creative cloud software says my free trial has expired, but I have a paid subscription

[Maryal]

my creative cloud software says my free trial has expired, but I have a paid subscription and money was taken out of my account so I know it is paid. help!

[lyndad99829495]

This worked for me : )

[scribbling_pad]

I just bought the monthly plan for the Lightroom and PS.

I had used a trial version before.  When I closed all adobe applications and tried logging into the adobe application manager and then opened my app (Lightroom), it still says I am in trial mode.

I am on Mac OS

[aimee12345]

I am having the same issue with lightroom.  When I go into my account online it says that it is up to date with a green check.  Photoshop seems to be working fine but trial for lightroom is now expired and will not go any further than the license number. 

I have tried to follow the instructions above but cannot seem to find the Adobe Application Manager.  It is not where it is supposed to be. 

[martinalejandrogg]

I see different solutions here so I thought I might add one that's weird but simple:

I was getting an 'expired trial' message on Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop application for Windows 8.1 (in this case, InDesign).

It seems that for some reason, the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop application failed to update when I turned to paid subscription (even when I ran the Adobe Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool).

This is what I did:

1- I tried to uninstal-reinstall InDesign through CC Desktop app.

2- Still getting the message.

3- I went to my applications folder, opened InDesign, and it worked.

4- I closed and re-opened CC Desktop app and message was gone.

Sounds weird, but did the trick.

Conclusion: Don't believe everything that CC Desktop app says, just go ahead, open your software, and if it works, go and make some good work

[Rayyann]

For all who are facing this situation on Mac computer deleting Adobe entries in host files fixed it. Please try it.

Mac OS

Log in as an administrator to edit the hosts file in Mac OS.

1. In a Finder window, choose Go > Go To Folder.
2. Type /etc.
3. Select the hosts file and open it.
4. Back up the hosts file: Choose File > Save As, save the file as hosts.backup, and then click OK.
5. Search the hosts file for entries that reference activate.adobe.com (for example,127.0.0.1 activate.adobe.com) and delete these entries.
6. Save and close the file.

HOPE IT HELPS !!

[winchandco]

Nope, opened the 'hosts' file and this was the only content:

##

# Host Database

#

# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface

# when the system is booting.  Do not change this entry.

##

127.0.0.1 localhost

255.255.255.255 broadcasthost

::1             localhost

There wasn't anything else in it.  So this hasn't worked for me and I'm about to lose my job over it.............

[sarahl85673333]

I had a trial of Photoshop. When it ended, I deleted Photoshop from my desktop. I then bought the monthly subscription of Photoshop from Adobe.com. When I went to download it from Adobe.com online, the Creative Cloud bar popped up telling me my trial was over and prompted me to buy it again.

To fix this issue:

In the Creative Cloud bar under Apps, there is a small gear icon beside the application you are trying to get. Click on this gear icon (do not confuse it with the gear icon at the top of the Creative Cloud bar). Click the uninstall option that prompts the window telling you that you will no longer receive updates. This message is misleading, but ultimately without uninstalling your trial fully, you cannot go on to download the paid for version of the application you are trying to get. This should all be automatic, but it is not. Your program will then download from the Creative Cloud bar. The trial ended error remains in the Creative Cloud following the download, but if you check your Applications in your Finder, Photoshop (or whatever you downloaded) is there. Click on License and you will be asked to log in to your Adobe ID and the program is ready to use. Generally after this, the error in the Creative Cloud bar should be gone.

[Lieven Herreman]

I am sorry but none of the solutions are working. I am losing a lot of time with this. Isn't there an easy and quick way?

[Lieven Herreman]

you suggest to open a CS6 application, but I just want a working cc application

[iShootnRaw]

may suggest following the steps here.... Creative Cloud products launch in trial mode on non-English operating systems | CC

[Dan Reut]

Hi everyone,

If you still have problem Adobe Creative Cloud with a trial (after when you bought membership, you apps working in trail version).

1. Go to www.adobe.com and login to your account

2. Go to "Manage Your Team"

3. Make sure that you activate your license and give rights to e-mail address (that you are going to use for Creative Cloud "Sign IN")

4. Login to your e-mail account, find letter from Adobe and "Accept Invitation"

Good luck everyone!

[rbuerckner]

I don't have a manage team option, I had a trial version of Acrobat Pro DC installed and bought the full year subscription with stock, no matter what I do I can't get it to work, it still says Trial Expired

[Rajashree Bhattacharya]

Please check

1. Creative Cloud applications unexpectedly revert to trial mode | CS6, CCM
2. creative cloud software says my free trial has expired, but I have a paid subscription

Regards

Rajashree

[Jewd_WarGeese]

I installed it at school from the IT guys. I logged into my adobe thing and it just messed up and started a trial. I always use photoshop! PLZ HELP QUICK!

[robertsd86127464]

I am having the same issue.

[robertsd86127464]

Hi,

After a week struggling to fix the issue I gave up and reinstalled OSX.

Now everything works.

[adaml40079712]

lucky it worked your you. i tried reinstalling and it didn't work for me. I had to copy and replace the host file with a copied new one.

[davek91074447]

Here it is Sept 8 2015 and CC is STILL making these sign-in errors. I have had the annual paid subscription to Illustrator for over a year now, and twice now when launching the software for my daily work I get the "Illustrator CC Trial, Your Trial has Expired" message with a fully pad Annual Subscription. Same computer, Last time was maybe 5 months ago. Here is the error:

How can Adobe suddenly forget that I have a paid subscription that I use every day?  This Software should Error on the side of the customer, and allow the software use, and send an internal message to Adobe help to straighten this out. But don't just shut down the software!. My project gets another day behind schedule Each day their license server errors. Since this delay is expensive, maybe Adobe can give me a free Year of CC for each day they delay me? That's a BARGAIN compared to the actual cost of the delay. 

[davek91074447]

OK All fixed now. I have had licensed Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop since the mid 90's, but this Creative Cloud subscription environment is new to me. It turns out that I did not know that CC needs to be updated along with illustrator, and I did not yet have automatic updating enabled. As soon as I updated CC, then Illustrator updates followed automatically which solved this false free-trial expired message. But this same false free trial message also happened to me about 4 months ago, and it was NOT an update issue. So Adobe Help had to do something to fix it that time.

[adaml40079712]

If you get this issue it's probably cause at one time you had a dodgy version of photoshop installed and blocked some outgoing adobe connections to be able to use it.

You need to basically do what it says in this thread....

37. Re: creative cloud software says my free trial has expired, but I have a paid subscription

GenericBox Jun 15, 2013 2:43 AM

delete all the .adobe.com entries in your host file but even if u do and flush the dns cache you might get the entries back instantly. I suggest making a copy of the host file (without the entries) ctrl+O and deleting the old copy that constantly gets entries rewritten onto it.

Then the new host file is saved as the same name and replaced. From then on the .adobe entries are not written again into the new host file.

This lets the CC app receive info of the subscription that you have.

From Adobe's side things are ok so even their support will not always be successful at resolving this as the issue is actually with the host file on your computer that was messed with before (not saying that that's the case always but in many cases it is). So you will have to phisically take care of this on your machine.

On the other hand Adobe should streamline the connection architecture so it doesn't have so many conflicts

good luck!

[akirac79327585]

I just solved this issue via adobe support. Here is the transcript - forgive me for not having the time to format it but the solution is here. It involved editing the "hosts" file (I'm on a mac fyi)

Rakshith: May I know the operating system and the version that you are using?

Akira Chan: os x yosemite

Rakshith: Thank you for the information, I will be glad to help you with this.

Rakshith: Please launch the Creative Cloud Desktop Application.

Akira Chan: Ok stand by...

Rakshith: Okay.

Akira Chan: alright, it's open

Rakshith: On the top right you will find a gear like icon. click on it and select preferences from the menu.

Rakshith: In the preferences window, go to tab named General and click on Sign out.

Akira Chan: ok, done

Rakshith: Now sign in with akirachan@alumni.ucsd.edu

Akira Chan: Ok I am signed in

Akira Chan: there is an update available

Rakshith: Please update it.

Rakshith: You have activated it successfully.

Akira Chan: stand by please, let me check

Rakshith: Okay.

Akira Chan: ok it just restarted...signing in..

Rakshith: Okay.

Akira Chan: Im going to open adobe premiere...

Akira Chan: I am still getting the message "Your Trial Has Expired"

Rakshith: Click on finder and then, press the keys Shift+command+G simultaneously. This will get you the Go to dialog box.

Rakshith: Type /etc and click on go.

Akira Chan: ok stand by

Rakshith: Okay.

Akira Chan: done

Akira Chan: im in the etc folder

Rakshith: Now, locate the file named hosts and copy it to your desktop.

Akira Chan: ok done

Rakshith: Open the Hosts file on your desktop using textedit. Copy and paste the contents of the file for me on the chat window.

Akira Chan: ## # Host Database # # localhost is used to configure the loopback interface # when the system is booting. Do not change this entry. ## 127.0.0.1 localhost 255.255.255.255 broadcasthost ::1 localhost 127.0.0.1 activate.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 practivate.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 ereg.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 wip3.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 activate.wip3.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 3dns-3.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 3dns-2.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 adobe-dns.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 adobe-dns-2.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 adobe-dns-3.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 ereg.wip3.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 activate-sea.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 wwis-dubc1-vip60.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 activate-sjc0.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 hl2rcv.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 lm.licenses.adobe.com 127.0.0.1 na2m-pr.licenses.adobe.com

Rakshith: Please delete everything from the hosts file and paste the next statement provided by me.

Rakshith: ### Host Database## localhost is used to configure the loopback interface# when the system is booting.  Do not change this entry.##127.0.0.1 localhost255.255.255.255 broadcasthost::1             localhost

Rakshith: After pasting, save the file and close it.

Rakshith: After saving, replace the original hosts file in the etc folder with the one on your desktop.

Akira Chan: ok, complete

Rakshith: Now launch the CC desktop application.

Akira Chan: ok stand by...

Akira Chan: it looks like it's openign

Akira Chan: opening - great!

Akira Chan: how do I avoid this problem happening again in the future?

Rakshith: In future you will not get this error.

Rakshith: Once if you get, please click on Ctrl+shift+alt+R to relaunch the application.

Akira Chan: ok thank you

Rakshith: Welcome.

[Rajashree Bhattacharya]

Thank you for sharing the information, it will help many other users too.

Regards

Rajashree

[joannam1545100]

Thank you very much

akirac79327585

I used it on my OS X 10.9.5 and it worked!!! So relieved.

[murdergal]

This worked for me after pulling my hair out for hours! Thank You for sharing that with us.

[lucasb21690910]

THIS WORKED!

But I had to do this after!

To flush the Cache in OS X El Capitan, versioned as 10.11 or later:

1. Open the Terminal application, found in /Applications/Utilities/ or with Spotlight
2. At the command prompt, enter the following syntax then hit return:

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder; say DNS cache flushed

1. Enter the admin password when requested (required by sudo) to execute the DNS cache clearing
2. When you hear “DNS Cache flushed” you know the command has been successful*

Now all is good in the world.