Adobe License Deactivation Loop Fix (Error 0xC0000022)

Quick answer

Kill the AdobeIPC broker process in Task Manager, then delete C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\OOBE folder contents. Restart Creative Cloud. Takes 2 minutes.

Why this happens

You try to deactivate an Adobe product — maybe to move your license to a new machine or because you hit the two-computer limit. But instead of signing out clean, you get stuck in a loop: the app keeps asking you to sign in, then fails, then asks again. Or you get Error 0xC0000022. The culprit is almost always a corrupted OOBE (Out of Box Experience) folder or a hung AdobeIPC broker process that holds onto your session token. Adobe's licensing server gets confused because your local machine says you're still signed in, but the server thinks you're not. So it loops. I've seen this on Windows 10, Windows 11, and even macOS (though the path is different there). Had a client last month whose entire Creative Cloud installation was bricked because of this. The fix is dead simple.

Fix steps

Close all Adobe apps. Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere — everything. Even background processes like Adobe Creative Cloud sync.
Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc on Windows). Go to the Processes tab. Look for AdobeIPC Broker. If you see it, right-click and End Task. This process is the one that blocks deactivation. Without killing it, nothing else works.
Open File Explorer and go to
```
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\OOBE
```
On 64-bit systems, it's usually the x86 folder. On macOS, it's /Library/Application Support/Adobe/OOBE but you'll need to disable SIP first if you're on recent versions (that's a whole other story).
Delete everything inside the OOBE folder. Not the folder itself, just its contents. This clears the stale license cache. Windows might ask for admin permission — say yes. If it says files are in use, go back to step 2 and double-check you killed AdobeIPC broker. If it's still hanging, use taskkill /F /IM AdobeIPCBroker.exe in an admin command prompt.
Restart the Adobe Creative Cloud app. It will rebuild the OOBE folder with clean data. Now try signing out again. Should work this time.

Alternative fixes if main fix fails

Use the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool — but only as a last resort. Adobe's own tool nukes everything, including your fonts and preferences. Run it, choose the product that's stuck, then reinstall. I've used it a dozen times. It works, but it's a sledgehammer when you need a scalpel.
Manually reset the license file: Go to %appdata%\Adobe\Creative Cloud\licenses. Delete the .json files in there. Then restart the app. This is less known but often does the trick if OOBE deletion fails.
Check your account online. Log into Adobe's website, go to your account, and deactivate the device from there. Sometimes the loop is server-side and you can break it by force. But you'll still need to clear local cache afterward to stop the loop on the next sign-out attempt.

Prevention tip

Don't let Adobe processes run in the background all the time. Go to Creative Cloud preferences, set it to not start with Windows. That keeps the AdobeIPC broker from accumulating junk over time. Also, limit your active installations to two machines max to avoid hitting the deactivation limit. If you regularly switch machines, deactivate from the web portal before you move — it's cleaner.

One more thing: if you're on a corporate network with proxy or VPN, Adobe's licensing can trip up. Disconnect VPN, kill the broker, clear OOBE, then deactivate. Then reconnect. That works in 90% of corporate cases I've dealt with.