How to deactivate CS6 licenses on a broken computer ?

[thierrya10035319]

Hello,

I have a license for Photoshop and one for Lightroom both in CS6 version.

I had activated the licenses for these two softwares on a laptop computer but the computer suddenly broke down so I could not deactivate them. There is also no possibility through my Adobe account: after methodically visiting each tab on my account I did not find any links to manage and deactivate my licenses ... And since this is old software , I apparently no longer have access to any Adobe support, in any case I couldn't find a way to contact them. No matter what I do, I always go back to the Adobe Help Center page

I still have the other activation available that I am using on a new computer, but if it also fails then I will no longer have access to my software at all.

I understood that I could probably manage activations through the Creative Cloud (which I didn't install because I don't need it elsewhere) but is that really the case? Otherwise what is the correct method to deactivate these licenses?

Thank you for your answers.
Thierry

[kglad · Accepted solution]

you can request an activation count reset (which will deactivate on all computers) from adobe support.  ask for no other help related to cs6 or you'll be directed back here where you'll get no help (with deactivation).

using a browser that allows popups and cookies, contact adobe support during pst business hours by clicking here, https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html

click contact us (= cryptic icon in the lower right)

in the chat field, type AGENT
be patient, it can take quite a while to reach a human

[masqu3rade]

I just tried and got off to a good start:

"I see that you need assistance in activation count reset on Adobe Design std 6. May I have the serial key of the product?"

Then they came back with this:

"Thank you for staying connected. Adobe Std 6 is a unsupported product. Hence, we cannot reset, activate or deactivate the license."

[kglad]

try again.  you'll get a different agent and (hopefully) have a better experience.

using a browser that allows popups and cookies, contact adobe support by clicking 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

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. ie, double check for an employee badge if contacted in the forums and look for an adobe.com domain in the email address if you click reply to an email. then check again and be very suspicious. any other method of contacting (or offering to contact you) is almost certainly a scam.

[jat470]

I just want to mention that I just tried this solution (I had CS6 Creative Suite installed on three different computers that died on me) and it worked (10/1/22). It not only worked, the issue was resolved within minutes. Thank you so much for posting this solution.

[kglad]

you're very welcome.

[Russell33673534at91 · Accepted solution]

Just wanted to report that this solution worked for me in November 2023. Though based on what I read here beforehand, I think things may have changed since the last reported success.

First, my situation was slightly different. I have two older iMacs I was using Photoshop CS6 on. About six or seven weeks ago, I replaced both of them with new ones. (Not really new, obviously. But with Apple's transition to Apple Silicon, iMac Pros are available alot cheaper than one might expect.) 

I activated Photoshop on the two new iMacs, without remembering to deactivate Photoshop on the old ones. The odd thing is, it worked fine for a few weeks on both comptuers. Then one day it warned me that there were too many activations and that I had to deactivate older ones within 30 days, or the new ones would stop working.

The thing is, I wasn't stuck like the others on this thread were. I had no problem booting up the old iMacs and deactivating Photoshop on them. This appeared to work just fine.

However, Photoshop on the new computers continued to complain that I had to deactivate it on other computers, and the number of days I was given to do it kept counting down. I thought maybe giving it a few days would help, but it didn't. I was down to only 10 days left. So I tried the procedure listed here. 

The automated chat wouldn't work for me at all until I logged into my Adobe account. Maybe that's the same as it was or maybe it's different now -- not sure. But once I was logged in, the bot told me I was not eligible for support because I don't have an active plan (which I took to mean "subscription.") Because I don't have an active plan, it tried to 'sign off,' but in asking me if there was anything else, I responded again with "AGENT." At that point, it asked me what product this was in regard to, and I replied "Photoshop." Finally, it said it would put me in contact with an agent who could assist me.

It took an unexpectedly long time -- around 30-40 minutes, I think -- before somebody finally got on the chat. I explained briefly and politely what I needed (an activation count reset) and he took a very long time (at least 3 or 4 minutes) before he said anything else, which was, paraphrased, 'I don't understand what you're asking for.'

I explained that the activation server is saying I have too many activations, but that I deactivated the old computers nearly three weeks ago, and Photoshop will still not activate on the new ones. Then he went silent for at least 5-6 minutes, and came back to tell me he can help, but he needs to know my platform (Mac or Windows) and my operating system version. I replied 'MacOS 10.14,' and he went silent again for at least 3 or 4 minutes, I can only assume consulting with somebody else. Finally he returned and told me that he only provided support for subscription plans, and that I had an 'individual product,' or 'individual program' or something. (I wish I could remember exactly what term he used, but it was something like that.) Then he told me he had to transfer me to a different agent who worked with those types of products.

After a couple more minutes, a new agent popped up in the chat. He said he needed a minute to review the notes. Then (after about a minute) he asked me for my serial number. I gave it to him, and he had it fixed in another couple of minutes. He waited on the chat while I activated one of my iMac Pros, and it worked fine. He said if the first one worked then I'll be able to activate the other one when I'm back in front of it. (That won't be until tomorrow, but I don't anticipate any issues.)

Anyway, thank you for the procedure. It worked for me, though with changes to the automated chat system, it may be a little more cumbersome now than it was in previous years.

[kglad]

you're welcome.

p.s.  your cs6 seemed to work, at first, because you were starting your 30 day trial

[Russell33673534at91]

Nope, not the 30 day trial. I activated it on both new systems by logging in, entering the serial number, etc. Trial mode in Photoshop CS6 is the Extended version, but these were their regular CS6 non-extended versions I paid for originally. They worked great for about 2-3 weeks (definitely less than 30 days), THEN suddenly told me upon launch that there were too many activations. I deactivated the two old computers that very day, but either the activation servers never registered the old system deactivations, or some other issue was happening. Whatever the case was, the activation reset fixed it.

[kglad]

that doesn't make sense to me.  but then i've encountered other adobe-related items that made no sense either, so i won't lose sleep over it.

[Russell33673534at91]

Yeah, I've been thinking about it for a few weeks now. The only thing that I can speculate that would explain it is if:

• CS6 license/activation checks are done by a different server or process than the newer subscription-based products; AND

• The CS6 license/activation server was down for a while and then brought back up, or had a database issue that was corrected later, or some other problem which, when corrected, caused it to 'realize' I had too many activations, AND

• It functioned long enough to stop my new systems from working, but had a problem again when I deactivated my old systems, not registering the deactivations.

I just don't know. Any one of the bullet points above is plausible enough taken alone, but for all of them to happen seems very unlikely.

[kglad]

i don't think adobe's putting any effort into the cs5, cs5.5, cs6 activation servers. when the cs2,34 servers started to fail, adobe simply retired them and gave cs2,3 and 4 owners no way to activate their licenses.

also, once a perpetual license is activated on a particular computer , it's never checked again.

(i have all sorts of reasons why what you saw was impossible. but then it's close to the miracle christmas season...)

[Russell33673534at91]

>> also, once a perpetual license is activated on a particular computer , it's never checked again.

If that's the case, then I don't know how my two new computers were activated, worked fine for a couple weeks, then suddenly stopped. 

I still have my installation discs and license keys for CS3 and CS5, though I haven't tried to install or activate either one in several years. If the CS5 activation servers are still active, I might try installing it in a virtual machine for use on my laptop. 

I also had various pre-CS Photoshop versions going all the way back to version 1.0, though the old Mac Plus I used to run it on doesn't work anymore.

[kglad]

yes, it's a mystery.  and yes, cs3 can't be activated, but cs5 can., while your pre-cs versions may not need activation.

[LinSims · Accepted solution]

If you plan to use CS6 do not, under any circumstances, install a CC application as CC will hijack your CS6 installation and try to make you use the CC version.

[thierrya10035319]

Thank you very much for your response and your speed 🙂

I did not allow cookies so the icon to contact the chat did not appear at the bottom of the contact page. The problem has been solved by an Adobe technician.

I carefully keep your remark concerning the installation of CC products.

[kglad]

you're welcome.

[genet42045101]

I did as indicated above, but the agent looked up my products and said I had to buy new programs or go to the support blogs. Any ideas?

[kglad]

if you were careful to request an activation count reset and nothing else and the rep refused because they could not establish legal ownership, you're out of luck getting it to work.

return it/seek a refund.

if you failed to follow directions carefully when talking to adobe rep, try again.