reinstalling Photoshop CS4 invalid serial number

[monique28e]

Having the same problem. My old laptop died so I'm using a different one I got from my son. Installed Photoshop CS4 and it says my serial # is invalid. I've had this software for 6 years or so without any issues.  The customer service chat person says my serial # is invalid.  How can it be invalid now when it has always been valid for all these years?  Did my serial # just change it's mind?  lol  This is very frustrating!!!

[Jeff A Wright]

Monique28e you have no software titles registered under your account.  Please see message #5 of this public discussion for how to register a serial number.  If you are unable to register the serial number then it may be invalid.

[monique28e]

This is so frustrating!  I was on chat with customer service and was in the middle of typing a response when "Satwinder" closed the chat due to "not hearing from me in a while".  I was typing!  GRRRR!!!!  That was very rude!  It was just a short few sentences.  It didn't take me a long time to respond.

I sent a photo of my case, disc and serial # sticker and they said it all looked good but I need to show them a receipt.  I bought the program about 6 or more years ago!  Jeff: Do YOU keep receipts THAT long for things you buy?  If you do, kudos to you.  But seriously, I don't have a receipt any longer. (Most people wouldn't.)  I didn't think I would need it especially since the program has worked properly for YEARS!  When I had installed it on my old computer and entered the serial number, it recognized it as a VALID number. So why now, all of a sudden, is the serial number "invalid"?  If it was invalid to begin with, then why didn't it tell me so when I first installed it?  Then I could've taken care of the issue with the retailer while I still had the receipt.

Seems to me I'm not the only one with this issue.  Maybe Adobe did some updating of their files and got rid of, or somehow invalidated, old serial numbers. Maybe this is a ploy to get people to just buy their new cloud programs.  My program worked beautifully and I was super happy with it! I just want to be able to use it again.  😕

[Jeff A Wright]

Branching to a separate discussion.

Monique28e if you have registered your software title then the serial number will be available at http://www.adobe.com/.  You can find details on how to locate your serial number at Find your serial number quickly.  I would recommend you try logging in with the Adobe ID/e-mail address you utilized to register your software title.

If you are unsure of the e-mail address that was used to register the software title then please contact our support team directly at Contact Customer Care with alternate e-mail addresses and phone numbers which the software may have been registered under.

If the software title was never registered then I am sorry but we would not have a record of your serial number.  Later versions of Creative Suite this was corrected but during the time period of Creative Suite 4 it was necessary to manually register the software title.

[monique28e]

Thank you for your reply Jeff. When I first bought my program, I had a different email address.  I gave the customer care rep 3 emails that it could've been but he/she didn't find anything.  I'm pretty sure I registered the product but I'm not 100% sure.  I usually do register all software I get so I cannot imagine that I didn't for this one.  Anyways, the rep never told me they could also check by phone number.  That phone number has been the same for 15 years so that may help.  I will try to contact them again.  Wish me luck!

As for the "Find your serial number" link:  I did try that, thank you, but it didn't help. I don't need to find the serial # because it's neatly printed on a sticker on the back of the case. It's the same serial number from Day 1 of installation over 6 years ago.  Nothing has changed.  BUT, I did type in the number on my account page (to add a product) and it came up invalid.  😕

My question is (which no one seems to be able to answer):  WHY did a perfectly legal/valid serial number all of a sudden become invalid?  I am the original purchaser of the program and it has only been installed by me at home.  Also, why are so many other people experiencing the same problem with their older versions of Photoshop when they try to install it on a new computer?  Valid serial #'s suddenly turning up as invalid?  That is very strange! It seems like if we fork out that much money for a product, we should be able to use it for it's full life.

Sorry to vent but this is very frustrating and the customer care rep was extremely rude in ending the chat while we were still chatting.  I was not in any way rude, disrespectful or vulgar.  There was no cause to end the chat while I was in the middle of typing a reply to their question about the receipt. Also, I marked the box to have a transcript of the chat sent to me once the chat was finished and I have yet to receive it.  (When I checked that box, a confirmation popped up in the chat box that I was to receive a transcript of the session.)  Seems to me there's something fishy going on and now I don't even have record of the chat.  Not very good customer service. 

[Jeff A Wright]

Monique28e can you please private message me the serial number.  I will attempt to decode the serial number to determine it is valid.

The tricky thing is that there could be a software issue which may cause the serial number to appear invalid.  This would not affect the registration process which is why I have suggested this avenue previously.  Please do not post your serial number publicly.  If you click on my name and go to my profile page there will be an option to private message me.  I will update this discussion once I have received your response and I have had an opportunity to review and decode the serial number.

[Jeff A Wright]

Monique28e I am so sorry but the serial number you sent me was invalid.  It has the right number of digits but I am unable to decode it.  I am unsure how you were able to install on the other two computers.  Were you given a special installer with your purchase which may have accepted the serial number?  You may want to look for your original installation media to see if it can provide any additional insight.

Depending upon your creative needs you may want to look at Photoshop Elements 13 - Photo and video editing software | Adobe Elements family depending upon what type of photo editing you use Photoshop Elements 13 may fulfill those needs.

Alternately we do offer the Creative Cloud Photography plan which includes the most current version of Photoshop and Photoshop Lightroom with the membership.  Additional details can be found at Creative Cloud Photography plan | Adobe Creative Cloud.

Monique28e I am so sorry that the serial number utilized previously is invalid.  This isn't something which happens retroactively in any way.  Both of the alternatives I have offered in this post do have a trial experience available so you can evaluate either software offering for up to 30 days before making your decision.

[monique28e]

Thanks for checking.

No, I didn't have a separate installer.  The Photoshop CS4 that I bought came with the program CD and a "Learning Adobe Creative Suite 4" tutorial DVD.  When I installed the program on each of my computers, I did so by inserting the cd into my disc drive and going through the installation process as directed by the program.  No separate downloads or installers have ever been used.  This is why I'm confused as to how my program serial # is suddenly invalid. I have always used the same installation disc and # and it has worked beautifully each time.  This doesn't make any sense at all.  I guess I'm just out a whole lot of money.  😕

Thanks again Jeff for looking into this and trying to help out.  You provided much better service than the previous customer care rep.  You didn't treat me like a dummy and I really appreciate that.

[monique28e]

Jeff,

I wanted to give you an update on my situation with my PS CS4 valid/invalid serial #:  After we last communicated, Adobe withdrew/closed my case citing that I had not responded to them.  The funny thing is that THEY did not respond, not once!, to my questions in the customer care case. Adobe didn't give me anything to respond to! I felt like they were completely avoiding the issue. That was the last straw for me so I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. The day after I filed the complaint, I was contacted directly by Adobe and my case was escalated (March 6, 2015). Today (March 9,2015), I received a new serial number and was able to install and register my CS4.  I hated having to take such course of action but this whole situation was not OK.  I am pleased to say though, that in the end, Adobe DID take care of this and now I am able to use my program again.  I hope Adobe will use this situation to better train their customer care reps. Ignoring customers is never good for business.  Adobe makes excellent programs and I hope their customer care will improve to match.

Thanks again for your help Jeff.

[Jeff A Wright]

Thank you for the update Monique28e.  I am very sorry you had to take such steps.  I am very happy to hear that you were able to successfully install Photoshop CS4. 

I did verify that the new serial number is showing up under your account.  I would recommend bookmarking Find your serial number quickly in case you need to locate the registered serial number in the future.