Losing access to Lightroom Classic after cancelling subscription

[Federico24748624gxei]

According to this page (https://helpx.adobe.com/manage-account/using/cancel-subscription.html), upon canceling a Creative Cloud subscription "You can continue to access all your photos on your local hard drive through Lightroom for the desktop. You can continue to import and organize photos and output your edited photos through Export, Publish, Print, Web, or Slideshow. Access to the Develop & Map modules and Lightroom for mobile is not available after your membership ends."

I recently started a free trial for the photography plan (Lightroom CC + Lightroom Classic + Photoshop), and used it for 14 days as I needed it for a personal project. I then canceled the subscription before the 14th day to get a refund, everything went smoothly.

I now open Lightroom Classic that I still have installed, as I find out that there's a photo I forgot to export and send to a friend, and I am greeted by a window with this message (translating):

"Your subscription to Lightroom Classic is expired. This is the last time you can launch the app."

then it offers me a couple of plans I can pay for.

excuse me what-

is this some sort of clause that's not specified, regarding the fact that I canceled when I could still have a refund?

I might be overreacting but I'm not closing the app now to test it, in case there's things I need to do in the app to fix it, but then I can't open it.

[dj_paige]

So you never paid for it? Or you got all of your money back? (the information that says you can use the software after your subscription expires refers to people who actually paid for the software)

I have not been in that situation, but I think if you never paid for it, then once the free trial ends you can't use it.

[Federico24748624gxei]

I understand I wasn't perfectly clear in the explaination. I did pay for it. I used it for 7 days for free, using the free trial, then paid for it, and 7 days after the payment I canceled the subscription and got the money I spent back, as it was still 14 days after the first subscription, and I was eligible for a refund.

I uderstand how this could just be a "workaround" to get a limited version of Lightroom for free. Wasn't my intention really, it's always nice to save some money. Of course it makes sense that wouldn't apply if it was just the trial, but I did pay for it. Does it not count since I got a refund? 

[dj_paige]

Well, I don't know, as I said, I have never been in this situation, but it is my understanding that you have to have paid for the software (and not cancelled and got a full refund).

So saying you paid for it is irrelevant, as you got a full refund, its as if you never paid for it. Adobe made no money from you.

But maybe you should talk to Adobe about this rather than in this forum, where the people responding are Lightroom Classic users. Adobe ought to be able to explain the policy clearly.

[TheDigitalDog]

Lets start here. Did you keep the Adobe Creative Cloud application and is it still able to run? 

[JohanElzenga · Accepted solution]

Your screenshot shows you are in the develop module. This could just be a matter of poor translation. The develop module (and the map module) will cease to work when your subscription is expired, so it probably means that this is the last time you can use this particular module, not the last time you can use Lightroom Classic at all.

[richardplondon]

As another detail, I believe the continued unpaid (but reduced function) usage of LrC works by being signed-in using the same Adobe Account (username), which formerly had the paid subscription in place.

Your "has legacy permission to use" status won't get found when you are not signed in at all, nor when you are signed into some different Adobe Account.

[Federico24748624gxei]

Yup, we'll call it a poor translation, though that's a really poor translation. I still have the Adobe Creative Cloud app, it works just fine, and I'm properly logged in. I changed panel, closed the app and I was able to open it.

A similar window popped up, again inviting me to purchase a subscription, but nothing like "you can't use the app". I closed it and I can browse my photos. If I go in the Develop panel it just says "this panel is disabled". All's well what ends well. Thanks guys