Launching Acrobat on Mac - Error Message Including the Words, “The Serial Number 1591[…] Is Already in Use by the Maximum Allowed Computers”

This document explains what to do when you attempt to launch Acrobat on a Mac device and the following error message pops up: “The serial number 1591[...] is already in use by the maximum allowed computers.”
  1. Close all Creative Cloud and Adobe processes using Activity Monitor: Finder > Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor. This would include all processes with the Creative Cloud icon and all processes that begin with Adobe. To cancel, double-click the process, click the Quit button, and then the Force Quit button.
  2. Download and unzip this file.
  3. In Finder, go to Go > Go to Folder... and type ~/Library/Preferences.
  4. Click the Go button.
  5. Insert the downloaded and unzipped file (com.adobe.acrobat.pro.DC.plist) into the Preferences folder. Authenticate if necessary. If a file with the same name is already there, replace it with the new downloaded file.
  6. Open Terminal, type sudo killall cfprefsd, and hit Enter.
  7. Restart the machine.

Keywords:
When launching Acrobat on a Mac, you receive an error message that includes the words, The serial number 1591[...] is already in use by the maximum allowed computers. cc creative suite cs ccp adobe build make installer acrobat 
Doc ID:
99746
Owned by:
Nick R. in DoIT Help Desk
Created:
2020-03-30
Updated:
2026-03-09
Sites:
DoIT Help Desk