Adobe CC apps do not open because they cannot reach adobe servers, even though I am logged in and activated in the Creative Cloud client.

[andream55086009]

Hello and please help,

My main issue: cannot open Adobe CC apps due to server contact failure

I cannot open my InDesign CC and Photoshop CC any more. The error response is that the Adobe Servers cannot be reached to verify my subscripton status. However, I am logged into the Adobe Creative Cloud as normal and my computer (Mac OS High Sierra 10.13.6 is activated).

What seems to have caused this issue: a backup bites creative cloud functionality?

Everything worked as it should on my old macbook pro. However, I got a new iMac this week. So I made a backup of my old macbook and then I installed my current computer (the one where the problem occurs) from this backup. Eversince I can login as normal on my new computer and I can activate the device, but I cannot open any Adobe CC apps (Acrobat DC seems to work fine?!?!) because of the Adobe CC Desktop client somehow cannot contact the Adobe Servers.

Peculiarity:

When I checked my activated devices in my Adobe CC account, I saw that everytime I activate my new Mac, two devices appear. Even though the Adobe support staff saw that one device appeared on the Adobe Servers.

Even weirder: The Adobe support staff on telephone could see my device logging into the servers, but on my end I would still get the "cannot reach Adobe servers" error.

Also: Everything works as it with the same account on my old device. After I tested this, I deleted my old user from the old device. But this did not do anything to change the nature of the problem on my new device.

Problem repeated itself on another setup --> seems to be a major bug

I did the same thing for a co-worker who got a new mac. And pretty much the same problem has occurred. The only difference is that she cannot even access the Adobe CC Desktop client that was installed on her new mac as part of the backup at all. For her it has this Black Window where it immediately says that the Adobe Servers cannot be contacted. 

What have I done to remedy the problem, to no avail:

In the meantime I have run the Adobe CC cleaner app, deinstalled all my Adobe CC apps, deinstalled Adobe CC, reinstalled it - but the same problem still occurs on my new device.

PLEASE HELP! If Adobe CC does not work on backed up Macs that would really be a huge impediment to an efficient working environment with Adobe CC apps.

Also most of all, Please let me know how I can finally set up my account and device so that I can open my Adobe CC apps again. Telephone support was useless.

[kglad · Accepted solution]

confirm that you can connect to the secure adobe servers by reading, http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/activation-network-issues.html

do you see both logos?

if you can and still see a connection error, white list the adobe network endpoints, https://helpx.adobe.com/enterprise/kb/network-endpoints.html

[andream55086009]

Hi kglad,

Thanks for your answer and concern. Unfortunately this does not solve my problem. I get an error message but the endpoints are whitelisted on my network router. All the other computers in the same network can use the adobe cc apps.

Even my current computer worked fine with Adobe CC before. However, since I restored this computer from a backup with all my Adobe CC apps and files, I get this weird error that is not explained anywhere online and that even Adobe support (telephone) did not know.

Basically what happens is that when I want to activate my device 2 devices appear at the same time instead of just one device. It says may device name and "under OSX" and "under Mac". So I assume what happens is that my device is taken to be two devices at the same time somehow. This is probably why I cannot reach the license servers.

But how can I solve this issue? Also exactly the same thing happens with another computer that we restored from a backup. It also cannot open Adobe CC apps even though it can log into Adobe Creative Cloud. But when you check the Activated Device Registry the same Device appears two times.

This seems to be a major bug in Adobe Creative Cloud that prevents devices that have been restored from a backup from opening Adobe CC apps.

Any further ideas on how to solve this?

[kglad]

uninstall everything cc including preferences, https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/uninstall-remove-app.html

then uninstall the cc desktop app, https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/uninstall-creative-cloud-desktop-app.html

clean your computer of cc files per http://www.adobe.com/support/contact/cscleanertool.html

restart your computer (don't skip this)

reinstall the cc desktop app, https://creative.adobe.com/products/creative-cloud.

if you're unable to install the cc desktop app at this stage, use an administrator account (solution 4 here, https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/creative-cloud-missing-damaged.html)

use the desktop app to install your cc programs/trials

[andream55086009]

Hi kglad,

Thanks again for trying to help. Unfortunately I have already followed all the steps you have listed exactly. However, this has not solved the problem. The root cause for the problem seems to be that eversince I restored my computer from my backup, Adobe activates 2 devices at the same time instead of just 1 device. I have attached a picture so you can see what I mean. I can log into Adobe CC as normal but the Device activation is abnormal. I think that the Adobe Servers cannot let me open my Adobe CC apps because they wrongly register 2 devices trying to use the apps at the same time. Even though I only work from 1 device. Please look at the picture I attached. The 2 activated devices shown are just 1 device in real life. I think this must be the root cause of this weird bug. by the way, exactly the same happens now with another mac computer that we have restored from a backup. The bug has thus repeated itself and must be systemic.

[Abambo]

As you have done all what kglad suggested you still have 2 options.

1. Your initial error normally means that you have network problems. So connecting the machine over a different infrastructure could be of great help. At my company, we have a testing infrastructure circumventing all our standard barriers as firewalls and proxy servers. That helps a lot to see if the problem is located with the network infrastructure.
2. You need to reset your Mac to the factory situation, just installing the bare OS with minimal configuration. Just what is necessary to get the network working. Then install CC from scratch. This should work.  After that you may configure your Mac as before, testing at each major change if there is a problem.
   
   Afterwards you may restore the user data.
   
   As a general rule, I never restore a PC OS from a backup. Either I have cloned a clean install with some of the standard software pre-installed or I do the work from scratch. Most of the time, when having a problem on a PC that problem is dormant on my backup configuration. So my backup includes only user data. Software can be installed again if needed.

[andream55086009]

Hi Abambo,

Thank you very much for stepping in and trying to help.

1. The problem is definitely not caused by our network infrastructure.

2. Resetting my Mac to factory settings is the last resort that I had contemplated. However, of course this is only sub-optimal given the usual efficiency of restoring new devices from a backup. However, if this is the only way to circumvent this problem, at least this might be one solution to our problem, but not what I had hoped for.

So is this restoring a macOS computer from a backup problem concerning Adobe Creative Cloud something that you have been aware of? I was able to reproduce the error on two different devices.

Thank you very much again.

[kglad]

using system restore with adobe programs on mac and pc has been problematic for, at least, 15 years.