Can't get Google Ebooks (.acsm file) to load/download into ADE

[videogamefanatic89]

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:

1. Check that the date and time is correct on your computer.
2. Make sure you’re connected to the internet.
3. Re-download the eBook.
   1. Remove the book from your ADE Library.
   2. Sign in to https://play.google.com/books.
   3. Next to the book, click More (3 vertical dots) > Download as ePub/PDF.
   4. Open the file in ADE.
4. Re-install Adobe Digital Editions.
   1. Uninstall ADE.
   2. Download and install the latest ADE.
   3. Restart your computer.
5. Get the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader (see system requirements).
6. Activate ADE and authorize your computer.
   1. Launch ADE.
   2. Activate your software:
      1. Choose Help > Sign In (if this is dimmed, you're already signed in and don’t need to activate your software).
      2. Sign in with your Adobe ID and password.
   3. Authorize your computer: choose Help > Authorize Computer.
7. 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

[pauli6424718]

I had the exact same problem. But Google ended up telling me it is Adobe's problem. And Adobe also told me they couldn't provide support on this issue via chat!

Looking online, it seems that it is probably a Google-related or file-related problem. Does ANYONE have any idea on how to fix this? Other than all of the above? I get this error on phone, Mac and PC, so it's not device related.

[aaronmelzak]

I am also having this same problem. I have bought nearly a hundred books through Google Play and all of a sudden recently this error E_LIC_LICENSE_SIGN_ERROR has happened with a book I bought on pre-order. I try to download a previous purchase and I get the same error, although other previous purchases download just fine. Google Play is the only store I have this problem with. I bought a book from the Kobo store and was able to download it just fine. I can also download from Adobe's Sample files and Overdrive (which uses ADE for ePub/PDF) without issue.

I'm not convinced this is entirely a ADE issue, but if the experts at Adobe could liaise with Google's team and help them fix their issue. I've already had to buy this book twice so I could read it. Google wouldn't issue me a refund or credit because I bought the book on pre-order back in December and it came out today. But since I couldn't download it, I am stuck.

[videogamefanatic89]

@pauli6424718 Just because Adobe isn't providing live support for the issue doesn't mean it's not their problem. That's interesting that it doesn't work on your phone either, I hadn't tried that.

[pauli6424718]

Interestingly, this UK bookshop says to contact them when you buy a book from them and the same error pops up. Help for eBooks | Foyles Bookstore

[pavlosm39924724]

This was exactly the story of my life today. I was reading the forums and did all the things you did. Unfortunately, nothing changed! Then I decided to contact the "experts" at adobe and they just told me to read the same posts I was reading all day. I have not contacted Googgle books, but as I said their advice is similar to what I was doing today. In the end, the only change was the type of error message. At first it was the "Adept Internal" type (whatever this means) and then it became the "License Sign" error (whatever this means), Right now, I do not know if I should bother contact also google, or if I should simply forget about it and wait for some new version of Adobe digital editions...

[mrbrimi]

My experience with Google Support Team (Alice S and her supervisor Robbie C) were very similar. They insisted that they would not help me unless I installed Adobe Acrobat Reader. After I installed Reader they refused to respond. Fortunately I got a refund. When I contacted Adobe they said I had to come to this forum so their experts could help.

I see a number of threads on this problem, three of them quite recent all involving Google Play.

[aaronmelzak]

For what it's worth, I was able to get it fixed with Google Support. They had to reset something on my account. Not sure what exactly they did, but others should push back on Google and they will eventually make it right. Shameful that Adobe has completely ignored these threads.

[pavlosm39924724]

My problem was also fixed fast with live chat from google support. It is not always available, but when it is available it is very effective. The person (Henry H) was helpful. He just had to reset something in my account, and that did the trick! At first, he said that it was an adobe problem, but when I told him that I had no problem with downloading acsm files from the sample adobe library, he started investigating potential problems with my google account. Apparently, I had opened too many books, and I exceeded some weird and unknown to me google limit. So, he zeroed the google "counter" and he even gave me a $10 credit! 

[ADEgio]

So, here the thing: it is not clear where the problem came from, if from Adobe's or Google's side, anyway it was solved on Thursday the 14, the only thing you must do is deleting the previously downloaded book and download it again now.

If you have downloaded it again before the 14th, and it did not work, that is because the problem was solved on the 14th. So try again now.

Anyway SHAME ON ADOBE and on their ghost "experts". You should be really ashamed of your low professionalism and the way you leave customers alone.

Without us you are NOTHING, yet to treat us like nothing. SHAME ON YOU!

[fvckadobedrm]

I've decided to chalk up all my purchased DRM'd books as a hard lesson and never purchase any ebooks that are DRM'd. Eff Adobe and Google.

[SeánÓS]

Ugh! I have a very similar problem (Error getting license | Server communication problem: E_ADEPT_USER_UNKNOWN) and it only happens with Google books. I have no trouble at all with Kobo books or books from anywhere else. Google is doing something different, but since you don’t get to talk to anyone competent at either company, we will never know what exactly./

[Phlynka]

Nowaways there could be another reason for failure in importing Google Book e-books. Namely, the e-book format provided by Google is Epub 3.0. This format is COMPLETELY UNSUPPORTED by Adobe DE (4.5.11 as of now). Even importing Epub 3.0 with no DRM results in failure. It comes as a surprise since Epub 3.0 spec was already around for several years, and its usage should have been wide enough to be counted as a major format. This is probably the last post from me, since I'm gonna ditch Adobe DE for good.