Participant

Image becomes blurry after using Remove

Forum|Forum|22 hours ago
October 9, 2026
1 reply
10 views

Description of Issue

When using the Remove tool in Lightroom Desktop for Windows while zoomed in, the image becomes blurry immediately after I complete a removal selection and release the mouse button.

The area I am actively working on appears sharp while making the selection, but once the operation is completed, the rest of the zoomed-in image becomes blurry again. Normal zooming works correctly; the issue specifically occurs when using the Remove tool.

This makes precise retouching difficult because I can no longer clearly see the small spots I want to remove.

Lightroom Desktop Version Number (Help > System Info…)

Lightroom 9.6 x64 [20260923-1659-a32d844] (September 23, 2026).

If your version was purchased from the Mac App Store, please indicate that as well.

Not applicable. This issue occurs in Lightroom Desktop for Windows.

OS Version Number

Windows 11 Pro.

Camera Model (sometimes necessary)

Not camera-specific. The issue occurs while editing images in Lightroom Desktop.

Step-by-step Reproduction Instructions

Open an image in Lightroom Desktop for Windows.
Zoom in until small spots or blemishes are clearly visible.
Select the Remove tool and use AI removal.
Draw a selection over a small spot.
Release the mouse button and allow the removal operation to complete.
Observe the sharpness of the rest of the zoomed-in image.
Repeat the operation on another spot.

The Expected Result

The image should remain sharp and clearly visible at the selected zoom level after completing a Remove operation, allowing me to continue retouching other spots accurately.

The Actual Result

After completing a Remove operation and releasing the mouse button, the rest of the zoomed-in image becomes blurry. The area being actively selected appears sharp during the operation, but the surrounding image becomes blurry again afterward.

Normal zooming does not cause this behaviour.

Troubleshooting Already Performed

Updated Lightroom from version 9.1 to 9.6.
Updated/tried the NVIDIA Studio Driver.
Tested with only one monitor connected.
Tested different GPU acceleration settings.
Reset Lightroom preferences.

The issue persists.

Claire H.

Community Manager

Hi @realistic_Dragonfly09d6 , Thank you for reaching out to the Lightroom Community forum! Can you try a few things and see if it helps?

After the Remove operation completes and the image appears blurry, briefly zoom out and zoom back in (e.g., press Fit then zoom back to your working level). This should force the view to re-render at full sharpness.
Clear your cache: Go to the top menu and open Preferences (Edit > Preferences on Windows, or Lightroom > Preferences on macOS). Click the Cache tab, then look for the option to Clear Cache or to adjust the maximum size allowed for stored originals and previews. Remember to check if your cloud sync is fully updated and active before clearing space, so you do not lose unsynced work

If none of these steps work, can you send your system info and a screen recording of the issue? You can find your system info by going to Help > System Info, copying and pasting it into a text file, and attaching it here. Thanks! ^CH