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_Penny_Reid_
Participant
October 30, 2008
Question

too many activations error

  • October 30, 2008
  • 16 replies
  • 18667 views
When trying to reauthorise my ADE I recieve the message
E_ACT_TOO_MANY_ACTIVATIONS http://adeactivate.adobe.com/adept/Activate 577%3A7577%3A8577

I only have ADE installed on two machines, one mac and one PC, but for my job frequently have to deactivate my PC ADE, reauthorise it using someone elses account in order to install their ebooks on their reader authorised to their account.

How can I get back into my account, with my books?
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    16 replies

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    A
    Anonymous
    November 3, 2008
    Penny,
    By new user I meant new user account (not ADE account) on the computer you are using.

    Tommid,
    No, to support your scenario you should not deauthorize your account, but instead should be doing exactly the same thing I am suggesting for Penny. Create a separate windows user account for activating your friends Sony Readers and do not deauthorize ADE on your own account.

    Caroline,
    Contact customer support using the support links found on http://www.adobe.com/support/digitaleditions.
    _
    _Caroline_Olawaiye_
    Participant
    November 3, 2008
    I have also had the same problem. I have one computer, use windows xp, and a sony ereader. I am unable to access purchased books because I have to "authorize" my computer each time. If you do this once, that should suffice. Anyway, in trying to activate this time, I received this response:
    E-ACT-TOO-MANY-ACTIVATIONS http://adeactivate.adobe.com/adept/Activate553%3A6553%3A7553

    Any help would be appreciated as I am very frustrated right now.
    D
    D620
    Participant
    June 24, 2009

    I have the same problem. I am using ADE for one book on one computer. I even do not deactivate the account. Obviously an error in the software requests every now and then the activation - until the limit has been reached today. My impression is that it happens when I switch from permanent network connection to one via a VPN client.

    I see two problems that Adobe is creating and needs to fix asap. First it needs to stabilize the detection of a computer's need for activation, so it does not try to re-activate the same computer all the time. And secondly if still for any reason a reactivation is required, it should not count the reactivation of one and the same computer for a second time.

    If Adobe claims to replace the paper by ADE and encourages users to invest in eBooks locked by their DRM then this product needs to be absolutely stable or have a robust process to cure remaining technical problems.

    When reading these posts I see the opposite. It appears that my problem is quite common. It appears as if Adobe accepts that technical problems in their program prevents customers from accessing their purchased eBooks. That books can have significant monetary value as well consequences can have when surprisingly not being able to access them. Support answers like "sorry, we cannot reactivate" appear incredible. And seeing that this program is becoming a kind of de-facto-standard with the new electronic readers hitting the market, this seems to become a global risk.

    If we do not see a resolution from Adobe in our cases that is both short-term and convincing, then I am afraid everyone of us needs to decide whether this worldwide global risk does not deserve public interest.

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    _Tommib_
    Participant
    November 3, 2008
    Hi Jim,

    I have the same problem, I deauthorised and reauthorised an account several times and then got the TOO MANY ACTIVATIONS error.

    Deauthorising a machine really ought to free up an activation in the same way that iTunes does i.e. you can have five computers set up with a single Apple ID, deauthorising one frees up an authorisation for another computer.

    Take this scenario:

    I have a PC and know several Mac users who want to use Sony readers. Because they can't authorise the device on their Mac I do it for them on my PC, In ADE I temporarily log out of my account and into theirs, then back into mine.

    If I do this six times I've used up my activations, but it's all been on the same computer!

    When you say create a new user account, do you mean on Windows? If Penny is not an admin this may be impossible.

    Instead of threatening to cut people off who need their activations reset, perhaps you could work out a way of actually improving the authorisation system.

    How about this:

    When I authorise a machine, your activation server counts 1 for my account, when I deauthorise, it subtracts 1. That's how iTunes does it, works brilliantly.

    Tom.
    _
    _Penny_Reid_Author
    Participant
    November 3, 2008
    How do I create the new user account without disabling 'my' ADE?
    A
    Anonymous
    October 30, 2008
    Penny,
    Note that deactivation of ADE does not increase the available activation count, it just clears out the cruft on your machine. If I were you, instead of deactivating on my own user account, I would create a new user account and do the activations/deactivation from there.

    As nice as our tech support people are eventually you'll get tired of having to open up support cases (or we may end up cutting you off).

    --
    Jim Lester
    Adobe Systems
    Beth_Bakeman
    Beth_Bakeman
    Participating Frequently
    October 30, 2008
    Penny, open a support webcase and we can get your activations reset pretty quickly.

    To open a Digital Editions 1.5 Technical Support case, please use the contact links at http://www.adobe.com/support/digitaleditions.
    P
    PeggySueHanson
    Participant
    January 29, 2011

    I bought an e-book because I have a progressive, terminal illness and find it difficult to make trips to the local library. It's just causing me more stress though. My e-book was giving unable to open file messages so I reset it and then Adobe Digital Editions gave me the Too Many Activations message. I have ADE installed on two computers and I get the same message on both of them.

    I already had a web case for this issue some months ago an Adobe support corrected it for me but now I can't figure out how to re-open the case or file a new one.

    I'm about ready to send the e-book to the thrift shop and just give up on reading.

    P
    PeggySueHanson
    Participant
    January 29, 2011

    Here's how to open a web case:

    1. Login to your Account.

    2. Go to View Support Information

    3. Choose Issue Type : Using a product or service

    4. Choose Additional Products - Digital Editions

    5. Fill out the form. You can leave the Support Plan ID blank (says the customer service chat person)


    Thank you. I will try this.

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