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Participant
December 31, 2023
Question

P: Lightroom 6.14 download is no longer available on Adobe servers

  • December 31, 2023
  • 15 replies
  • 38284 views

I bought Lightroom 6 sometime in 2017. Now my previous computer broke and lightroom went with it. Well, no problem, I thought, I can download it back from the creative cloud to my new computer. But now it turned out that it can no longer be downloaded. What are my chances now? Can I get compensation or a refund for something for I can no longer use the product I bought and paid for? I didn't get any notice that the download file should be saved to yourself, because adobe no longer offers it for download. What now?

15 replies

Photograe
Participant
October 10, 2025

I have LR v6.14 happily on my computer since Dec 2017. I also have the LR v5 DVD (inlc serrial number) from which LR v6.14 was "updated". The product is now unable to be opened, and 8 years plus of images and manipulations unavailable!

Help Adobe! The records of my old purchases and registration has dissapeared from "My Account" also. What is goin on?

dj_paige
Legend
October 10, 2025

@Photograe 

 

Please explain this in a lot more detail. "The product is now unable to be opened".

 

Exactly what happens when you try? If there is an error message, please quote the exact unedited word-for-word error message. What is the version NUMBER of your operating system? (we need the version NUMBER and not words like "latest" or "up-to-date")

Photograe
Participant
October 10, 2025
When I try to open LR v6.5 on my current computer, used happily since 2017,
the message comes up "that my trial has expired".
See attached screenshot.
I never asked for any such trial, I have no interest in the Subscription CC
model.
Why has my entire LR 6.5 Catalogue been deleted?
Cheers.
Participant
April 23, 2025

I just installed 6.14 on my new Windows 11 build and a new laptop. Everything is good. 

  1.  Sign out of lightroom from any computers you no longer wish to use it on. 
  2. Download Lightroom_6_LS11.exe from archive.org (it is still there. I checked) and back it up for future use. 
  3. Use the serial number from your original Lightroom 6 Insall Disk if requested during the install process or afterwards. You can recover this from your Adobe Account if you have one: Manage_Account->Plans_and_payment->Products
  4.  Install the Adobe DNG Converter from the Adobe website if you have a newer camera so you can convert your raw files to dng. Otherwise Lightroom 6 may not recognize them.

 

Good luck

hagenw63263778
Participant
February 22, 2025

I also stumbled upon this issue, I wanted to sign-out from my running copy on an old computer to install it on a new one (still have the installer), but I can't. And maybe the activation on the new one wouldn't work either. But it is still running fine on my second computer. So this forces me to buy one of the monthly subscriptions, although I have bought a piece of software that is still fitting my needs. I will not do that and look somewhere els. Goodbye Adobe!

dj_paige
Legend
February 22, 2025
quote

I also stumbled upon this issue, I wanted to sign-out from my running copy on an old computer to install it on a new one (still have the installer), but I can't. And maybe the activation on the new one wouldn't work either. But it is still running fine on my second computer. So this forces me to buy one of the monthly subscriptions, although I have bought a piece of software that is still fitting my needs. I will not do that and look somewhere els. Goodbye Adobe!


By @hagenw63263778

 

The activation issues you seem to be referring to are no longer relevant. The "offline activation methoed" means that there are no activation issues any more, and no need to de-activate previous Lr 6 installations.

 

Lr 6.14 can be downloaded, see this link: https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/p-lightroom-6-14-download-is-no-longer-available-on-adobe-servers/m-p/14357593#M352977

 

Off line activation method instructions: https://community.adobe.com/t5/download-install-discussions/lightroom-6-on-a-new-pc/m-p/14638713#M580921

hagenw63263778
Participant
February 23, 2025

I found this only after I posted here. You are correct, offline activation works. Still I don't see why online activation does not work, if offline activation works. It gives you the impression that you have to buy one of the cloud solutions to continue using Lightroom ...

Participant
August 6, 2024

I subscribe to tteh  Cloud Photo Plan. I have a MacBook Air running OS 12.7.6 and that is all fine. But I also have a latge 2014 iMac which cannot run later than 11.7.1. On that Machine I am able to run Photoshop 2024 albeit with performace compatabiulity warnings, which I can live with. On thbis machine I also hvae Lightroom $ which is rteh last version I bought outright.I tried installiong Lighgtroom Classic not rralliusoing it was noit compatible and although it did install it. FViiddling arounI found that I coule (in theory) go back from Classic to Lightroom 6.1 and I clicked on teh option whioch tghen asked me to unistall Classic whioch I did. But now when I click the the Classic installer it no longer gives me that option.

Is there any solution or am I stuffed and stuck with Lightroom 4 on this machine?


Inspiring
July 19, 2024

I bought V6 in 2016 and have used it since with no issues. I have a HUGE database if pictures in the LR catalog. Now I have had to reinstall V6 becasue my old disk failed. But that's no problem because I kept the original installation file and the email providing me with the serial # and all my data is backed up - what more can a user do? But now after installing the app it wants me to login to the Adobe servers. That's fine too. I have an account and logged in but I'm stuck in a loop. It says I have logged in but then when I try to run the app it asks me again to login, which I do, and try again, and it asks again. Looping. How do I get past that?

Participant
July 19, 2024

Have you updated Adobe Application Manager?  I had to do that before I could activate after reinstalling ealier this year.

Inspiring
July 19, 2024

OK! After MUCH messing about I located a download for AAM v10 here

https://download.adobe.com/pub/adobe//creativesuite/cc/win/ApplicationManager10.0_all.exe

and I have been able to login and run LR6 as I hoped.

 

Next step is to connect this new instance of the program to my old/large/existing database. The app wants, quite reasonably to create a new instance of its database. Can you guide me in the steps to connect them?

Participant
April 20, 2024
Rikk Flohr_Photography
Community Manager
January 15, 2024
Rikk Flohr: Adobe Photography Org
Inspiring
January 15, 2024

Try to contact Adobe tech support by chat - they maybe will be able to provide installer.

That's if you want it from reputable source.

Otherwise just find it over Internet - that shouldn't be too hard.

Keith Reeder
Participating Frequently
January 15, 2024

"Can I get compensation or a refund for something for I can no longer use the product I bought and paid for? "

 

No. Your perpetual licence only bought you the right to use Lr 6 while it was available. (ie for the life of the software.)

 

Adobe can withdraw a product at its whim, (this right is clearly stated in the End User Licence Agreement (EULA) which you accepted when you bought) and unfortunately there's nothing we can do about it except move on.

 

"The 'download' cut-off date of 31/12/2023 was advertised in the forums"

 

Not only here, Rob - it was widely publicised in online (and, I imagine, paper) photography websites and magazines for a few months beforehand. 

 

As DJ points out, the direct link to Lr6 hosted by Prodesigntools seems to have linked to Adobe's source file, so that''s that for Lr6, by the look of it...

Inspiring
January 15, 2024

No. Your perpetual licence only bought you the right to use Lr 6 while it was available. (ie for the life of the software.)

What you are saying is that people are paying for nothing, because that "life of the software" is not known and is not specified anywhere at the time of purchase - they can as well shut it down in a day, month or in a hundred years - noone knows.

And those software companies are then wondering why people are joining captain Jack Sparrow team...

 

Rob_Cullen
Community Expert
Community Expert
January 22, 2024

Thanks very much for posting the Internet Archive links.  Are there any checksums or other ways to verify those downloads are legitimate?


I would trust the integrity of John Ellis who posted the link.

Unless you have a v6 licence or a subscription to the Photography Plan, v6 will be useless for you and a download pointless.

And the question is still 'open for clarification'- Can Lr6 be activated at all?

 

Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .