Adobe Reader DC keeps updating itself to Adobe Acrobat Pro DC!!!

[whydoyoukeepupgrading]

We use Adobe Reader on our terminal servers and it had been working perfectly fine up until recently.

For the last couple of months Adobe Reader has decided to automatically upgrade itself to Adobe Acrobat Pro DC every once in a while, asking all currently logged in users to sign into Adobe Reader with their Adobe ID, which they don't have because our company doesn't have any Acrobat Pro licenses. This will sometimes happen once in two weeks, or twice in two days! It seems sporadic and happens on all of the server in the farm.

As soon as I receive a report that Adobe is asking a user to sign in, I check the Application log in Event Viewer on that server for event 11707 and lo and behold, there's an event in there from a few minutes ago saying something like:

"Product: Adobe Acrobat DC (64-bit) -- Installation operation completed successfully."

To fix this, I've had to uninstall Adobe Acrobat Pro DC and install Adobe Reader from https://get.adobe.com/reader while the server is running and users are logged in, which makes the users understandably annoyed as they've been kicked off all of their PDFs for the 5th time in a month!

This week I got fed up and looked into other ways to install Adobe Reader and found you can sign up for an Adobe Reader distribution license and obtain an installer from a separate link. I installed this verison of the app (which is sadly 32-bit but doesn't make much of a difference in our environment) and things have been stable for the past three days and I'm hoping it'll remain that way...

Any idea why Adobe might have kept updating itself completely unprompted?

The only thing I can think of is that a user tried clicking the Edit PDF button and signed up for a free Acrobat Pro trial, but that requires a valid credit card but I can't imagine they signed up for that many trials...

Or maybe that particular user had an Adobe account with an expired Acrobat Pro trial and when they signed in after clicking Edit PDF, it upgraded the whole app to Acrobat Pro DC for all users? Isn't is supposed to ask users for an admin password before updating an app for all users on the server?

I'm keen to put this one to rest because it's been driving me mad.

[GRANT23637609i894]

Adobe are forcing 64 bit. You can't avoid that. And they now have a single installer. No more seperate Reader and Pro.

If you want 32 bit you can only delay the inevitable.

Temporary work around is to stop the Adobe Update Service from running. Change the login credentials of the service to bogus. So it can't start.

Then your Adobe won't update.

While your "fixed" you need to work on a solution to your 32 bit reliance. Software programmers now realise 32 bit days are gone.

For security and compliance bring your dependant software up to date. 64 bit.

[ysasp46336585]

Adobe has no right to silently "upgrade" your perpetual license Acrobat to a subscription version of Acrobat. It's a pathetic attempt to increase profits and must violate consumer law. 32bit vs 64bit is no excuse to force users onto a different platform. Adobe are dodgy and everthing thats wrong with corporations today.

[bigwexi]

Cited link to Apply for a desktop license does not work (403 error).
Our Assoc office is using a number of Acrobat DC and PRO subscriptions.
We would like our users to download the Reader from our web site rather than them accidently downloading the paid for version and getting angry at us.

Thanks, Enoch.

[ysasp46336585]

I tried the REGEDIT approach but there was no updater key on my computer. I disabled the Adobe update service in Windows 11 but the stupid thing still updated the next day.

Does anyone know how to stop this invasive application from updating itself with no authority from the user or admin?

[Tech12345]

It sounds like you're trying to stop Adobe from updating altogether, which is not what this post is about. This is for it upgrading to Pro

[ysasp46336585]

It is updating to Pro, thats the problem. It's moving me from a fully paid version of Acrobat to a subscription based version which is not an "upgrade" in any way.

[Tech12345]

Did you look at the other comments I've said? Especially this one:

If anyone with a Pro license logs into it or the user does the trial, it will change to Pro. 

What is the issue exactly? You just need to make sure you have the bIsSCReducedModeEnforcedEx set in the Acro Cust Wizard to allow Reader users to use without a login and disable the Upsell so it doesn't bug them to upgrade

[defaultf5k8o2koqtyh]

Does anyone if there is a resoluation to this issue?  Our Adobe Reader is upgrading itself to Adobe Pro.  Techs from Adobe keep saying to just download and install the latest verions of Reader, but it still upgrades itself.  No one seems to be able to help.

[Tech12345]

Are you using the Unified installer? Is it on a VM/shared PC? Individual or shared logins? Do any users have Pro licensing? It upgrades to Pro when someone with a license logs into it. If no users should have Pro licensing, make sure you disable the sign in and upsell options in the Acro Cust Wizard when you create the package, and enable the bIsSCReducedModeEnforcedEx 

[S. S]

Hi @defaultf5k8o2koqtyh,

Hope you are doing well. Sorry for the trouble with using Acrobat Reader.

I could think of two solutions here:

1. If there isn't anyone in your organization or environment who has a Pro license, you can run the cleaner tool once, and download the offline installer for Acrobat Reader from here: https://adobe.ly/3KmbWft

2. If Acrobat Reader still upgrades to Acrobat Pro, this is what you can add to your Registry Editor for it to forcefully behave as Reader:

Go to Start > Registry Editor > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown

Add Dword: bIsSCReducedModeEnforcedEx

Value: 1

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Souvik.

[defaultf5k8o2koqtyh]

This is locally installed on laptops, desktops, and VDIs.  We have about 800 users with Adobe pro licenses.  Everyone else has Adobe Reader.  

[Tech12345]

It upgrades to Pro because of the licensed users

[defaultf5k8o2koqtyh]

Even though the only user assigned to the device does not have an Adobe pro license.?

[Tech12345]

If anyone with a Pro license logs into it or the user does the trial, it will change to Pro. 

What is the issue exactly? You just need to make sure you have the bIsSCReducedModeEnforcedEx set in the Acro Cust Wizard to allow Reader users to use without a login and disable the Upsell so it doesn't bug them to upgrade

[Bubbly_videographer2146]

I started this thread.  The solution I found was to disable the Adobe Update service.  Change the creds to bogus for the service so i can't start.  This means the product cannot update.  And your issue will go away.  It's not a permanent solution but gives you time to find a solution.  Mine was upgrading the users to Adobe Standard licensing as it turned out they needed it.

[jim_6441]

I previous replied in May 2023 as ' David299423042rbs ' 

Just trying to log into this forum to make a comment is utter garbage (took 10 mins after three FB and google accounts all failed). What has the world come to?

I have since found a solution that worked for our organisation. 
Uninstall Adobe Reader and Adobe Pro everywhere.  Group policy to ban Adobe throughout the workplace to be auto installed. Remove all instances of adobe updates within windows scheduler.  Signed up for the Australian NitroPro PDF software - is half the price, far easier to manage. Does not self upgrade. Been working a treat for the past 18+ months, and, as an IT pleb, its kinda recommended.

...or use the many many online free PDF editors that are now out there. Eg:  ilovepdf.com and cutepdf.com have free editors.

...or, for very simple PDF edits,  Office365 Word can now read in and edit PDf files pretty well.

[ysasp46336585]

Agreed, our whole org has dumped Adobe after this behaviour and gone with Nitro as well. 

[ysasp46336585]

Thanks for this. Will give it a try.