When you launch or install a Creative Cloud or CS6 product, you receive the following error:

'We are unable to validate this serial number for <product name>. Please contact Customer Support.'

Note To Creative Cloud Members:
Creative Cloud does not use serial numbers, instead users sign in with their Adobe ID.

1. Obtain the serial number

Every Adobe Creative Suite product you purchase comes with a serial number. Use the serial number to claim ownership of your Adobe Creative Suite product. Here is where to find your serial number:

• Retail DVD: The serial number is on the back of your DVD case.
  
• Retail electronic download: The serial number is in the email receipt from the Adobe Store. The Adobe Store sends the receipt to the email address you used as your Adobe ID when you purchased the product. Retail customers can obtain their serial key through their Adobe.com account as well. During all Online Store download orders, the serial number is automatically registered to your account.
  
• Registered serial numbers: If you have registered your serial number with an Adobe ID, this serial number is in your Adobe.com account under the Adobe ID.
• Educational: Teachers and students can obtain their serial number from the Adobe Educational website. For assistance obtaining your educational serial numbers, visit one of these sites:
  
• Volume Licensing: The serial number is on your Adobe Open Options/Adobe Volume Licensing license certificate. In some cases, it's necessary to contact your Adobe reseller or Information Technology department to obtain this information. The serial number is also listed in the Licensing website (LWS). If you misplace your certificate, you can log in to the account and obtain the serial number for your order. (Note: You have to be listed as a contact on the account ID number to view the serial numbers on the order.)
  Important: When you buy software through Adobe volume licensing, it's necessary to download it from the Licensing Website (LWS). You can also install the software using the CD or DVD that came with your volume licensing order. If your serial number doesn't work, you could be trying to use it to activate a retail or trial version of the product.
• Retailer/Reseller (OEM): The original equipment manufacturer provides the serial number. OEM products are bundled with hardware or other software. (For example, you can sometimes buy a computer with an Adobe product already installed.) Contact the company that bundled the product.

2. Re-enter the serial number of the Creative Suite product that you are installing.

The title bar displays the name of the product being installed. The following information can help you enter the serial number correctly.

• The installer is product-specific. A separate installer has been created for each Adobe Creative Suite product. For example, you cannot enter your Photoshop serial number to install another product in the suite.
• The installer is platform-specific. The serial number for Windows does not work for Mac OS.
• Serial numbers are numeric. Do not enter alphabetic characters.
• Ignore the hyphens when you enter the serial number. (The installer and launch workflow accept serial numbers with hyphens if you enter them inadvertently.)
• The installer works for only one platform (Mac OS, Windows), but works for all the following. (The installer works for software in all languages.)
  • All languages
  • Full or upgrade serial numbers
  • Retail, educational, volume license, or reseller (not bought directly from Adobe)
  • Trial version

3. (Launch) Reinstall the product with the serial number.

The product installer allows you to install as a trial or as a serialized product. If you are installing a trial version, specify the installation language when installing.

• If your serial number is for a different language set than the installation language, you get this error message.
• The following language-specific software installs two language packs. Each line represents a new language group. You can serialize from either language in the pack. You don't get an invalid serial number error if you install in one language and serialize in the next.
  • en_US (Universal English)en_GB (International English)
  • fr_FR (French)fr_CA (French Canadian)
  • es_ES (Spanish)es_MX (Latin American Spanish)

Reinstall the product and enter the serial number when prompted.

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Note:

To help ensure you get the latest and greatest tools, Creative Cloud is now the only option for purchasing Adobe creative software. For more information, visit the Adobe Creative Cloud page.

Downloading and installing Creative Suite 6 products is quick and easy. This page provides instructions on downloading, installing, and uninstalling CS6 products for various operating systems.

Important: If you have a Creative Cloud plan and are installing CS6 apps, see Download and install Creative Cloud apps. This page applies only to Creative Suite installations.

Before you begin, verify that your computer meets the system requirements for Creative Suite 6 applications by visiting System Requirements Adobe Creative Suite 6.

Next, make sure that you have your serial number handy. You can find your serial number in your purchase confirmation e-mail, and in the Plans & Products section of your Manage Accounts page on adobe.com.

For more information on locating serial numbers, or on registering a serial number, see Find a serial number.

To install your Creative Suite 6 suite edition or individual product, follow the instructions below for your operating system.

After completing your purchase, click Download Your Products to go to the Your Downloads page.

Note:

The download completes more quickly on a hard-wired connection than on a wireless connection.

On the Your Downloads page, you see the product name and serial number for the software you purchased. Click the Akamai Download Manager link for the product you are downloading. If no window opens, be sure that you have pop-up blocking turned off in your browser for the entire *.adobe.com domain. After turning off pop-up blocking, click the download link again.

If a dialog box appears asking if you want to trust the certificate from Akamai Technologies, Inc., click Trust.

If you have not yet installed the Akamai NetSession interface, you are prompted to install it. Click the Download the Installer link.

• When the File Download window opens, double-click the downloaded Installer.
• An Akamai NetSession Folder opens with a PKG file. Double-click it.
• The Akamai NetSession Installer window opens. Click Continue.
• Accept the license agreement by clicking Agree. Select the destination where you want the interface to be installed and click Continue.
• Select the installation type by clicking Upgrade.
• The NetSession interface is installed on your computer.

When the Save window appears, navigate to the folder where you want to save the downloaded file. Be sure to choose a location where you can easily find it. Click Save. Click Close to close the NetSession interface window.

The Akamai NetSession Download Manager appears in the browser. A DMG file begins to download. Be sure to wait until the DMG file has downloaded before beginning the installation process. The Download Manager allows you to pause and resume the download later. To pause a download, click the Pause button. To resume the download, click Play in the Download Manager or click the download link on the Your Downloads page.

When the DMG file has finished downloading, a dialog box appears asking if you would like to launch the DMG file. Click OK. If the dialog box does not appear, navigate to the location where you saved the downloaded DMG file. Then, double-click the file to open it.

A dialog box may appear saying “[Adobe product name] is a file that has been downloaded from the Internet. Select Yes.

After the DMG file is verified, a new window opens containing the installer.

Before you continue the installation, close all applications currently running on your system including other Adobe applications, Microsoft Office applications, and browser windows.

Double-click the product icon to open the product folder, and then double-click the Install icon.

Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the installation.

After completing your purchase, click the Download Your Products button to go to the Your Downloads page.

Note:

The download completes more quickly on a hard-wired connection than on a wireless connection.

On the Your Downloads page, you see the product name and serial number for the software you purchased. Click the Akamai Download Manager link for the product you want to download.

If you do not already have the Akamai NetSession interface installed on your computer, you are prompted to install it. Click the Download the Installer link. If a File Download window opens asking you to run or save the NetSession installer, click Run.

• If the file is downloaded to your computer, navigate to the directory containing the downloaded file. Then, double-click the file.
• Accept the license agreement by clicking I Agree and Next.
• The NetSession interface is installed on your computer.

When the Download Manager installation has finished, you are asked to choose where to save the downloaded Adobe software installers. Be sure to choose a location where you can easily find the downloaded files. Click OK.

The Akamai Download Manager window appears. Some Adobe software installations require two files, an EXE file and a 7Z file. The 7Z file is the larger of the two. Be sure to wait until all the files listed in the Download Manager window have completely downloaded before beginning the installation process. The Download Manager allows you to pause and resume the download later. To pause a download, click the Pause button. To resume a paused download, click Play in the Download Manager or click the download link on the Your Downloads page again.

When all files have finished downloading, click Open Bundle.

If the installer does not open automatically, navigate to the directory containing the downloaded files and double-click the EXE file to launch it.

A dialog box may appear saying “[Adobe product name] is a file that has been downloaded from the Internet. Select Yes.

Select the folder where you want to extract the installer. By default, it is extracted to a folder on the desktop called 'Adobe Version Name Product Name'. Then select Next. If you are not prompted for a location for extracting the installer, you can also open the downloaded file from the Open Bundle link on the browser. Select Yes, and then select the folder where you want to extract the build.

When the extraction is complete, navigate to the location where you extracted the installer.

Before you begin the installation, close all applications currently running on your system including other Adobe applications, Microsoft Office applications, and browser windows.

Double-click the Set-up.exe file to begin the installation. In some cases, the Set-up.exe file opens automatically.

Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the installation.

Install a CS6 suite or stand-alone product from disc

First, assemble all installation media and serial numbers.

Before you begin an installation, close all applications, including your web browser. Make sure that you have administrative privileges or can validate as an administrator.

If you are installing an upgrade, the installer checks your system to find the valid upgrade product. If it cannot find it, you are asked to input the serial number of the product being upgraded. You can also install the software in trial, then input your new and previous serial numbers in the serialization screen shown during launch.

Insert the Adobe Creative Suite 6 suite or stand-alone product Application DVD into your DVD drive.

Double-click Set-up.exe (Windows) or Install.app (Mac OS) to begin the installation.

Note:

Depending on your Autoplay settings in Windows, the Set-up.exe file may launch automatically.

Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the installation.

When prompted to enter a serial number, enter your Adobe Creative Suite 6 suite or stand-alone product serial number and complete the installation.

You must accept the license agreement and warranty terms to use this product. See Product licenses and terms of use for details. This product doesn't function without mandatory activation and registration via the Internet. See Activation & deactivation help for details.

Adobe's single-user license allows installation of a single product license on two machines (such as one work machine and one home machine) provided the same individual uses the software, and not concurrently on both machines.

Note:

If you want to install the product on a third computer, first deactivate the software on one computer. To deactivate, choose Help > Deactivate.

Note:

You sometimes are asked to close conflicting processes to complete the installation. For more information, go to Error:'Close the following applications to continue'.

If your product is on multiple discs, wait for first disc to complete. Once completed, remove the first disc and insert the second disc in same DVD drive.

For more detailed information about troubleshooting your installation, go to Download and installation help.

Note:

To install additional components or reinstall an application after its original installation, you need access to the original installer medium (disc or the file(s)downloaded from the web).

Repair is not an available option.

Before you uninstall, close all applications currently running on your system including other Adobe applications, Microsoft Office applications, and browser windows.

Do one of the following:

• In Windows XP, open the Windows Control Panel and double-click Add or Remove Programs. Select the product that you want to uninstall, click Change/Remove, and then follow the onscreen instructions.
• In Windows 7, open the Windows Control Panel and double-click Programs and Features. Select the product that you want to uninstall, click Uninstall, and then follow the onscreen instructions.
• IMPORTANT: Mac OS has new uninstall functionality. DO NOT drag applications to the trash to uninstall them. To safely uninstall on Mac OS X, double-click the product installer in Applications/Utilities/Adobe Installers or double-click the Uninstall alias located in the Application folder. Select Remove Preferences, then Authenticate as an Administrator and follow the onscreen instructions.

Adobe’s single-user license allows installation of a single product license on two machines (such as one work machine and a home machine) used by the same user and not used concurrently.

Note:

If you want to install a product on a third computer, you must first deactivate a previous installation on your computer. To deactivate, choose Help > Deactivate.

If you need help downloading a CS6 product, see the following:

Help is available through the Downloading, Installing, Setting Up forum. The forums provide an interactive online environment for vibrant discussion of Adobe products and related topics, where Adobe users exchange questions, offer ideas and suggestions, and share tips and tricks with each other. For a list of all available forums, please see Welcome to the Adobe community.

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