lightroom classic version 14.51 won't update to version 15

Forum|Forum|5 months ago
December 16, 2025
1 reply
206 views

Hi I've attempted to update to lightroom windows version 15 about 6 times but keep getting issues with "metadata filters on remove tool" notices. Fortunately I've been able to revert back to my old 14.51 version. It's a very large catalogue that I've used for some 15 years so would be very upset to lose all the edits. I'm also concerned about putting further additional work on version 14.51 as its now a defunct system. I've tried lots of so called work arounds but with no success. Can anyone help please?

Windows

Srishti_Bali

Legend

Hi @pudseybill

Thanks for reaching out—this is understandably concerning. To help us narrow this down, could you please share the following details:

• System Info from Lightroom Classic (Help > System Info > copy and paste it here)
• What exactly happens when you try to update to Lightroom Classic 15.1—do you see any error message or warning?
• The exact error message related to “metadata filters on remove tool”
• Where the catalog is stored (internal drive, external drive, or network location)
• The approximate catalog size and number of photos

Once we have this information, we’ll be able to investigate further and guide you on the next steps.

Regards,

Srishti

pudseybillAuthor

Participant

Hi Srishti

Thanks for getting back to me. Subsequent to my post I've consolidated
my Lightroom catalogue and taken out about 200K of photos by removing
various external hard drives etc as well as re-synchronising my folders
and re-updating my metadata etc. I'm pleased to report that this slimed
down version has now updated. I have my old lightroom catalogues saved
which now raises the issue of how I access these old lightroom edits. As
I'm sure you can imagine this whole debacle has been incredibly time
consuming and stressful.

I've only managed a brief foray into accessing these old catalogues
only to come up against further problems. Firstly, lightroom thought
that I was on a new computer, when I wasn't and wanted me to log out and
re log in. The second point is will I be able to run my older lightroom
versions in tandem with my new update version as I have no wish to lose
10 years of editing work?

Unfortunately I will have to revisit these issues in the new year as
currently I am constrained time wise.

Kind regards

Bill

Anshul_Saini

Community Manager

Hi @pudseybill,

Thanks for the detailed update, and I understand why this has been frustrating and time-consuming.

Based on what you’ve shared, here are a couple of safer, less disruptive steps you can try before doing any more large-scale cleanup:

• In Lightroom Classic 14.5.1, go to File > Optimize Catalog and let it complete fully.
– This can resolve internal database issues that sometimes surface as upgrade warnings, including metadata-related ones.
– Once done, try upgrading that optimized Catalog again in 15.1 and see if the “metadata filters on Remove tool” message still appears.

• If the warning persists, another reliable approach is:
– Create a new empty catalog in 14.5.1
– Use File > Import from Another Catalog to import your existing Catalog into it
– This rebuilds the catalog structure while preserving edits, history, collections, and metadata
– After confirming everything looks correct, try upgrading this new Catalog to 15.1

An important clarification to avoid confusion: Lightroom Classic only supports one major version installed at a time. You can install/ run 14.5.1 or 15.1, but not both simultaneously.

The login prompt you saw is expected behavior after a major version upgrade and does not indicate a new machine or data loss.

Given the time investment already involved, I agree that a manual resync for every Catalog is not a reasonable long-term solution. If you continue to see upgrade warnings on specific catalogs, please share a screenshot of the errors so we can properly escalate the issue, rather than asking you to repeat the cleanup steps.

I appreciate your patience. Please feel free to revisit this when you have more time. We’ll be here to help you complete the transition smoothly.

Kind regards,
Anshul Saini

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