CS3, Acrobat 8 ~ Activation Servers Retired

[Nancy OShea]

Activation or connection error | CS3, Acrobat 8

It's official.  CS3 Activation Servers have been retired.  If you have CS3 or Acrobat 8, see this help article for further details on how to obtain a new serial number for your legacy products.

Activation or connection error when starting CS3 or Acrobat 8

Nancy

[kglad]

why can't i mark your post as helpful?

[Jeff A Wright]

Thanks Nancy.  My understanding is the activation server was shut down last night.  The page you linked to will allow individuals to input their CS3 serial number and obtain a new copy of the installation files and serial number.

Activation or connection error when starting CS3 or Acrobat 8​ actually was pushed live last week and replaced the CS3 download page.  So far I know of at least two individuals who have completed the process successfully.  One of them even had a volume license serial number for CS3 but was still able to access the replacement installation files.

If either of you encounter any individuals facing difficulty with the process please don't hesitate to send me a message and I can review the discussion.

[Nancy OShea]

OK, Jeff.  Will do. 

kglad​,

Maybe because it's not posted as a question.  It's informational.

N

[John Waller]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Nancy+OShea  wrote

Maybe because it's not posted as a question.  It's informational.

Seems to me that Helpful is disabled on the first post in any discussion, regardless of whether it's a question or informational.

[kglad]

that's too bad because that's a pretty helpful post.  well, everything here is helpful to me.

[Nancy OShea]

I think you can still LIKE it.

[kglad]

i see the like (as well as everything else expected) for all the other posts but not the op,

[Nancy OShea]

You mean you don't see this?  See screenshots.

NOTE: My Like button is gray because I can't like my own posts.  But I can bookmark and follow them.

Desktop

Mobile

[kglad]

got it, and did it.

[tomb62680947]

I have spent hours on this and still can't get it to work. Have new serial number, downloaded akamai netsession interface, and it dowloaded new Photoshop......but keep getting error message. Why do they make this so difficult?

[Jeff A Wright]

Tomb62680947 I would recommend reviewing Re: CS3 - Still getting Activation Error Message with new Installer which discusses the error you may be receiving. 

If you continue to encounter errors, during the installation process, then please start a new public forum discussion with the error you are receiving in the Downloading, Installing, Setting Up forum - Downloading, Installing, Setting Up .

[shelleyb60728083]

This is the punishment you get for paying for commercial software.  I should have just pirated this.  I have been screwing with this crap for nearly three hours and still can't get a working CS3 instance on my new laptop.  Never again.

[Nancy OShea]

shelleyb60728083  wrote

This is the punishment you get for paying for commercial software. 

No this is what happens when you cling to 10 year old software that was never designed to run on a brand, spanking new laptop.   Legacy software requires a legacy operating system.   Modern equipment requires modern software. 

Creative Cloud pricing and membership plans | Adobe Creative Cloud

[shelleyb60728083]

It worked on the exact same osx version before I changed hardware.  So, it's not like it doesn't work.  It installs and runs and then can't activate.  Every time I have had to reactivate CS3 for the last ten years it's been a similar nightmare.  It's not like this is some $20 license for a utility either... CS3 was about $1500.

[Nancy OShea]

It cannot activate because the activation servers are gone.  They were taken offline quite a while ago.   See correct answer below.

Re-activating CS3 (Updated)

You must download the replacement installer & get a new serial number that doesn't require activation. and NEVER resister your product.  Also if you're trying to install Creative Suite on Sierra or higher, you'll need the Mac workarounds because CS installers are not compatible with newer Macs.   See link below.

Installing Creative Suite on macOS 10.12 (Sierra)

This is the final year you will be able to use older software as Apple is removing support for 32-bit. 

[NationalTicket]

Jeff, I'm working with someone at Adobe now but for some reason they have no idea what I mean by a 'one time activation key'.

We have about 30-50 some Adobe Acrobat 9 installs.  Just today, 12/18/2019, two of our workstations Adobe Acrobat 9 shut down staying it had an issue connecting with Adobe. We cannot use that Adobe 9 on those workstations as it wants to 'call out'.

I'm working with a tech right now and they don't seem to be failiar with the procedures for the legacy software key issue. 

Is there any other work around?  

Thanks!

David

[Nancy OShea · Accepted solution]

@NeuroPsych,

This thread is out of date.  CS3 & Acrobat 8 are officially dead and gone now.  Adobe took down the links to activation free-installers and serial numbers.  Product support has ended. There is no possible way now to re-install or , de/activate CS3 and Acrobat 8.

[JensKoegler]

Hello Nancy,

I have the same problem. Do I understand correctly that Adobe now prevents me from using the SW, I paid more than a 1000 Euros for, and does not even provide the installer any longer? Don't get me wrong. For my professional work life I am using a company Cloud account with a subscription model but for my private PC, I would expect that I can still use the SW I bought.

I had to re-install, CS3 is running fine, I can also live with the fact that you do not support any longer but I really cannot understand why you prevent the users who paid for it, instead of downloading piracy software, from using their software.

That really upsets me. And on top of that, people in the chat being very rude and disrespectful. In regards to this issue, this is not cool and a very bad style. Where can I make an official claim?

Thanks, Jens

[Nancy OShea]

Jens,

I'm very sorry to be the bad messenger. But I don't work for Adobe and I don't make their polices.  I'm merely a forum volunteer and fellow product user like you. 

Adobe owns the software.  After 12-13 years, they have ended  CS3 and Acrobat 8 because those aged products won't work on most modern computers  anymore.   It all comes down to supply vs demand.   There's no point in supplying something when demand is null.  In 2020, people aren't interested in obsolete software.

"And on top of that, people in the chat being very rude and disrespectful."

In my experience, chat agents are always polite and eager to help when they can.  Unfortunately, their hands are tied.  The can't give you what you want if it doesn't exist. 

Give me your Adobe Case Number and I will ask an Adobe Staff member to examine your chat transcript after the new year when everyone returns from Christmas holiday. 

[scottd81914528]

Hi Nancy,

What about when you are trying to "Deactivate" one of your programs from CS3.

The company I am working for did not keep records of the activation codes/serial numbers for their Adobe products. The simple solution is to deactivate the program and then "activate" it again so the saved activation code will show up. I've done it before.

But now, every time I try it gives me a "To complete deactivation you need to have a working internet connection. Please be sure you are connected to the Internet." This is similar to what your link is describing of getting "No Connection" errors when trying to activate.

My question is, does the lack of an activation server mean that we can't "Deactivate" our product either. And if so, how can we get our serial numbers/24-character activation code?

Thanks.

[Jeff A Wright]

Scottd81914528, the Creative Suite 3 activation server is no longer available.  Please use the new installation files, and serial number, discussed in post #2 of this discussion to reinstall Creative Suite 3. 

Since the activation server is no longer available it no longer possible to deactivate the software.