.com/contact/phone.html
There's no email support.

Good luck!

[defaultetn2ux5tmuvn]

The results of my research here in the UK is that one is stuffed if one has to re-install Adobe Acrobat 8 after an OS re-install or upgrade. Searches for contact details take one around in circles. In the end all that you will discover is that Adobe have decommissioned the servers which generated the activation codes - and that's that. It is possible that entering the activation code (that was once generated) caused changes in value(s) stored within the registry, thus disabling the 30 day timer and enabling the product to be used beyond 30 days - thus it might be possible to deduce what those registry changes were and make them manually - it might be one change or it could be many changes. Uninstalling and re-installing to bypass the 30 day timer results in instant disabling of the product (timer count goes to zero days) - this suggest that Adobe employed leaving a trail of 'breadcrumbs' - scattered registry values, to defeat this tactic and suggests that more than one registry value would need to be changed. But considering that registry keys number in the tens of thousans it could be a very long investigation to find which ones need to be changed and what changes are needed.....On the other hand, if Adobe really wanted to help its customers who've paid good money for their product, it could just tell those legitimate users what those changes were and let them continue using the product they have paid for....