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Last updated on
16 May 2021
Purchase Creative Cloud for education device licenses
Device licenses allow institutions enrolled in the Value Incentive Plan (VIP) to license software to a specific computer, and users never have to sign in or enter a serial number to access apps. Institutions can purchase Creative Cloud for education device licenses by joining VIP via an Adobe Authorized Education Reseller or through Adobe Business Direct.
- Find a Reseller
- Contact Adobe Business Direct: 800-443-8158
Sign in to the Admin Console
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Or, if you're already signed in from any other adobe.com pages, click the name in the top navigation bar.
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In the navigation pane or pop-up menu, click Manage Team to open the Admin console, where you can manage your licenses.
After purchasing Creative Cloud for education device licenses, the VIP Administrator accesses the Admin Console to manage device licenses and download Creative Cloud Packager.
Note:
Admin Console works best on:
- Mac OS: Safari 7.x, Google Chrome, Firefox 4 or later
- Win 7: IE 9, IE 10, IE 11, Google Chrome, Firefox 4 or later
- Win 8: IE 10, IE 11, Google Chrome, Firefox 4 or later
Manage device licenses
To view device licenses, click All under the Device Licenses header on the left navigation bar. The number of purchased, active, and available licenses is displayed by product deployment pool. Deployment pools consist of specific product licenses purchased., For example, if you purchase Creative Cloud All Apps licenses and Photoshop CC Single App licenses, each generates their own deployment pool.
Package and deploy device licenses
Navigate to Deployment Tools to download Creative Cloud Packager. Packager allows the Admin to create installation packages for deployment. After creating an installation package, the Admin installs the package of products to computers in classrooms or labs using an enterprise deployment tool such as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), Apple Remote Desktop, or JAMF Casper Suite. For more information, see Deploying Adobe packages with ARD and Deploying Adobe packages with SCCM. To learn more about packaging and deploying device licenses, see Create packages with device licenses.
Caution:
Adobe recommends not installing the Creative Cloud Desktop application on systems which use a device license. There is a known issue with specific types of account which can cause the license to get removed from the system when the user logs out of Creative Cloud Desktop. It is not a requirement, but there may be unexpected results if users log in and log out again.
Activate a license on a device
Admins cannot assign a license to a device directly from the Admin Console. Device licenses are activated based on a first launch, first license principle - when the first app (for example, Photoshop or Dreamweaver) is launched on the device, a license file is created and activated on the device. This process continues until all purchased licenses are used.
Devices must connect to Adobe servers for initial activation, and then at least once every 99 days until the end of the subscription term.
Once a license is activated on a device, the device name appears in the Admin Console under the deployment pool, in addition to the number of licenses available for activation.
Deactivate a device license
Deactivating a license prevents access to a product deployment pool on a specific device.
All are listed under Device Licenses in the left navigation bar. Choose the specific deployment pool to begin the deactivation process.
To deactivate a license, click Deactivate next to the specific device. A pop-up menu appears to confirm deactivation.
After deactivating a license from a device, it appears as an available license in the product deployment pool and can be activated on another device. When the next unlicensed device launches an app from that deployment pool, the available license is used.
Deactivated Devices log
When the Admin deactivates a license from a device, a log entry appears in the Deactivated Devices log displaying the product, device name, and license deactivation date. If there are no deactivated devices, this log is blank.
Reactivate a license
To reactivate a previously deactivated device, the Admin has two options.
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Redeploy the license by following Package and deploy device licenses above (make sure that the latest version of Creative Cloud Packager is installed). Use this process if:
a. Creative Cloud for education was removed or uninstalled from the device
b. The Admin wants to install a different set of apps than what is currently on the device
c. The product hasn’t been updated in some time
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Create a new license file. This option is ideal for replacing a currently installed product with a new license file of the same product. For example, if Creative Cloud All Apps was installed and used on the device before license deactivation, create a new Creative Cloud All Apps license file for the device, eliminating the need to fully redeploy to the device.
Caution:
The files present in the SLCache and SLStore folders should not be removed. This might result in an inconsistent state of licensing information on the host computer.
Once the license is redeployed, launch the app on the device to activate the license. Once a license is activated, the device and its status is visible in the product deployment pool of the Admin Console.
Note:
If you face issues with re-activation, see Reactivation of Archived machines in Device licensing.
Temporary licenses
If the number of devices with active licenses exceeds the purchased license quantity, a warning message appears under Active licenses with a "Temporary" status and the expiration date. Admins have 60 days from license activation to convert temporary licenses to purchased licenses by placing an order with your Adobe representative. The Admin can also deactivate any temporary licenses by following Deactivate a device license above. If additional licenses are not purchased, or the temporary licenses are not deactivated by the expiration date, users cannot access any apps associated with that license.
Purchase additional licenses
Currently, the Admin is unable to add (purchase) additional device licenses through the Admin Console. To purchase additional device licenses, call Adobe Business Direct at 800-443-8158 or an Adobe Authorized Education Reseller
Note:
The Add Licenses button in the Admin Console is only for adding named-user licenses. These are licenses assigned to individual users, unlike device licenses, which are assigned to specific devices.
Search for a device
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Click All under Device Licenses in the left navigation pane.
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In the top toolbar, enter the device name in the search box. The matching results appear in the right pane.
Manage Administrators
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Click Administrators in the left navigation pane to open the Administrators tab.
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Click + Add more link at the bottom of the table.
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Enter the email address and name of the person to invite as an administrator.
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Click Add Administrator.
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The status appears as pending, and an email invitation is sent to the person. The invitation must be accepted to complete the process.
