Illustrator keeps freezing at opening

Question

Hi everyone,Illustrator 2025 (version 29.8.2) keeps freezing right after launch on my M2 Mac running macOS 26.0.1 (Tahoe). The splash screen appears, but then I get a spinning wheel and have to Force Quit.I’ve already tried:– Deleting preferences and caches– Reinstalling Illustrator and Creative Cloud– Disabling GPU Performance– Starting with Shift held down– Installing Rosetta Nothing seems to fix it. Could this be a compatibility issue with macOS? Any known fixes?System details:• MacBook Air M2 (2023)• macOS Tahoe 26.0.1• Illustrator 2025 v29.8.2

Abhishek Rao · Answer

Hi @Ozum32659180jvoy,

Thanks for sharing the details and everything you've already tried. Could you please launch Illustrator from a newly created macOS user account and see if it opens normally there? Also, check if you have any third-party plug-ins in the Illustrator Plug-ins folder, try temporarily removing them and restarting. You can also isolate all third-party involvement by restarting your Mac in Safe Mode. Additionally, please go through the steps mentioned in this article: Fix Illustrator crash issues.

Let me know how it goes after testing this.

Abhishek

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