I'm a grad student and I purchased this program and had zero problems activating it. The process was quite straightforward. It works perfectly just like the regular software. Just follow the instructions that are emailed to you and confirm your student status. So I'm not sure why some people have problems with this but I suspect it may be that they didn't follow all the steps or something or just aren't very tech savvy.

Up and running without issues quickly.

Try following steps:
1. Click on 'Your Software Library' link on product page where you bought it in the first place
2. Navigate to purchased item "How to redeem this item"
3. Click on the link to website that validates educational identity, use redemption code here (recommend 2 things here: First, use private email vs edu; Second, set up your adobe.com account using the private email. That way you license will be registered under your private email)
4. Enter requisite identity verification info, upload proof as necessary, then submit
5. In my case verified identity email came right away - it has the all important serial number you need to activate
6. Download the software from adobe site, then use the serial number to activate.

Hope this helps.

Honk so others can see this before they get frustrated trying to use redemption code to activate directly.

I'm happy that I had no real issues following all of the steps needed to obtain and install this version. I was able to do most of what I needed without too much effort and I expect nearly everything else I need is here as well.

I do wish, however, that the creators of crucial tools such as this would realize that it is possible to have a number of different user interfaces available in a single application at the same time. Why not allow me to select which user interface to use until I learn how to use the new version?

This love affair with each major upgrade requiring a total refresh and rewrite of the user interface means so many people need to relearn how to use the tool and practice it just to get back to their old level of proficiency and performance. When I upgraded to Apple Big Sur, my lovely old Adobe Acrobat Pro, that I knew well cost me as a faculty member very little, no longer worked. With the new pricing, I guess Adobe is not aware how many universities are outsourcing a great deal of their work to part-time adjuncts who are not provided with university supplied hardware, software, or even a minimum wage.

Maybe over time, I will find out how to do most of what I want/need with this version of Acrobat, but for now, I'm using other tools just to get caught up with my grading on this Memorial Day, when it is not obvious how to do what I need with this new Acrobat. Sigh!

I read the other reviews so I was a little hesitant. However, the process was super easy. I purchased, followed the link to download in the questions. The on the install I tried to use the activation code from Amazon, but it said it's not valid. Underneath the notification it says you need further verification and had a link. Followed the link, verified my school info, and clicked to check my status. Activation code was already ready. Entered that and completed the install. Just follow the directions.

The download was cumbersome. The verification process is overly complicated. That said, the product is good. Although I was upgrading from Adobe Acrobat XI. The new interface is tab based. It resembles a web browser. I prefer the old format of individual pages.