Purchasing a CS6 License

[Guest]

As you can't buy Photoshop CS6 anymore, I managed to purchase a genuine back up copy instead from an approved Adobe retailer but back up copies obviously don't come with a license as you are already supposed to have one.  Can I purchase a license or a used license from Adobe to activate the back up copy?  I don't want to be tied into a CC monthly subscription.

[John Waller · Accepted solution]

sandre123456789  wrote

Can I purchase a license or a used license from Adobe to activate the back up copy? 

No. There are no serial numbers available for purchase for CS6 anymore, ever.

Not sure why you purchased a backup copy from a reseller. You can download them for free from Adobe at any time.

Download Adobe Creative Suite 6 applications

But without a serial number they'll only work in trial mode for 30 days then stop working,

[UVCircle Life Watch5EAE]

Question 1 - This maybe a longshot but here goes - I bought Studio 8 for nearly a grand back in 2007 in New-York (via a friend) and feel it's only fair that I would be given the option to pay to upgrade to CS6. I don't want to pay the monthly subs to Adobe as I'm not a professional designer right now. I really only want Fireworks & Flash CS6 .... possibly dreamweaver. 

Question 2 - As Flash is obsolete also, is there any point making standalone presentations - I am rusty but remember that I once made a standalone presentation with video, music and profile menues & that it worked on any computers OS ... is this still possible? I am fearing that the latest windows & mac OS will not play them.... 

PLS!! CAN I upgrade from Studio 8 to CS6 .... if so .... great, I'll save up & buy the whole master-suite...

[D Fosse]

CS6 is dead and long gone. It hasn't been legally available in any shape or form for many, many years.

If you're offered a copy today it will be pirated and illegal (and probably full of malware),with 100% certainty.

[John Waller]

Question 2 - As Flash is obsolete also, is there any point making standalone presentations - I am rusty but remember that I once made a standalone presentation with video, music and profile menues & that it worked on any computers OS ... is this still possible? I am fearing that the latest windows & mac OS will not play them.... 

Flash was officially killed off on 31 Dec 2020. Adobe even blocks Flash content from running in Flash player.

https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/end-of-life.html

No browsers support it. Windows and Mac operating systems have also removed support for it.

Use HTML5 or other Flash alternatives.

https://www.ispringsolutions.com/blog/flash-alternative

[Guest]

Many thanks for that.  I didn't know you could download it for free. Never mind, you live and learn.

[hbillsmith]

Today I learned that in 2016 Adobe started the Genuine program.  As part of this program Adobe now recognizes that their previous serial number security was so drastically weak that their software was being sold by an uncontrollable number of unauthorized partners.  In response to this issue, Adobe has selected 2 paths forward.

First, all future editions will be subscription based and eventually all previously generation of CSxx will expire from support.  This will force their thousands of loyal customers to either plug into the subscription model or fade away into the sunset (or just die off as the case may be).

Second, since it took almost three years with CS6 being offered both by legitimate and ill-legitimate vendors, the Adobe Genuine program was designed to not offer any recourse to those customers who were duped by Adobe's rip-off resellers.  Those loyal customers are simply stuck with a CS6 version that will not reload should their systems die or need re-imaging.  Adobe will not even allow those customers to buy a legitimate upgrade license for full price.  Since most upgrades were purchased by using a credit card, obtaining a refund from the credit card company for product sold illegally is a simple process.  It's just too bad that you cannot now give that money to Adobe for a legitimate license.

I'm an I.T. veteran with 30 years developing and purchasing various software products.  I can honestly say I've never come across a company with such a negative view of their customers.  Thankfully, Photoshop was a great pioneer but today their are literally dozens of cheap products that do all the same.  So long Adobe I'll be sure not to let the door hit me the behind on my way out.

[Test Screen Name]

If you search the forums you will find much discussion; some agree with you and some don’t. This is very old news, clearly despite being a “loyal customer” you haven’t tried to upgrade Photoshop in a long time, through five new versions. Apps went subscription only almost five years ago. All versions of Creative Suite including CS6 have already expired from support. Many apps already have serious issues on the latest systems.

[jerry_5582]

You miss the point, people are on CS6 because they do not want to rent their software. Adobe can no longer make money on Photoshop that is why they have gone to subscription only. I have thousands of photoshop files and I refuse to rent my software so I found an application that will read psd files and have said good riddence to Adobe.

[D Fosse]

That's your choice. Adobe's user base exploded after they introduced the subscription model - probably because the prohibiting entrance threshold vanished and it was suddenly something everybody could afford. It doubled or tripled in a few years.

Perpetual licenses aren't really perpetual. Sooner or later they stop working, because operating systems change and hardware changes. So you need to purchase upgrades to stay in the game. You need to factor that into the equation. Photoshop CS6 still barely works on Windows, with significant issues, but on Mac CS6 has been useless for a long time.

[jerry_5582]

Adobe is the only company I know that makes their perpetual licenses stop working. I have many perpetual licenses from other companies that either don't have an activation limit or all the user to log into their account and disable the license from there. Adobe has also lost a huge userbase because many people, like me, refuse to rent software. Your model is only good for heavy users, not the occasional user or the user who works in bursts and then doesn't do anything for several months. Have fun only having heavy users for customers.

[John Waller]

I sympathise - because it's not for everyone - but it's inaccurate to say the Cloud is only good for heavy users. Adobe has plenty of casual, freelance and student users. They also offer month-by-month plans, cancel anytime.

They're up to around 37 million subscribers now which is 3x what they had with perpetual licenses.

Creative Cloud User Base Surpasses 37 Million Paid Subscribers | ProDesignTools

Like it or loathe it, the subscription model is wildly successful.