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Wlodarczyk_MRPiPS
Participant
November 7, 2025
Answered

AI Masks not updating after sync and sometimes resetting to a Blank Mask in Lightroom Classic v15

  • November 7, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 256 views

After updating to Lightroom Classic v15, AI masks stopped updating automatically when syncing develop settings across photos. In previous versions (14.x and earlier), AI masks such as Subject, People, and Sky would recalculate automatically after copying or syncing settings. In v15, a yellow “Update AI” icon appears, but Lightroom no longer updates the masks automatically. Each photo requires a manual “Update AI Settings” action, which makes batch editing impractical. Additionally, even after manually updating an AI mask, it sometimes resets or disappears. The mask object remains in the panel, but the mask itself turns completely black, with no selection inside it. This happens randomly across photos and affects various types of AI masks.

Correct answer Aleke

Hi @Wlodarczyk_MRPiPS, welcome to the community!
It sounds like the file storing your AI edits might have gotten corrupted. When that happens, the app keeps asking you to update your AI masks. The good news is your edits aren’t lost—you’ll just need to let Lightroom regenerate that file. Here’s how:

 

1. Close Lightroom.
2. Go to the folder that contains your Lightroom catalog.
3. Rename the .lrcat-data file to old.lrcat-data, or move it out of the folder.
4. Reopen Lightroom, it will create a new lrcat-data file.

 

You’ll need to update your previous AI masks once more, but if this works, Lightroom shouldn’t keep asking you to update them again afterward.

Let us know how it goes!
Alek

2 replies

Andy.Diesel91
Andy.Diesel91
Participant
April 7, 2026

Thanks, ​@Wlodarczyk_MRPiPS 
Lightroom is a fantastic piece of software and these tools help in a huge way.

I have though run into this same problem and while following your ‘old.lrcat-data’ advice, my project is still not exporting with the AI masks in place.  Returning back to the files I had just exported without closing the program, they reverted back to forgotten masks.

I do use the ‘Option_Command_U’ quick key to restore the mask back but the export makes the prossess meaningless.?

I have the latest Lightroom Classic (v. 15.2.1.) update on a MacBookPro M1, that has sufficient memory with the RAW images being on an external hard drive.

I’m editing another project, with less photographs, that carries all of the same specs excecpt it is a different catalogue and this project recalls it’s masks.

Please advise me or clarify where this error could be found and resolved?

Thanks in advance.

A
Community Manager
AlekeCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
Community Manager
November 7, 2025

Hi @Wlodarczyk_MRPiPS, welcome to the community!
It sounds like the file storing your AI edits might have gotten corrupted. When that happens, the app keeps asking you to update your AI masks. The good news is your edits aren’t lost—you’ll just need to let Lightroom regenerate that file. Here’s how:

 

1. Close Lightroom.
2. Go to the folder that contains your Lightroom catalog.
3. Rename the .lrcat-data file to old.lrcat-data, or move it out of the folder.
4. Reopen Lightroom, it will create a new lrcat-data file.

 

You’ll need to update your previous AI masks once more, but if this works, Lightroom shouldn’t keep asking you to update them again afterward.

Let us know how it goes!
Alek

*(If you mention me with an @, like @Aleke, I’ll get a notification and can respond faster.)*
    W
    Wlodarczyk_MRPiPSAuthor
    Participant
    November 19, 2025

    Thanks again for the earlier suggestion about deleting the .lrcat-data file — it did help at first, and for a short time Lightroom Classic v15 worked normally. Unfortunately the issue has come back. After a few days the AI masks once again stop updating after syncing settings, and some of them even reset to a blank/black mask. Removing the .lrcat-datafile fixes it only temporarily.

    Because the problem keeps returning in the same way, it seems to be an underlying bug in this version of Lightroom rather than a one-time corruption. At this point the issue is affecting normal work and even caused a crash. It looks like something in v15 is repeatedly breaking the AI mask data.

    C
    Cemil_PhotoAmateur
    Participating Frequently
    February 24, 2026

    Unfortunately, I have the same issue as the one described above. Furthermore, all of my AI masking don’t work. 

     

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