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jamess58
January 6, 2026
Answered

CS6 on Monterey 12.7 possible?

  • January 6, 2026
  • 4 replies
  • 269 views

Just updated my older iMac to OS 12.7.6  from 10.6.8 and trying hard to get my older Photoshop CS6 to work. Has not worked for about a year and very frustrated. I also have CS2 and CS4 showing in Applications if that helps for another option. I am not a tech person so can anyone let me know if there is a way to get this to work?  Or, am I in the in-between zone where the OS is too new for CS6 but too old for a CC17 which I used by subscripton... until that also stopped working.  Thanks in advance for any insights.

    Correct answer kglad

    cs2, cs3 and cs4 can't be activated, and therefore used for longer than the 30 day trial, on any computer.

    4 replies

    Nancy OShea
    Community Expert
    Nancy OSheaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 8, 2026

    CS6 hasn't worked on ANY modern Macs since Catalina. 

    You would need to revert to Mojave or High Sierra, both of which are unsupported by Apple. It might work or it might not.  No guarantees.

     

    Most current Adobe apps work on these systems, no more than 2 versions back:

    • Windows 11 (64-bit) versions 24H2, 23H2; Windows 10 versions 22H2, 21H2;
    • MacOS 26 (Tahoe), 15 (Sequoia), 14.7 (Sonoma).

    - https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/system-requirements.html
    - https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/system-requirements.html
    - https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-cc-gpu-card-faq.html

    Creative Cloud Bundles & Single Apps for mobile, web & desktops
    https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html

     

    Good luck.

     

    Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
    E
    ExUSA
    Legend
    January 7, 2026

    You are pretty much stuck, you have an old, unsupported computer running an obsolete version of macOS that Apple and Adobe both no longer support. Your best bet is to sell the old computer and buy something current. A new Mac mini can be had for US$500 or so and will run circles around the old one.

    ふみふみぃ
    ふみふみぃ
    Inspiring
    January 7, 2026

    Unfortunately, there is no way to run CC2017, CS6, or earlier software on macOS 10.15 or later.
    This is because Apple disabled support for 32-bit programs in macOS 10.15.

     

    If you want to use newer versions of macOS, you must also update the software versions you use.
    If you wish to continue using older software versions, you must keep your macOS version outdated.

     

    This is the fate of Mac users.

    ふみふみぃ
    ふみふみぃ
    Inspiring
    January 7, 2026
    Additionally: CS2 is an application from the PowerPC era, so it will absolutely not run on any OS after 10.7, when Rosetta (not Rosetta 2 for Apple Silicon) was discontinued.
    If you want to keep using software from that era, your only option is macOS 10.6.8.
    kglad
    Community Expert
    kgladCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    January 7, 2026

    cs2, cs3 and cs4 can't be activated, and therefore used for longer than the 30 day trial, on any computer.

    kglad
    Community Expert
    kgladCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 7, 2026

    your os doesn't support 32 bit software.

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