In 2013 I bought Adobe Creative Suite 6 from Amazon.com for $2,133.00 (and I have the order number and receipt to prove it). In the eight years since then I've always been able, whenever I changed computers, to either re-install, or (if already installed) re-activate the CS6 programs by typing in the serial number when prompted. I did this most recently last November when I changed computers.
Last week my Mac Pro died. Pushing the start-up button did nothing--it might as well have been a brick. The computer had been acting flaky on startup for the last couple of years, getting worse all the time, requiring multiple pushes and holds on the button toward the last, so I wasn't really surprised when it went dead. I went to Ebay and bought another Mac Pro just like it, and when it arrived here yesterday I moved the hard drives from my dead Mac into the new one and fired it up. Of course I expected CS6 to recognize that it was in a different computer and ask me for the registration number to activate it. That's never been a problem. I've done this before. However, this time, typing in the registration number accomplished nothing. The registration window wouldn't go beyond the sign-in screen.
So, I trashed all traces of Adobe apps from the Mac's hard drive, re-installed CS6 from the original DVDs, and once again tried to activate the software by typing in the registration number when prompted. Well, something happened this time--it went to an Adobe webpage that told me I have an unauthorized serial number and probably pirated software.
So, I went to Adobe.com and typed my problem into a box in their Support section. This led to an e-mail exchange with someone who seemed barely able to write English. I had to explain several times to this person what I'm trying to do, and he replied, in poorly written language, to tell me that Adobe does not support any software five years after the date it was purchased, nor does it allow re-registration of its DVD-based software anyway. However, he added, if indeed I had bought the software legitimately, I would be allowed to continue using it if I paid Adobe $500. For the $500, he said, Adobe would provide me with a new registration number and allow me to download a new copy of CS6 from their website.
I replied that I had been able as recently as a few months ago to activate my bought-and-paid-for copy of CS6, so what was different now? Without answering the question he gave me a phone number to call. I called the number and got someone on the other end who spoke such poor English, and spoke it so fast, that I couldn't understand anything he was saying. I got my wife on the phone, since she's pretty sharp at understanding fast talkers, but she couldn't understand him either. She finally told him to please slow down and speak distinctly. He asked her for my CS6 registration number, and she gave it to him. He then said that he would send me an e-mail about the matter and hung up. Sure enough, the e-mail came. It says "your case is closed."
If Adobe is no longer allowing registration of its DVD-based software, then how can those sellers on Ebay who are asking hundreds and even thousands of dollars for Adobe Creative Suite DVDs right now be doing that if no one can register and activate the software after buying it? Am I missing something?
Has anyone else here had a similar experience with Adobe, and if so, what did you do about it?
Last week my Mac Pro died. Pushing the start-up button did nothing--it might as well have been a brick. The computer had been acting flaky on startup for the last couple of years, getting worse all the time, requiring multiple pushes and holds on the button toward the last, so I wasn't really surprised when it went dead. I went to Ebay and bought another Mac Pro just like it, and when it arrived here yesterday I moved the hard drives from my dead Mac into the new one and fired it up. Of course I expected CS6 to recognize that it was in a different computer and ask me for the registration number to activate it. That's never been a problem. I've done this before. However, this time, typing in the registration number accomplished nothing. The registration window wouldn't go beyond the sign-in screen.
So, I trashed all traces of Adobe apps from the Mac's hard drive, re-installed CS6 from the original DVDs, and once again tried to activate the software by typing in the registration number when prompted. Well, something happened this time--it went to an Adobe webpage that told me I have an unauthorized serial number and probably pirated software.
So, I went to Adobe.com and typed my problem into a box in their Support section. This led to an e-mail exchange with someone who seemed barely able to write English. I had to explain several times to this person what I'm trying to do, and he replied, in poorly written language, to tell me that Adobe does not support any software five years after the date it was purchased, nor does it allow re-registration of its DVD-based software anyway. However, he added, if indeed I had bought the software legitimately, I would be allowed to continue using it if I paid Adobe $500. For the $500, he said, Adobe would provide me with a new registration number and allow me to download a new copy of CS6 from their website.
I replied that I had been able as recently as a few months ago to activate my bought-and-paid-for copy of CS6, so what was different now? Without answering the question he gave me a phone number to call. I called the number and got someone on the other end who spoke such poor English, and spoke it so fast, that I couldn't understand anything he was saying. I got my wife on the phone, since she's pretty sharp at understanding fast talkers, but she couldn't understand him either. She finally told him to please slow down and speak distinctly. He asked her for my CS6 registration number, and she gave it to him. He then said that he would send me an e-mail about the matter and hung up. Sure enough, the e-mail came. It says "your case is closed."
If Adobe is no longer allowing registration of its DVD-based software, then how can those sellers on Ebay who are asking hundreds and even thousands of dollars for Adobe Creative Suite DVDs right now be doing that if no one can register and activate the software after buying it? Am I missing something?
Has anyone else here had a similar experience with Adobe, and if so, what did you do about it?
