CS3 Activation - No Connection [CS3 is dead]

[gerardl41055758]

I have a valid license for CS3 which I purchased years ago.  I have received a new activation code and uninstalled CS3 components.  Every time I attempt to reactivate the software I get the following error:

Regardless of what I do, I get the same error. I only have three days left to reactivate the software and I'm getting desperate.  I'm retired and only use the software to maintain a personal web site.  I can't afford to purchase a new Adobe suite to do what little web work I do.

I have followed the direction provided on the Adobe site to the letter.  Any help is certainly appreciated.

Thank you.

[EbaySeller]

There was a recent thread posted by Adobe Staff about this.

It is one of the few On Topic discussions in the Dreamweaver forum, so not sure why Adobe staff titled it as OT (off topic)... Have you tried replying to that (off) topic?

[Preran]

I usually mark things as OT when it isn't a question, but mostly an FYI. But I see where you are coming from. Let me think it over for my next case.

Thanks,

Preran

[Nancy OShea]

Since the CS3 Activation Servers have been retired,  you want to log-in & get the replacement CS3 & new serial number.  Be sure to run the CS Cleaner Tools to remove your old CS3 before installing your replacement.  If you don't, the activation countdown may keep prompting you.

Use the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool to solve installation problems

Also see the answer in the discussion.

CS3 - Still getting Activation Error Message with new Installer

Nancy

[Nancy OShea · Accepted solution]

It's now 2020. As an update, CS3 activation servers are gone. And Adobe ended access to activation-free installers and replacement serial numbers. Customer Care agents cannot help with this matter. CS3 is officially dead.

If you never upgrade your computer or OS, you could potentially keep using CS3 for another 12+ years. But I'm sorry to say that re-installation is no longer an option.

[JCF00]

This is disappointing and quite frankly a bit of a ripoff.

I have MANY things older than CS3 that work fine.  In fact it does appear that your CS3 product (still great btw) would work fine even in Windows 10.

So why is Adobe so cheap and thoughtless to their oldest customers?

I think the LEAST Adobe could do is allow those who still use their old software without "activation". 

[Nancy OShea]

You're not talking to Adobe here.  This is a user-to-user forum.

As a fellow product user, all I can say is you had CS3 for 10-12 years and never upgraded to CS4, CS5 or CS6 when you had the opportunity.  Had you upgraded, you would still have working software for a few more years.  But you didn't.  And Creative Suite is not legally sold by any vendor, retailer or country now.

Also don't forget the elephant in the room.  The web has changed an awful lot in 10-12 years.  DW CS3 doesn't understand HTML5, CSS3 or responsive layout methods like Flexbox and Grids. If CS3's demise pushes you to modern software, then that's a good thing.  Good for you and good for your site visitors.  Nobody should use outdated web software. 

================

Beware of fake Adobe reps offering to sell you software or take control of your computer.  It's a scam.  Run away!

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[jerritts23888531]

The software is out of date and not up to current standards. That is understandable and not being argued. I believe the elephant in the room is that when you purchase a perpetual license, you should be able to use it perpetually - continuing forever. It wasn't a 10-12 year license. If you drive a 10-12 year old car, it will not be up to the current safety standards. The manufacturer may not continue to provide parts or service for it, but it would be foolish for them to take it back or make it unusable. Adobe chose to use a phone-home activation to curb piracy which is fair. They should have come up with some method to disable that "feature", so that people who decide to take advantage of their perpetual license may continue to do so.

[Nancy OShea]

Evidently nobody read their EULA.  English starts on page 419.

https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/acom/en/legal/licenses-terms/pdf/CS3.pdf

There's  no such thing as a "forever license."  Everything has an end of life and  Creative Suite was no exception. 

https://helpx.adobe.com/support/programs/eol-matrix.html

Your car analogy doesn't hold water here either because software is intellectual property, not physical property.  

https://philosophia.uncg.edu/phi361-matteson/module-6-privacy-property-and-technology/property-and-i...

Adobe owns the software.  All we ever had was a limited, non-exclusive license to use it at Adobe's discretion.  

[bear92437148]

Adobe should have considered this circumstance in the design phase of their software activation model. I spent over $1700 on CS3 with the "reasonable expectation" that I would be able to use it for as long as I wanted. 

[Nancy OShea]

How many operating systems and updates have your computer's received in the last 13+ years since CS3 came out?  Probably more than you can count, right?  Meanwhile, CS3 has not been updated at all.  It was built to run on a Universal Mac OS X and Windows XP SP2 or later.   So your expectation to keep using outdated CS software forever is unreasonable.  No software developer could do that.

You had a good long run with CS3 but now it's time to modernize.  Accept it and move on...