CS6 Master Collection Key blocked

[Jerome38501301tzrp]

I bought the Master Collection CS6 around 10 years ago and it worked very well until today. I got a new internet provider and now I got a message that my serial number / key is blocked. I don't understand why. Can Adobe unblock it?

Thank you

J

[kglad]

did you reinstall cs6?  did you change any computer hardware?

[Jerome38501301tzrp]

Yes, i uninstalled and installed cs6 again. However, since cs6 is an older product the online activation is no longer supported (it requires IE 10. But this has been replaced by edge). So i tried the offline activation and added the activation number. Afterwards, is says that the serial number/key number has been blocked. And now I'm stuck.

I didn't change any computer hardware. The only thing I changed is the internet provider and I'm using a new wlan usb stick (yes, my computer is old and has no build in wlan)

Thanks for moving the post to the right place. I also think it is not easy to navigate.

[kglad]

you are stuck. 

you can contact adobe support and hope there was an error on their part.  otherwise, you cannot reactivate with that serial number.

there are 2 ways to contact adobe support; chat and twitter (now x):

chat:
if you have or want to purchase a subscription, use a browser that allows popups and cookies
and click here, https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html?rghtup=autoOpen
in the chat field (lower right), type AGENT
be patient, it can take quite a while to reach a human.

twitter/x:
tweet @AdobeCare

p.s. if you're contacted by anyone (via email or private message), it's much more likely to be a scammer than an adobe representative.

[Jerome38501301tzrp]

Thanks so much for your help. 

The chat support told me I should come here to ask for help since CS6 is too old and they can't support anymore. I will keep trying. 

Thank you!

[kglad]

@Jerome38501301tzrp 

copy and paste here a screenshot of the message you see when installing about a blocked serial number.

[Jerome38501301tzrp]

will do that. But this will take some days since I don't have access to this specific computer at the moment. Will do it ASAP.

Just wanted to mention that I received messages from "Adobe" about sending a mail to them for technical support. Sounds like a scam to me since the mail ends with ....@outlook.com. I guess Adobe employee have a different mail.

[kglad]

that's defintely a scam.  in fact, if you just try to type the scammers email address (**scam email address**), it will be edited by the forum software to show it's a scam.

[Jerome38501301tzrp]

thanks for the confirmation about the scam.

I tried again to activate CS6 using the offline approach. I got the same message as the first time and this time I took a screenshot. It is written in German but it means that the serial number has been blocked by Adobe. Reach out to the support team to get further instructions or add a different serial number. (see picture below). 

[kglad]

you can contact adobe support to see if the block was an error. if it was not, you cannot use that serial number.

there are 2 ways to contact adobe support; chat and twitter (now x):

chat:
if you have or want to purchase a subscription, use a browser that allows popups and cookies
and click here, https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html?rghtup=autoOpen
in the chat field (lower right), type AGENT
be patient, it can take quite a while to reach a human.

twitter/x:
tweet @AdobeCare

p.s. if you're contacted by anyone (via email or private message), it's much more likely to be a scammer than an adobe representative.

[Jerome38501301tzrp]

I tried again the chat support and they can't help. THey said I need to check with the reseller. Pretty bad support from Adobe. Especially since it is written on the product package that I have unlimited usage of the product. But after 12 years of using it Adobe blocks it. Sounds like a scam to me as well. Is there an official Adobe tec. support employee who can help here in this community?

[kglad]

@Jerome38501301tzrp 

there's no further help.  because you purchased from a reseller, your issue is with the reseller.  adobe's issue is with the reseller.  there were (and still are) lots of scam software resellers.

it's typical for adobe to find these scammers years after users have purchased.  during those years, users have no problems, but once adobe finds the scammer and blocks the serial number, that number cannot be used for new installs while old installs continue to work.

some resellers even start as legit resellers and after some period of time, start violating their contract with adobe, eg by over-selling a particular product.

[Jerome38501301tzrp]

I totally understand that Adobe wants to protect their software. However, if they block a user they need to provide support and maybe provide a different key number then. Anyway, I reached out to the chat support from Adobe and I also explained that my CS6 master collection has an unlimited use. THey understood my frustration but couldn't really support since the chat support employee are only trained on current Adobe products and do not support older versions. I told them that this is not the right way to deal with long costumers and that I want to submit this as a complaint. Long story short, somehow my CS6 master collection got reactivated again and I can use it. I'm happy that it works now again. But all that ping pong game would have been not needed at all. 

@kglad : THanks so much for your fast support. That was helpful!

[kglad]

that's good to hear.  but just to make sure, if you open a cs6 app and click help, activate or sign-in is greyed-out?

[Jerome38501301tzrp]

that is a really good point. I checked and there is no such option to acitvate/sign-in. But there is an option called "Complete / update Adobe ID Profil" or similar (had to translate it from German). This one is also not greyed-out. However, when I check my Adobe Account my CS6 Master Collection is still registered under the same serial number as before. Could it be that Adobe will one day again deactivate the CS6 collection?

[John T Smith]

>Could it be that Adobe will one day again deactivate the CS6 collection?

Nobody here knows Adobe's future plans... but we do know that CS4 and earlier may no longer be activated

The CS2-CS3-CS4 activation servers have been removed from service
-https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite.html?promoid=19SCDRQK

So it is possible that CS5-CS6 servers may also be removed at some time in the future

[Jerome38501301tzrp]

I guess you are right. I hope this will not happen so soon.

[kglad]

is there an option to sign out or deactivate?  (don't click that, just check if it's clickable.)

[Jerome38501301tzrp]

yes, there is an option to "deactivate". It is not greyed-out.

[kglad]

then you're good. your cs6 is activated.

do you see any problem using it?  eg, are you being notified of a coming deactivation?

[Jerome38501301tzrp]

So far everything works fine. The way it should. What I have seen is that the Adobe Creative Cloude got automatically installed. I think it replaced the "Adobe Update Manager" or something like that. But other than that all good.

[kglad]

that's good to hear.  congrats!!

[Jerome38501301tzrp]

Thanks so much!

[kglad]

you're welcome.

[kglad]

in the future, to find the best place to post your message, use the list here, https://community.adobe.com/

p.s. i don't think the adobe website, and forums in particular, are easy to navigate, so don't spend a lot of time searching that forum list. do your best and we'll move the post (like this one has already been moved) if it helps you get responses.

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