Cannot activate CS5.5 - internet connection error with Adobe servers + customer service non-existent

You will never find anyone that has even an once of brain tissue at Adobe.

I am having the EXACT SAME THING!!...  and the problem persists exactly the same as yourself before... I've actualy tried evertying in this thread tho and still nothing!!!... I SERIOUSLY NEED HELP OR A REFUND!...

DVexpert,

I had the same issue with Flash CS6, and I finally figured it out by myself - after going through all troubleshooting steps proposed by Adobe support.

Note that I'm on Windows 8, 32 bits. My firewall is enabled and my hosts file is reset.

- Open Internet Explorer;

- Go to Tools > Internet Options;

- Select the Advanced tab;

- Scroll down to the Security section;

- Check "Use SSL 2.0" (only SSL 3.0 was checked by default);

- Uncheck "Check for server certificate revocaion";

- OK everything and restart your computer.

Voilà!

Hi everyone, Im a newbie subsciber of PS in the last 5 days and everything was going fine until this afternoon, when i too started seeing this activation error.  The error is definately something blocking the adobe servers communicating with the machine and recent the post by lingbotphoto almost worked.

Adding the hash sign before the ip address did nothing for me, but when i deleted all the entries that ended with adobe.com and saved the file, photoshop authenticated the activation code and has worked ever since.

This is definately a host file setting issue, and by removing all the adobe.com lines it should work for everyone else too.

Here's what i did on a mac:

Quit all Adobe applications.

Click on Finder > Go > Click "Go To Folder"

Type "/etc"

Search for the "hosts" file.

Drag a copy of that file onto your Desktop and then open it in TextEdit.

delete all lines that end with adobe.com (ie activate.adobe.com

Save the file and then drop it back in the /etc folder (replacing the old file).

Try opening up an Adobe application again. Should be ready and active.

Hope it works for everyone else too.

Wow, up until 5mins ago I though this problem was isolated to my computer, but now I realise it is not. I have exactly the same issue, live in Australia, have paid for and recieved a serial number for my software but the Adobe software will not connect to the internet and activate! I have tried calling Adobe, and was on hold for over 20min's each time with no answer! I have tried the online chat, but they keep telling me it is an error with my internet, which is it obviously not considering i'm on it right now! Did anyone ever get a real answer about what to do???? Very Annoyed!

Greetings everyone,

I started this thread. Since the thread was posted, my activation issue has dissappeared - HOW I do NOT know. As a last desparate attempt, I uninstalled Norton 360 completely and this might have helped, however I am not sure. Doing the "ping" of activate.adobe.com still doesn't work even with Norton 360 uninstalled and all firewalls switched off. It is very strange that I am not able to ping activate.adobe.com and get a 404 error on https://activate.adobe.com/test but my issue is resolved... strange this seems still to be unresolved.

In fact, I tested that URL and the Ping from over 8 different internet locations within Sydney (friends homes, offices, internet cafe etc) and NONE were successful. How does THAT make it a USER problem when NO ONE can access it???

An Adobe rep contacted me directly by email and supported me directly, which was fantastic, but didn't actually help as all the support he provided was exactly the same as what I had done with other support by phone at least 5 times with no success.

I organised a very skilled computer tech to assist me with my issue and he did everything he could to try and open ports and gain access for the activation but after 6 hours of trying his conclusion was "Adobe is having the issues, not the users".

This seems to be a big problem with Adobe at the moment and should not be.

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To Adobe:

I remind and highlight your responsibilities as a service/product provider, under the ACCC law:

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/961908

As a customer:

"If a service fails to meet a consumer guarantee, you may be entitled to a remedy—either fixing the problem with the services, a refund or compensation for any drop in value from the original price paid—depending on the circumstances."

Amongst other information within that page, I bring your attention to the fact that this issue your users are experiencing would be considered a "Major failure":

There is a major failure when (as the customer):

"you would not have engaged the service if you had known the nature and extent of the problem."

"the service does not meet the reasonable expectations for that type of service, and the problem cannot be rectified within a reasonable time."

and lastly, who is to fix the problem:

"The guarantees are made by the person or business that is providing the service. This means the service provider is responsible for fixing a problem when the service does not meet a consumer guarantee."

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The runarounds Adobe is creating for customer, and hours of "on-hold" resulting in little or no customer service, is simply unacceptable and, in fact, a breach of your responsibilities and the law. Adobe... you seem to forget that our businesses or services rely heavily on your software to learn, teach, conduct business or whatever it may be. Our time is precious and the hours wasted to fix issues that shouldn't be there in the first place cost us a non-trivial amount.

Although my issues have been resolved, I am still nervous as it may happen again - I have received no indication of any rectifications of the issue and it appears it is still a major failure with other customers, meaning it could happen to me again at any time.

I would, and so would the rest of the people with these issues, like to know what your steps are, at a higher management level, to fix it and make sure it does not happen any more.

I highly recommend that you escalate these issues as a matter of priority and get your best people onto it urgently.

In the hope of a positive outcome,

Richard

A frustrated customer

Hi DVexpert,

Please go to this URL: https://activate.adobe.com/test

If you receive an "error" 404 message then please do the following:

Check the host file

Windows 32 bit and 64 bit

1. Locate the hosts file.
2. Click Start, click Run, type "%systemroot% \system32\drivers\etc" and then click OK.
3. Right-click the "hosts" file and select Open. Select Notepad for the application to open the hosts file.
4. Save a backup of the file. Choose File > Save As. Name the file hosts.backup and click OK.
5. Find 127.0.0.1 activate.adobe.com and delete this entry.
6. Save the file and close it.

If you receive a "status" 404 message then please try the steps here:

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/897/cpsid_89743.html

One or the other should allow you to activate successfully. I do see successful activations in the past...is this a new computer?

Best,

Bruce

See the topic "Your computer cannot connect to activation site because of network problems"  on the page http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/100/1008779.html