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Reinstalling Adobe Acrobat

Use this guide if Acrobat: - repeatedly fails to launch - loops sign-in prompts - reports subscription or activation errors - cannot connect to Adobe services

Before You Begin

!!! note This process reinstalls Acrobat only.

Your Adobe subscription and other Creative Cloud applications will remain intact.

Step 1 — Close Adobe Applications

Close:

  • Acrobat
  • Creative Cloud Desktop
  • Word, Excel, Outlook
  • any other open Adobe applications

Step 2 — Uninstall Acrobat

  1. Open the Creative Cloud Desktop App
  2. Go to:
  3. Apps
  4. Locate:
  5. Acrobat
  6. Select:
  7. ⋯ → Uninstall

Managed University Computers

If you see:

“You don’t have access to manage apps”

then your Adobe applications are managed by your department IT support.

See: - Managed Apps Permissions

Step 3 — Refresh Adobe Login

After Acrobat finishes uninstalling:

  1. Sign out of Creative Cloud Desktop
  2. Exit the Creative Cloud Desktop App completely
  3. Reopen Creative Cloud Desktop
  4. Sign back in using your University account

Step 4 — Reinstall Acrobat

  1. Open the Apps section
  2. Locate Acrobat under:
  3. Available in your plan
  4. Select:
  5. Install

Wait for installation to complete.

Step 5 — Final Sign-In Refresh

After installation:

  1. Sign out of Creative Cloud Desktop again
  2. Exit the application completely
  3. Reopen Creative Cloud Desktop
  4. Sign back in

Step 6 — Launch Acrobat

Open Acrobat directly from:

  • Creative Cloud Desktop
  • OR your Applications / Start Menu

!!! tip Avoid using old Acrobat shortcuts after reinstalling.

Delete old shortcuts and create new ones if needed.

If Acrobat Still Does Not Work

Continue to: