Adobe Acrobat 2017 MAC OS - re-install Serial no is max allowed but not true

[mang77275121]

I have a perpetual license for Adobe Acrobat 2017, which was originally installed on two Macs and functioned properly on both. Due to a hard drive issue, I had to reformat and set up one of the Macs. After reinstalling Adobe Acrobat 2017 using the same license number, I received the following error:

"The serial number XXX is already in use by the maximum allowed computers. You must deactivate another computer or provide another valid serial number to use Adobe Acrobat again on this computer."

Since Adobe permits installation on up to two devices, this should have been a valid reinstallation on the second Mac. However, when I reached out to Adobe support, they informed me that the activation is essentially lost. Their recommendation was to deactivate the license on the first Mac and then reactivate it on the reinstalled one, which would leave me with only one functional instance instead of the two allowed. They also stated that they couldn’t offer any further assistance, as this is simply how their activation system operates.

At this point, I’m at an impasse. If anyone has any advice or suggestions that might help, I’d greatly appreciate it.

[creative explorer]

@mang77275121 that is correct. First of all, by any chance did you de-activate this on the old computer before reformating the drive? Sounds like you didn't? Next is, by any chance did you registered the perpetual license for Adobe Acrobat 2017 on adobe.com, if so, it should still show up in your Adobe account. Which you can try deactivating from there.

It does appear as per Google, that support ended for Acrobat 2017 as of June 6, 2022. This means Adobe can no longer provide technical support, security updates, or potentially, the ability to manage activations for this version. You may no longer be able to deactivate it from an old computer and reactivate it on a new one. Adobe's activation servers for older perpetual licenses have, in some instances, been retired, and they may no longer offer the ability to reset activation counts. Therefore, while the license might be listed in your account, there is no guarantee that you will be able to successfully deactivate it and reactivate it on a different computer. You may encounter activation errors, and Adobe support may no longer be able to assist you with this for a discontinued product.

I am assuming you are on a PC, and there are some users who have reported success running older software in compatibility mode on newer operating systems like Windows 11, it's not officially supported, and you might encounter issues with stability, functionality and security (that's the main one for me). Given that support has ended, Adobe can NO longer provides updates or addresses compatibility problems for Adobe Acrobat 2017. Your best course of action would likely be to consider upgrading to a newer, supported version of Adobe Acrobat or exploring alternative PDF software that is compatible with your current operating system. 

[mang77275121]

I didn’t deactivate the license before reinstalling the OS on my Mac. The license is registered with Adobe, as I purchased it directly from them in 2019. At the time, it was the highest version of Adobe Professional available for Mac.

The list of activated devices still shows my Mac, the same one I’m trying to reinstall on. I also attempted to deactivate the Mac, and while the process indicated successful deactivation, I’m still unable to reinstall.

Since Adobe no longer offers perpetual licenses, the only options seem to be purchasing a new license at full price—without the advantage of an upgrade discount—or exploring alternative tools.