I already went through Google support, reinstalled, reauthorized, redownloaded the ebook acsm file... nothing works. In the end of all that support, we got stuck with E_LIC_LICENSE_SIGN_ERROR, an error on Adobe's end.
Contacted Adobe support chat. They redirected me to this because "there is no chat support for this issue".
Google tried to fix my problem. You, Adobe, didn't, and told me to go to the forums. This is not user error, so no "expert" they spoke of can help here unless they're actually part of the ADE team.
The steps followed (according to the followup email to the chat) were thus:
- Check that the date and time is correct on your computer.
- Make sure you’re connected to the internet.
- Re-download the eBook.
- Remove the book from your ADE Library.
- Sign in to https://play.google.com/books.
- Next to the book, click More (3 vertical dots) > Download as ePub/PDF.
- Open the file in ADE.
- Re-install Adobe Digital Editions.
- Uninstall ADE.
- Download and install the latest ADE.
- Restart your computer.
- Get the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader (see system requirements).
- Activate ADE and authorize your computer.
- Launch ADE.
- Activate your software:
- Choose Help> Sign In (if this is dimmed, you're already signed in and don’t need to activate your software).
- Sign in with your Adobe ID and password.
- Authorize your computer: choose Help> Authorize Computer.
- Make sure that any firewall, antivirus, and proxy software on your computer isn’t blocking ADE servers. You can also check whether http://adeactivate.adobe.com/ is blocked. If it's not blocked, you should see "Welcome to Digital Editions."
If you still have trouble, please contact Adobe for additional support.
Here's my transcript of the Google chat. It includes the errors I was getting and the processes I went through in an attempt to fix it:
Panya
7:17 PM
Thanks for contacting Google Support. My name is Panya.
Panya
7:17 PM
Hi
Me
7:17 PM
Hello
Panya
7:17 PM
How are you doing today?
Me
7:17 PM
Not bad
Panya
7:18 PM
Please don't worry, I'm here to help you with this.
Panya
7:19 PM
I understand that you get an error when you try to activate ebook in Adobe Digital Editions.
Panya
7:20 PM
Please don't worry, I have concerened team who can help you better in this
Me
7:20 PM
Sorry, my internet cut out for a minute
Panya
7:21 PM
Not a problem.
Panya
7:22 PM
Please give me a moment, while I transfer this chat to the team
Andy
7:23 PM
Thanks for contacting Google Support. My name is Andy.
Andy
7:23 PM
Hello Kevin!
Me
7:23 PM
Hi Andy
Andy
7:24 PM
Let me quickly go through your previous interaction and your initial query.
Me
7:24 PM
ALright
Andy
7:25 PM
Thanks
Andy
7:26 PM
Thank you for waiting.
Me
7:26 PM
No problem
Andy
7:26 PM
I see that you are getting device limit error when you are trying to download/read the book.
Andy
7:27 PM
I'm sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. Let me see what best I can do to help you with this.
Andy
7:27 PM
Are you referring to - Treasure Island (Illustrated)?
Me
7:27 PM
Yes
Andy
7:28 PM
Thank you for confirming.
Me
7:28 PM
Though I bought this book just to try it, as my friend was having similar issues with multiples of his
Andy
7:28 PM
Let me see what best I can do to fix it for you.
Andy
7:29 PM
Thank you for waiting.
Andy
7:29 PM
Could you please try to download/read the book again now?
Andy
7:30 PM
I have reset the download limit for the book, I am positive that you will be able to read the book now with out any problem.
Me
7:30 PM
Now I got an E_LIC_LICENSE_SIGN_ERROR
Me
7:31 PM
On a related note, this is the same error I get if I try to authorize while logged into an Adobe ID account
Andy
7:32 PM
May I know the device on which you are trying to read the book?
Me
7:32 PM
Er, not authorize, but download I guess
Me
7:32 PM
I'm just trying to get the book into Adobe Digital Editions
Me
7:32 PM
But I have a Kobo it should work on as well
Andy
7:32 PM
Could you please remove the downloaded file and re-download it?
Me
7:33 PM
I just did that, but I'll try again
Me
7:33 PM
Yep, same error
Me
7:34 PM
Just for reference, I'm trying to follow the steps on this page: https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/179863?hl=en
Me
7:35 PM
I only have a "Download EPUB" options for treasure island illustrated edition
Andy
7:36 PM
Let's try uninstalling and re-installing the ADE on your computer.
Andy
7:37 PM
Once installed we can register the ADE to your Adobe account and then download the EPUB again and transfer it to your Kobo.
Me
7:37 PM
After connecting my Kobo, I also get an E_ADEPT_INTERNAL error when trying to open the acsm file in ADE... but I'll try reinstalling
Andy
7:39 PM
Sure.
Andy
7:39 PM
I am positive that re-installing the Ade will work.
Me
7:41 PM
I reinstalled. When I try to authorize, it give me an "You can only authorize this computer with an Adobe ID that hasn't been previously used to authorize any other computer or mobile devices. Please try again"
Me
7:41 PM
This worked before the reinstall
Andy
7:41 PM
Kevin, may I know if you have the Adobe account?
Andy
7:41 PM
If not I can help you to sign up now.
Me
7:42 PM
Yeah, I made an adobe account using my gmail address
Me
7:42 PM
and I can log into it on the adobe webpage
Andy
7:42 PM
Okay.
Andy
7:42 PM
Are you using the same account to sign in to adobe here?
Me
7:42 PM
Yup
Me
7:43 PM
This error is new. I had authorized this computer before on the same account before I did the uninstall and reinstall
Me
7:44 PM
Nevermind, it seems there was some kind of ghost autorization
Me
7:45 PM
I erased the autorization and and able to autorize now
Andy
7:45 PM
May I know if you are able to authorize the computer now?
Andy
7:45 PM
Awesome!
Andy
7:45 PM
Please go ahead and try to download the book now.
Me
7:45 PM
It's downloaded, I'll try to open it now
Andy
7:45 PM
I am working on this issue from my end. Please let me know if you face any difficulty.
Andy
7:46 PM
Perfect! You must be a tech savvy. It makes my job easy.
Me
7:46 PM
I got the E_GOOGLE_DEVICE_LIMIT_REACHED error again
Me
7:46 PM
hmm
Andy
7:47 PM
Please allow me a moment.
Me
7:47 PM
alright
Andy
7:47 PM
Thanks for the wait.
Andy
7:47 PM
Please try to download and read again now.
Me
7:48 PM
Now I got the E_LIC_LICENSE_SIGN_ERROR
Andy
7:49 PM
Could you please try using a different browser once?
Me
7:50 PM
Sure
Me
7:50 PM
Same error
Me
7:51 PM
No difference when downloading in Chrome vs Firefox
Andy
7:51 PM
I'll need to check this issue with my resources.
Me
7:51 PM
Sounds good
Andy
7:51 PM
Would you please allow me some time while I check with them and get back to you?
Andy
7:52 PM
Are you getting the error while you are trying to read the book on Kobo?
Me
7:53 PM
I haven't tried that. I can't even get the book to load into Adobe Digital Editions
Me
7:53 PM
I'd be able to load it from there onto my Kobo, but I can't do that without it in ADE first
Andy
7:54 PM
Yes, you are right.
Me
7:55 PM
Also take as much time as your need, no rush
Andy
7:55 PM
However, you are able to download the ACSM to your computer, right?
Me
7:55 PM
Yep, the ACSM downloads. I get the error when I try to open the ACSM file or drag it into ADE
Andy
7:56 PM
Let's try this:
Andy
7:56 PM
Launch Adobe Digital Editions.
Andy
7:56 PM
Next to "Library," click the Down arrow ▼ > Add item to Library.
Andy
7:56 PM
Select the downloaded file, then click Open.
Me
7:57 PM
There's no down arrow next to the Library dropdown
Me
7:57 PM
But I can try Add to Library in the File menu
Andy
7:58 PM
Please go ahead and try that.
Me
7:58 PM
Alright, doing that gives me "Error getting License. License Server Communication Problem: E_ADEPT_INTERNAL"
Me
7:59 PM
And after a redownload, trying the same thing on the new files gives me the E_LIC_LICENSE_SIGN_ERROR
Me
7:59 PM
*new file
Andy
8:00 PM
Please remove the downloaded acsm file from your computer.
Andy
8:01 PM
Then, uninstall the ADE.
Me
8:01 PM
Alright, ADE uninistalled
Andy
8:01 PM
Then clear the cache, cookies data of your browser.
Andy
8:02 PM
Now, to get the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader go to - https://get.adobe.com/reader/
Me
8:04 PM
So while I'm waiting for Reader to install, what's the purpose of installing it for this?
Me
8:04 PM
And it's done
Andy
8:05 PM
Just to make sure we are using the latest version of Adobe and ADE.
Andy
8:05 PM
Make sure that any firewall, antivirus, and proxy software on your computer isn’t blocking ADE servers. You can also check whether http://adeactivate.adobe.com/ is blocked.
Andy
8:05 PM
If it's not blocked, you should see "Welcome to Digital Editions."
Me
8:05 PM
I see welcome to digital editions
Andy
8:06 PM
Perfect!
Me
8:06 PM
I also turned off Windows Firewall just in case
Andy
8:06 PM
Okay.
Andy
8:07 PM
Check that the date and time is correct on your computer.
Me
8:08 PM
Well, it matches my phone, and the timezone is right, so yes
Me
8:08 PM
It seems correct
Andy
8:08 PM
Okay.
Andy
8:08 PM
Let's download the ADE and install it - http://www.adobe.com/mena_en/solutions/ebook/digital-editions/download.html
Me
8:09 PM
ADE is installed and opened
Andy
8:09 PM
Once installed, launch ADE. Activate your software:
Choose Help > Sign In (if this is dimmed, you're already signed in and don’t need to activate your software).
Sign in with your Adobe ID and password.
Authorize your computer: choose Help > Authorize Computer.
Andy
8:10 PM
Let me know once you've authorized.
Me
8:11 PM
There's no "Help -> Sign In", but "Help -> Authorize Computer" is greyed out. Should I try deauthorizing and run through Authorize Computer again?
Andy
8:11 PM
Please do that once.
Andy
8:12 PM
Please wait.
Me
8:12 PM
I've reauthorized
Andy
8:12 PM
Okay.
Andy
8:13 PM
Go to https://play.google.com/books.
Andy
8:13 PM
Next to the book, click More (3 vertical dots) > Download as ePub/PDF.
Me
8:14 PM
Alright, I clicked Download as EPUB, and got an ascm file
Me
8:14 PM
*acsm
Andy
8:14 PM
Okay.
Andy
8:14 PM
Open the file in ADE now.
Me
8:14 PM
E_LIC_LICENSE_SIGN_ERROR
Me
8:15 PM
So, that didn't work
Me
8:15 PM
:/
Andy
8:16 PM
I'm sorry about it, kevin.
Andy
8:16 PM
I'm checking this with a specialist here,
Andy
8:16 PM
Let's see what other options we have here.
Me
8:16 PM
Ok
Andy
8:19 PM
I'm sorry that it is taking a little longer
Me
8:20 PM
No problem
Andy
8:24 PM
While I am checking this for you, could you please try to download and read the other book in your account: The Walking Dead #1
Me
8:25 PM
The Walking Dead #1 doesn't have DRM. It downloads as a plain EPUB or PDF. I can open that everywhere without ADE
Me
8:25 PM
It's a free book, not one I had paid for
Andy
8:25 PM
Yes, you are right.
Me
8:25 PM
I don't think I have any other DRM'd books to test with
Andy
8:26 PM
Kevin, I've checked the details with my specialist and they confirm that the error : E_LIC_LICENSE_SIGN_ERROR happens on Adobes end.
Me
8:26 PM
Huh, alright
Me
8:26 PM
So contact their support?
Andy
8:27 PM
I'd suggest you to contact them at https://helpx.adobe.com/support.html#/product/digital-editions
Andy
8:27 PM
I'll personally follow up with you to see how it goes.
Me
8:27 PM
Sounds good. Thanks for the help!
Andy
8:27 PM
I will send you an email, please reply to that and let me know what happens next.
Me
8:27 PM
Will do. Thanks!
Andy
8:28 PM
I believe they have the chat support.
Andy
8:28 PM
Here is the link: https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html?step=ADE_licensing-and-activation_stillNeedHelp
Me
8:28 PM
Cool
Andy
8:29 PM
Would there be anything else I can help you with today?
Me
8:29 PM
Nope, I believe that's all
Andy
8:29 PM
Please reply to the email I'm going to send so that I can have an idea about the status of this issue.
Andy
8:29 PM
I believe it resolves as soon as possible.
Andy
8:29 PM
Thanks for contacting Google! Have a great day!
Andy
8:29 PM
Thank you for contacting Google Play chat support. Your chat session is now complete.
Andy ended the chat