Adobe Digital Editions activations

Katsunami · 10-21-2013, 02:19 PM

I'm preparing to see if I can make a full time move to using Linux. As I've been moving to open-source software on Windows for almost 10 years, apart from a few exceptions, this would normally not be a problem.

The exceptions are these:
- A chess program (which is going to run forever in an XP VM, without internet)
- Games (these are going on a separate partition, alongside Windows 7)
- Adobe Digital Editions, to be installed on the Win7 partition.

I've just hit CTRL+SHIFT+D to deactivate Digital Editions on this computer. However, it says this:

"Are you sure you want to remove authorisation for this computer? It is possible you will not be able to read items from your library that are protected by Adobe DRM."

OK, fine.... I don't have any. But, it ALSO says this:

"The number of allowed authorisations that you still have, will not be increased when removing this computer's authorisation."

So... what?

edit: This is the screen I'm seeing (in Dutch... although my computer is in English, ADE uses the locale to determine the language. Blergh.)

Are you going to tell me that deactivating ADE does NOTHING to restore used authorisations back to unused?!

I've used 1.7 in the past, when there was no 2.0 => First activation.
Deactivate, upgrade to 2.0 => Second activation.

So I'm down to 4 already?

Now, if I'm deactivating, and then later reactivating the same computer (using a new Windows installation, as I'm not going to image this 5,5 year old install), will bring it down to 3? Next year, if I replace this computer and re-install ADE, it would be down to 2, even if I deactivate ADE first on this computer?

Am I missing something here? That way, I will I run out of activations eventually, even if I am deactivating / reactivating each time? If so... then WHY would there be a deactivation option? What about people who have 2 or more e-readers, and replace them each year because they want the newwest ones? I don't understand.

If I ever need to go beg for Adobe to reset my activations, I will be very angry.

Katsunami · 10-21-2013, 02:37 PM

Addition: I don't use my Adobe-ID for anything else. (Previously, I used it to activate my student license for Photoshop, but I've moved away to GIMP, as it has improved enough for my purposes.)

I assume that, if I download an ASCM-file from Kobo (or somewhere else), that I can download the book using ADE on any computer, authorised by any e-mail address. It must be, because the e-mail address I use at Kobo is not the same as my Adobe-ID (anymore), and this still works.

Does this mean that if I run out of authorisations, I could just create another Adobe-ID, and use that to download books, and then de-DRM them? If so, then there basically isn't any problem. I have my own webspace/e-mail domain, and I can create addresses like adobe_0001@mydomain.com by the thousands if I need to. After authorisations run out, I just delete the address and abandon the ID, create a new address and a new ID, and just leave the old ones to rot forever in Adobe's database, without even a name filled out or anything...

As I de-DRM all my books at the moment of purchase, this means that not being able to read protected material is a moot point. Obviously, for people playing completely by the DRM-"rules", this would not be an option.

Oh, how we love DRM... if a "normal" user gets into trouble, he's really down the drain.

EowynCarter · 10-21-2013, 03:02 PM

I installed ADE lots of time, and activated quite a few reader. Didn't bumped onto the "activation exceeded" message. And thrust me, i tried. Adobe add activation every now and then to account for new computer / readers / whatever.

Quote:

Does this mean that if I run out of authorisations, I could just create another Adobe-ID, and use that to download books, and then de-DRM them? If so, then there basically isn't any problem. I have my own webspace/e-mail domain

Books once downloaded with an adobe ID are linked to that adobe ID. But if you de-drm, that shouldn't be a problem

Quote:

Am I missing something here? That way, I will I run out of activations eventually, even if I am deactivating / reactivating each time? If so... then WHY would there be a deactivation option? What about people who have 2 or more e-readers, and replace them each year because they want the newwest ones? I don't understand.

To let people authorize ADE to an other user I guess.

Pablo · 10-21-2013, 03:14 PM

If you authorise all your devices, you will eventually run out of authorisations.

It was my understanding that Adobe slowly increased your authorisations over time to make up for device upgrades/changes, but now it seems you have to contact their customer support to "reset your authorisations" (whatever that means) when you reach the limit.

EowynCarter · 10-21-2013, 03:18 PM

Seriously ?

I authorized an awful lots of device. It was one the the thing they had done right.

Katsunami · 10-21-2013, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pablo

If you authorise all your devices, you will eventually run out of authorisations.

It was my understanding that Adobe slowly increased your authorisations over time to make up for device upgrades/changes, but now it seems you have to contact their customer support to "reset your authorisations" (whatever that means) when you reach the limit.

I won't reach a limit. If need be, I can just switch over to another e-mail address (or more correctly, alias), and create a new ID when I run out of authorisations. I can create aliases in unending amounts if need be. It seems to only gets complicated if you play by the rules and never remove DRM for your e-books...

But still, why provide a deauthorisation option, if your used authorisations willl not be undone? The window that pops up says so. That is what I don't understand.

Pablo · 10-21-2013, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Seriously ?

I authorized an awful lots of device. It was one the the thing they had done right.

According to Adobe, you can authorise 6 mobile and 6 non-mobile devices per account.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katsunami

But still, why provide a deauthorisation option, if your used authorisations willl not be undone? The window that pops up says so. That is what I don't understand.

If you sell or give away your device, you have to de-authorise it so that the new owner can authorise it with his/her account.

EowynCarter · 10-22-2013, 01:05 AM

Mmm, i have 2 cybooks, a kobo, a Prs t1, mantano on Android, and my pc.

And that's excluding my old readers and the number of times I installed ADE. I'm sure i did hit the 6 times limit on both cases.

tubemonkey · 10-22-2013, 02:48 AM

I had to contact Adobe to get a new device added.

It's really dumb that they don't allow you to deactivate devices to free up new activation slots. Having to contact them each time is really lame.

CRussel · 10-22-2013, 01:19 PM

I have never had to contact Adobe to add additional authorizations. I strongly suspect (though have no way to verify) that they do something akin to Amazon and their authorizations for MP3 music devices -- if you don't use a device for a period of time (90 days in the Amazon case) they free up the slot and make it available. This works well for aging out old computers and OS installations. I actively run ADE on 4 computers. But those computers have been rebuilt 6-10 times each in the last 3-4 years. Each time, I've added ADE and activated it. And not once have I been dinged. (Wish I could say the same thing for Apple!!! Or even Audible, though they're easy to deal with.)

JSWolf · 10-22-2013, 01:40 PM

One thing I was thinking of was copying the registry entries for ADE and see if ADE would be registered without registering if all the registrations were used up.

latepaul · 10-22-2013, 07:02 PM

I've re-installed ADE* several times on a couple of computers in the last few years and I've never de-authorised it first. I don't seem to have run out of activations yet.

By the way I run 1.7.something on Linux using wine. I find it works quite well, as does Kindle for PC. Certainly well enough for the initial download of the book to then be fed into the deDRM process. Unfortunately the latest version doesn't seem to run under Wine, so I keep the old installer handy (you can find it if you google).

*I mean re-installing after a re-install of the OS so it's not like there's registration data lying around somewhere.

Katsunami · 10-22-2013, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by latepaul

By the way I run 1.7.something on Linux using wine. I find it works quite well, as does Kindle for PC. Certainly well enough for the initial download of the book to then be fed into the deDRM process. Unfortunately the latest version doesn't seem to run under Wine, so I keep the old installer handy (you can find it if you google).

I know. Maybe I'm going to try that first, and use that, as long as 1.7 is still supported for downloading books. I can see that Adobe at some point is going to require 2.0

I wonder what they changed so that Wine doesn't support that program anymore. It's bizarre. Nowadays, Wine is compatible enough to run a lot of games flawlessly; it actually runs some Win98-era games that don't run on Windows7 itself... and a simple application such as ADE 2.0 won't work.

To some extent, I have a feeling that Adobe did it on purpose.

FizzyWater · 10-22-2013, 07:35 PM

I've always stuck to 1.7 because for a long time, Alf's scripts wouldn't work with 2.0. I've never bothered to find out if/when that changed.

JSWolf · 10-22-2013, 07:43 PM

All you need is the key file. It works for your 1.7 upgraded to 2.0 installation of ADE.

10-21-2013, 02:19 PM	#1
Katsunami Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,111 Karma: 34000001 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: KPW1, KA1	Adobe Digital Editions activations I'm preparing to see if I can make a full time move to using Linux. As I've been moving to open-source software on Windows for almost 10 years, apart from a few exceptions, this would normally not be a problem. The exceptions are these: - A chess program (which is going to run forever in an XP VM, without internet) - Games (these are going on a separate partition, alongside Windows 7) - Adobe Digital Editions, to be installed on the Win7 partition. I've just hit CTRL+SHIFT+D to deactivate Digital Editions on this computer. However, it says this: "Are you sure you want to remove authorisation for this computer? It is possible you will not be able to read items from your library that are protected by Adobe DRM." OK, fine.... I don't have any. But, it ALSO says this: "The number of allowed authorisations that you still have, will not be increased when removing this computer's authorisation." So... what? edit: This is the screen I'm seeing (in Dutch... although my computer is in English, ADE uses the locale to determine the language. Blergh.) Are you going to tell me that deactivating ADE does NOTHING to restore used authorisations back to unused?! I've used 1.7 in the past, when there was no 2.0 => First activation. Deactivate, upgrade to 2.0 => Second activation. So I'm down to 4 already? Now, if I'm deactivating, and then later reactivating the same computer (using a new Windows installation, as I'm not going to image this 5,5 year old install), will bring it down to 3? Next year, if I replace this computer and re-install ADE, it would be down to 2, even if I deactivate ADE first on this computer? Am I missing something here? That way, I will I run out of activations eventually, even if I am deactivating / reactivating each time? If so... then WHY would there be a deactivation option? What about people who have 2 or more e-readers, and replace them each year because they want the newwest ones? I don't understand. If I ever need to go beg for Adobe to reset my activations, I will be very angry. Last edited by Katsunami; 10-21-2013 at 02:30 PM.

10-21-2013, 02:37 PM	#2
Katsunami Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,111 Karma: 34000001 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: KPW1, KA1	Addition: I don't use my Adobe-ID for anything else. (Previously, I used it to activate my student license for Photoshop, but I've moved away to GIMP, as it has improved enough for my purposes.) I assume that, if I download an ASCM-file from Kobo (or somewhere else), that I can download the book using ADE on any computer, authorised by any e-mail address. It must be, because the e-mail address I use at Kobo is not the same as my Adobe-ID (anymore), and this still works. Does this mean that if I run out of authorisations, I could just create another Adobe-ID, and use that to download books, and then de-DRM them? If so, then there basically isn't any problem. I have my own webspace/e-mail domain, and I can create addresses like adobe_0001@mydomain.com by the thousands if I need to. After authorisations run out, I just delete the address and abandon the ID, create a new address and a new ID, and just leave the old ones to rot forever in Adobe's database, without even a name filled out or anything... As I de-DRM all my books at the moment of purchase, this means that not being able to read protected material is a moot point. Obviously, for people playing completely by the DRM-"rules", this would not be an option. Oh, how we love DRM... if a "normal" user gets into trouble, he's really down the drain. Last edited by Katsunami; 10-21-2013 at 02:45 PM.

10-22-2013, 01:05 AM	#8
EowynCarter Wizard Posts: 4,332 Karma: 4000000 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Paris Device: Cybooks; Sony PRS-T1	Mmm, i have 2 cybooks, a kobo, a Prs t1, mantano on Android, and my pc. And that's excluding my old readers and the number of times I installed ADE. I'm sure i did hit the 6 times limit on both cases. Last edited by EowynCarter; 10-22-2013 at 01:07 AM.

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10-21-2013, 03:14 PM	#4
Pablo Guru Posts: 970 Karma: 4999999 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Rosario, Argentina Device: SONY PRS-505, PRS-T2	If you authorise all your devices, you will eventually run out of authorisations. It was my understanding that Adobe slowly increased your authorisations over time to make up for device upgrades/changes, but now it seems you have to contact their customer support to "reset your authorisations" (whatever that means) when you reach the limit.

10-21-2013, 03:18 PM	#5
EowynCarter Wizard Posts: 4,332 Karma: 4000000 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Paris Device: Cybooks; Sony PRS-T1	Seriously ? I authorized an awful lots of device. It was one the the thing they had done right.

10-22-2013, 02:48 AM	#9
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,473 Karma: 158151390 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	I had to contact Adobe to get a new device added. It's really dumb that they don't allow you to deactivate devices to free up new activation slots. Having to contact them each time is really lame.

10-22-2013, 01:19 PM	#10
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,156 Karma: 79742714 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	I have never had to contact Adobe to add additional authorizations. I strongly suspect (though have no way to verify) that they do something akin to Amazon and their authorizations for MP3 music devices -- if you don't use a device for a period of time (90 days in the Amazon case) they free up the slot and make it available. This works well for aging out old computers and OS installations. I actively run ADE on 4 computers. But those computers have been rebuilt 6-10 times each in the last 3-4 years. Each time, I've added ADE and activated it. And not once have I been dinged. (Wish I could say the same thing for Apple!!! Or even Audible, though they're easy to deal with.)

10-22-2013, 01:40 PM	#11
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,835 Karma: 128597114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	One thing I was thinking of was copying the registry entries for ADE and see if ADE would be registered without registering if all the registrations were used up.

10-22-2013, 07:02 PM	#12
latepaul Wizard Posts: 1,264 Karma: 10203040 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: a variety (mostly kindles and kobos)	I've re-installed ADE* several times on a couple of computers in the last few years and I've never de-authorised it first. I don't seem to have run out of activations yet. By the way I run 1.7.something on Linux using wine. I find it works quite well, as does Kindle for PC. Certainly well enough for the initial download of the book to then be fed into the deDRM process. Unfortunately the latest version doesn't seem to run under Wine, so I keep the old installer handy (you can find it if you google). *I mean re-installing after a re-install of the OS so it's not like there's registration data lying around somewhere.

10-22-2013, 07:35 PM	#14
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	I've always stuck to 1.7 because for a long time, Alf's scripts wouldn't work with 2.0. I've never bothered to find out if/when that changed.

10-22-2013, 07:43 PM	#15
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,835 Karma: 128597114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	All you need is the key file. It works for your 1.7 upgraded to 2.0 installation of ADE.