Adobe, please fulfill your promise

[l_8871]

Many years ago, I purchased a boxed Photoshop CS1 and obtained a permanent license. Now, due to Adobe shutting down the activation server, I am unable to activate the product I purchased! I have contacted customer service 6 times but the problem has not been resolved! By browsing the forum, I found that many customers from cs1 to cs4 have encountered the same problem! Why do people tolerate Adobe's behavior? I have already paid for a permanent license and should not be unable to activate it due to Adobe shutting down the activation server. Adobe has an obligation to safeguard the rights of users. Instead of trying every means to make users with permanent authorization pay for subscriptions! Subscription is not applicable to all users.
The screenshot below is Adobe's Q&A on activation issues when they started using activation technology in their products. Has Adobe already forgotten these things? Fulfill your promise and stop betraying your users. Look at the forum, you are pushing your users towards your opponents. If you continue like this, you will be defeated by your greed

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Feature Requests (Idea) and Bug Reports are registered at Adobe, otherwise this is essentially a user Forum, though thankfully some Adobe employees do occasionally chime in.

Have you tried contacting customer care (click the speech-buccle-icon bottom right and type »agent«)? 

https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html

[l_8871]

I have contacted them 6 times regarding this issue, but it has not been resolved. They will only ask me to pay for a subscription (although I have repeatedly stated that subscriptions are not suitable for me) or seek help on this forum

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Well, that seems unfortunate. 

Non-Adobe-employees (such as myself) naturally cannot help with licensing issues. 

Why did the actvation terminate in your case?

Did the »old« computer malfunction and you were trying to install on a new computer or …? 

[l_8871]

@c.pfaffenbichler Yes, I have been idle for a long time with cs1. Recently, when I reinstalled it, I found that it couldn't connect to the server at all. cs1-cs4 also have this problem because Adobe has turned off the activation server! Contacting customer service will only make you pay or come here to help each other through mutual assistance between users! How ridiculous it is for Adobe customer service to give such a suggestion!

[Ged_Traynor]

@l_8871 there's nothing we can do to help you, Adobe made an activated version of CS2 available that did not require online activation a good few years ago, but that ship has long since sailed.

There are plenty of alternatives to Photoshop out there, bought paid for and free.

Photoshop CS was released over 20 years ago, I doubt Adobe will change the activation situation with CS, you really can't expect software to last forever,

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

@l_8871 Not the outcome you want but an option otherwise is to buy a copy of Photoshop Elements. Its an outright buy not a subscription and much more powerful than CS1 ever was. The question now is if you have a machine that can run CS1 it must be fairly old, compatibility with newer softwares, OS is the issue you'll face.

[l_8871]

@Kevin Stohlmeyer I do have a very old computer, which is used to run CS1. This is not difficult for me! Because I am not an industry user, I only use it occasionally, and cs1 is already sufficient for me. And I have already paid for it, I don't want to pay for software that I don't need anymore! When it comes to operating systems, WinXP is also a very old software, and even older than CS1! But until today, WinXP can still be activated normally! Let's take a look at what Adobe has done!

[c.pfaffenbichler]

So Photoshop still runs on the old computer? 

Otherwise why did the actvation terminate in your case?

Did the »old« computer malfunction and you were trying to install on a new computer or …? 

Edit: I was apparently still typing while you posted your reply. 

[l_8871]

I understand what you mean, but I hope you can understand me more. I just want Adobe to fulfill its promise and give more friends affected by activation issues the power they deserve! This is actually not difficult for Adobe. Although Photoshop CS was released over 20 years ago, Adobe had already released Q&A on potential future issues at that time, reassuring users that they had solutions! As shown in the screenshot above, this was their own promise, but now they are not fulfilling it! They shut down the server! Is this the fault of the user who purchased their product? I really don't expect software to last forever because computers and systems are constantly iterating. But the problem is that I have already paid for the software I purchased and purchased a perpetual license Adobe's Product License Agreements typically grant the user of an Adobe product the right to use it in perpetuity. Adobe plans to honor these agreements. In the unlikely event of the company's shutting down, we will enable automatic approval of all activation requests or provide other technical means allowing users to continue using our products. The above statement was made by Adobe, but now they are not fulfilling their promise! Is this reasonable? For example, I bought a car and suddenly one day it couldn't start! But he's not broken and doesn't need any repairs. All of this is just because this model has been discontinued and the manufacturer no longer sells cars. Now the manufacturer only rents cars! If you want to continue using the car that you have already paid for, you must pay again and rent it monthly! Do you think this is fair? Don't you think this approach is very despicable? Adobe should fulfill its original promise

[l_8871]

@Ged_Traynor I understand what you mean, but I hope you can understand me more. I just want Adobe to fulfill its promise and give more friends affected by activation issues the power they deserve! This is actually not difficult for Adobe. Although Photoshop CS was released over 20 years ago, Adobe had already released Q&A on potential future issues at that time, reassuring users that they had solutions! As shown in the screenshot above, this was their own promise, but now they are not fulfilling it! They shut down the server! Is this the fault of the user who purchased their product? I really don't expect software to last forever because computers and systems are constantly iterating. But the problem is that I have already paid for the software I purchased and purchased a perpetual license Adobe's Product License Agreements typically grant the user of an Adobe product the right to use it in perpetuity. Adobe plans to honor these agreements. In the unlikely event of the company's shutting down, we will enable automatic approval of all activation requests or provide other technical means allowing users to continue using our products. The above statement was made by Adobe, but now they are not fulfilling their promise! Is this reasonable? For example, I bought a car and suddenly one day it couldn't start! But he's not broken and doesn't need any repairs. All of this is just because this model has been discontinued and the manufacturer no longer sells cars. Now the manufacturer only rents cars! If you want to continue using the car that you have already paid for, you must pay again and rent it monthly! Do you think this is fair? Don't you think this approach is very despicable? Adobe should fulfill its original promise

[rayek.elfin]

Probably not the answer that you want to hear: Adobe did keep their promise back in January 2013 when the CS1 and CS2 servers were shut down. At the time they provided CS1 and CS2 users to download the entire CS2 Creative Suite line of products and provided serial numbers that unlock all these in perpetuity.

All CS1 owners were actually given a free perpetual upgrade to CS2! And this was based on a honour system: Adobe mentioned on that page that only CS1 and CS2 license holders were supposed to download and install these.

This news hit the social media and other design news sites like a bomb, and obviously users without actual CS 1/2 licenses began downloading these en-masse.

After a few months Adobe removed the page. Even the Internet Archive was forced to remove archived versions of this page.

If you @l_8871 had taken advantage of that opportunity you would now have had a perpetual license of Creative Suite 2.

In essence, Adobe held their promises:

[1] in the even a product is discontinued, Adobe will enable automatic approval of all activation requests for that product or provide a means to remove activation outright.

Adobe DID provide the means to remove activation outright by providing a version and serial number that did not require online activation.

Playing the devil's advocate here: Of course, nowhere in the FAQ that you copied is it stated that Adobe would have to provide these means in perpetuity! So that means that you @l_8871 should have taken advantage of that very generous offer to update your CS1 version to the CS2 back in 2013. Adobe actually were extremely generous, because as a Photoshop CS1 licensed user you were allowed to upgrade and download the ENTIRE Creative Suite 2!

For free!

Adobe honoured their promise within reason: they DID provide you with the means and opportunity to download an (updated) version of CS1 that can be activated offline and in perpetuity (on compatible hardware). These links were up for several months. But you did not take advantage of that very generous offer. The reasons why or how you failed to do so are are your own responsibility, and not Adobe's.

I would argue here that Adobe kept their promise to all CS1 and CS2 owners.

[l_8871]

@rayek.elfin 

First of all, thank you for your very detailed reply. Obviously, you are a user who has experienced that period.

Although there is no mention in the Q&A that Adobe must permanently provide these means. But he mentioned that users have the right to permanently use it! Due to Adobe shutting down the activation server, how can users achieve permanent use of it? You may think Adobe is generous, but in my opinion, it's greed! Is maintaining an activation server a very difficult task? Although it may just be a virtual machine, shutting it down may have another purpose for Adobe! Since we have provided versions that do not require activation, why not continue to provide them?

Adobe doesn't want unauthorized people to download, why can't it only provide downloads to users who have bound serial numbers like in the era of CS3?

I didn't see any download link in my CS serial number on my account! Customer service cannot provide any assistance, why can't we continue to provide special versions? But instead, it allows you to pay for the subscription version and buy things you don't need! Do you think this is reasonable?

As I mentioned before, I purchased a car with excellent quality and no malfunctions, but due to production stoppage, this car cannot be started! As you said, the manufacturer has provided you with an unrestricted car for you to use, but for users who are not aware, they can only discard the paid car directly! Do you think this is fair? Is this way of solving problems reasonable? Users who paid for a permanent license are being treated differently!

I understand. The people who reply here are all people who enjoy helping others. Thank you very much

But I want to make the truth clear, so that more people with permanent authorization can see and fight for the rights they deserve, rather than abandoning them

[Retune]

Playing the devil's advocate here: Of course, nowhere in the FAQ that you copied is it stated that Adobe would have to provide these means in perpetuity!

By that logic, they could have made the special installers available for half an hour one Friday evening before deleting them, and they would have kept their promise. I don't think Adobe's behaviour here honours their written commitment above in any reasonable way. They could have made the activation-free installers available indefinitely at negligible cost to themselves, but they chose not to. It was even worse for CS3, where providing the special installers was almost a stealth operation, and required licence holders to jump through additional hoops to obtain them. It was only by chance that I stumbled across them before they were removed without warning. Worst of all, for CS4 and later they have provided nothing at all, but CS4 is now included on the list of versions that can no longer be activated.

[rayek.elfin]

From a ethical point of view I completely agree, and in a perfect world Adobe would provide those downloads for as long as they exist. From a legal point of view (as far as I can tell) they fullfilled their promise to make installers available for a reasonable time. They didn't allow CS1 and CS2 only 30 minutes on a Friday evening, but rather for months.

So while I agree that it isn't a perfect situation, and I personally would just allow these older versions to 'roam free' in the public domain, I am not Adobe, and Adobe is a business. They ain't Santa Claus.

(personally I dislike Adobe's business practices, btw, which is why I switched to open source and more affordable commercial alternatives for my personal and freelance work: only at my workplace do I still use Adobe products.)

If you don't like Adobe's business ethics and doings, there is only one way to go: choose with your wallet and switch to other software. More than enough valid choices out there right now. The CS 1/2/3 suite of apps can be easily replaced by more feature-rich alternatives nowadays - many for free or at very low cost.

[l_8871]

@rayek.elfin But from a legal perspective, I don't think Adobe has fulfilled its promise either! I don't know how to understand Adobe's statement that it can be used permanently! Before Adobe uses activation technology, there is no need to make any explanation or commitment, and the purchased user can use it permanently.

After Adobe started using activation technology in the for win version of CS1, in order to dispel consumers' concerns, Adobe made a Q&A to explain everything and make consumers feel at ease when making purchases. So, according to your statement, allowing users who happen to see it available for download for a few months means that all users who have purchased its product can permanently use it?

You're right, Adobe is not Santa Claus. Because Santa Claus doesn't require you to pay for his gifts! Similarly, Adobe should not assume that users are all fools. If they are deceived once, they will not be deceived again

Even though CS1-CS4 are outdated versions of technology, Adobe would rather be a greedy and untrustworthy person pushing its users towards competitors than doing anythingbeneficial to its users! It's unbelievable! He may think that his previous market share was too high and he needs to give up some market share

By the same token, if users do not strive for their own power, will Adobe consider its subscription users to be too high in market share in the future? Will Adobe take action against subscription users again?

Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad

May God bless Adobe

[Retune]

More like the Grinch than Santa! But affected users really aren't looking for gifts, or even meaningful support, just to be able to use the software they paid for. Someone who spent over £2000 on the CS4 Master Collection as recently as 2010 now has no means of installing it. Someone who shelled out a similar amount for CS6 as recently as 2015 is now screwed if their hardware dies and they've used up all their activations, which can no longer be reset externally.

I wish the lower cost alternatives were complete replacements for the CS applications. Adobe's own 'low-cost' editor, Elements, still lacks basic features like the Channel Mixer that were in prehistoric pre-CS versions of PS. Affinity is certainly very impressive, and has some innovative features of its own that are ahead of Adobe's. But I've found real-world, bread and butter tasks that can be handled perfectly well by CS3/CS6 Design Standard (e.g. importing vector graphic output from a particular stats package in an editable form without mangling the text) where the Affinity suite falls down (I noticed, incidentally, that Affinity added online activation in v2, and has now been bought out by a larger company, which is rarely a good sign). One tool I rather liked, Capture One's free Express raw processor, was recently savagely discontinued in a move that would shame even Adobe's activation server 'retirement' department - they did not just block new installations, but remotely killed current installations.

[l_8871]

There are a lot of complaints about this issue on this forum, but ADOBE keeps pretending to be blind and unable to see

[l_8871]

Please take this issue seriously. There are a large number of complaints on the forum, and you are turning a blind eye to them. Your users are leaving you

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

@l_8871 this is a user-to-user forum not direct contact with Adobe. If you need further assistance please contact Adobe Customer Care via the chat module on Adobe.com or via X @ adobecare.