How to Fix “This unlicensed Adobe app has been disabled”

If you recently opened some Adobe software that you have installed on your system only for it to show you the “This unlicensed Adobe app has been disabled” error message it's probably an installation error or a failed Adobe Trial update. But whatever the reason the error occurs, below you will find all the steps you need to take to solve the problem. Though it's a little more work than you were probably expecting.

How to Fix Adobe Error - This Unlicensed Adobe App will be Disabled Soon

The most important part of this entire process is first making sure that you installed everything correctly the first time around. Follow all of the steps that come with the installation guide exactly as they are listed. Failure to do this will more than likely lead to this issue time and time again. This goes for upgrading from the trial version to installing the full version as well. Since you've already got the erorr message the next two steps are super important!

• First, disable your Internet connection and uninstall the affected Adobe software. If you have more than one bit of software you might as well uninstall all of them as they will all get this problem the next time you open them if they haven't already.

• Once you have uninstalled it, go into program files and delete all the Adobe folders, then restart your computer then work through all of the steps below. Make sure that you make a backup of projects though as they will all be deleted and your settings and preferences will be gone too.

Windows Firewall - Reconfigure Inbound Rules

Block any incoming traffic using Windows Firewall Settings. If you miss a single entry you will have to restart the entire process again.

• Open Settings and go to Privacy and Security.

• Here click Open Windows Security from the options.

• Under the Protection Areas menu, find Firewall and Network Protection.

• Click on Firewall and Network Protection.

• Scroll down to find Advanced Settings and click on it.

• In the left sidebar, click on Inbound Rules.

• Select the New Rule option from the top right menu.

• Choose the Program option and click Next.

• Now find the path of the Illustrator.exe you are using to launch the program and copy it.

• Paste the copied path into This Program Path field:

• Remove any quotes from the ends of the path if they are copied across. Then click Next.

• Here choose to block the connection and click Next.

• Name the new entry for easy reference and click Finish.

Windows Firewall - Reconfigure Outbound Rules

Block any Outgoing traffic using Windows Firewall Settings. If you miss a single entry you will have to restart the entire process again.

• Open Settings and go to Privacy and Security.

• Here click Open Windows Security from the options.

• Under the Protection Areas menu, locate Firewall and Network Protection.

• Click on Firewall and Network Protection.

• Scroll down to find Advanced Settings and click on it.

• In the left sidebar, click on Outbound Rules.

• Select the New Rule option from the top right menu.

• Choose the Program option and click Next.

• Now find the path of the Illustrator.exe you are using to launch the program and copy it.

• Paste the copied path into This Program Path field:

• Remove any quotes from both ends of the path if they are copied across. Then click Next.

• Here choose to block the connection and click Next.

• Name the new entry for easy reference and click Finish.

Block All the Other Adobe Entries

Now you need to block quite a few more .exe files using the same process you just used in the steps above. Don't miss any.

• The easiest way to find all of the other things you need to block is to make sure Illustrator is running then open Task Manager.

• Use Task Manager to find Adobe processes that are running, then right-click on them and select Open File Location.

• This will show you the location you need to go to to find the .exe you need to block in Windows Firewall Outbound.

After you have blocked all of the offending processes that are causing this error restart your computer and reenable your Internet connection. If you didn't miss blocking anything you should be able to open the program without the error again.