Adobe Acrobat Pro won't open and asks users to provide a serial number

Issue

Users experience an issue where they attempt to open Adobe Acrobat Pro, it immediately closes, and requests that they enter a serial number, which shouldn't be required for any Adobe Creative Cloud apps.

Environment

Windows computers that have Adobe Acrobat Professional installed (WLMS-built, standalone, or personal computers)

Resolution

  1. Uninstall the user's current version of Acrobat Pro via Control Panel-->Programs and Features (it will not uninstall from the Creative Cloud Desktop App)
  2. If in the Creative Cloud Desktop App you still see Acrobat listed as being installed, click the "..." button next to the "Open" button, then click "Uninstall"
  3. Once Creative Cloud detects that Acrobat has been uninstalled, you should be able to reinstall it by clicking it among the apps available below those that are installed
  4. After the reinstall completes, open Acrobat and confirm that it no longer requests a serial number and behaves normally
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