Adobe Acrobat - License Expiration Issue December 2023

Issue/Question

• Adobe Acrobat is saying that it has expired.
• Adobe Acrobat is asking me to sign in.
• Adobe Acrobat is asking for a serial number or activation code.

Environment

• Oregon State University
• Adobe Acrobat

Cause/Explanation

For some OSU computers, the license for Adobe Acrobat expires on December 1, 2023. (Some computers have different expiration dates for the same license.)

Resolution

Method 1 - Uninstall Acrobat 2020 and Install Acrobat DC (Recommended)

To prevent Acrobat from expiring in the future, it is recommended to uninstall Acrobat 2020, and install Acrobat DC instead. Acrobat DC requires a "named user license." All current OSU employees (staff and faculty) have a named user license for Acrobat. For steps, see: Adobe Acrobat - Install/Licensing

Method 2 - Reserialize Acrobat (Quick Solution)

If a quick solution is needed, or if the computer is a shared computer, or if the user does not have an Acrobat license, please follow these steps:

Windows

1. Connect to the OSU VPN, if you are not on-campus (if you do not have VPN setup, please refer to this article)
2. Close Acrobat and other Adobe products
3. Browse to this folder: \\software.oregonstate.edu\software\Adobe Acrobat\Acrobat DC Serializer
   • Right-click on serialize.bat and choose "run as administrator"
   • Enter local administrator privileges when prompted
4. Browse to this folder: \\software.oregonstate.edu\software\Adobe Acrobat\Acrobat Licensing Toolkit
   • Double-click on checkserial.bat
   • The expiry date should now be: 20241201

MacOS

1. Connect to the OSU VPN, if you are not on-campus (if you do not have VPN setup, please refer to this article)
2. Close Acrobat and other Adobe products
3. Go to Finder
4. Find the tab at the top left for "Go"
5. On the drop down menu for "Go", select "Connect to Server"
6. The window for connect to server should open up, in the address bar delete what is in there and then put in:
   smb://software.oregonstate.edu/software/Adobe Acrobat/Mac/Mac - Acrobat Pro 2020 serialized/Acrobat2020LicenseUpdate-Nov2023.pkg

• NOTE: If it opens up the folder "Mac - Acrobat Pro 2020 serialized" please double-click on the file "Acrobat2020LicenseUpdate-Nov2023.pkg" or right click and open this file. A message might pop up about the file being located on a network location, if this happens copy the file "Acrobat2020LicenseUpdate-Nov2023.pkg" and paste it onto your desktop and then double-click it from there. This should run the serializer.

After the serializer finishes running, your Adobe Acrobat 2020 should be able to open and edit PDFs like before.

Assistance

For assistance, contact the Service Desk.