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Answered

The brush tool & masking have completely stopped working

Forum|Forum|4 months ago
February 23, 2026
6 replies
431 views

I’m done with this. With every single update, Lightroom becomes more of a mess. Now, out of nowhere, the brush tool and masking have completely stopped working. I can't get any work done.

I have already tried all the standard "fixes":

Toggling GPU acceleration on/off - no effect.

Restarting macOS and Lightroom multiple times - no effect.

Resetting preferences and clearing cache - still nothing.

And don't even try to blame my hardware. I am running this on a Mac Studio M1 Max and a MacBook Pro 16 M1 Pro. The exact same issue occurs on both machines after working for a while. This isn't a hardware limitation; this is your buggy, unoptimized code.

I posted about this exact problem months ago in this forum, and nothing has been fixed. You keep charging a monthly subscription fee, yet you fail to provide a stable environment for basic functions like masking. This is my last year with Adobe. I am officially looking for alternatives that actually work and don't waste my time and nerves.

Fix your software.

Lightroom Classic version: 15.2 [ 202602111402-ec4112e8 ]
License: Creative Cloud
Language setting: lv-LV
Operating system: Mac OS 26
Version: 26.3.0 [25D125]
Application architecture: arm64
Logical processor count: 10
Processor speed: NA
SqLite Version: 3.36.0
Adobe GSDK Version: 1.4.0.171

Built-in memory: 32 768,0 MB
Dedicated GPU memory used by Lightroom: 357,1MB / 25 559,0MB (1%)
Real memory available to Lightroom: 32 768,0 MB
Real memory used by Lightroom: 1 893,7 MB (5,7%)
Virtual memory used by Lightroom: 436 658,8 MB
Memory cache size: 3 237,3MB
Internal Camera Raw version: 18.2 [ 2482 ]
Maximum thread count used by Camera Raw: 5
Camera Raw SIMD optimization: SSE2
Camera Raw virtual memory: 142MB / 16383MB (0%)
Camera Raw real memory: 144MB / 32768MB (0%)

Cache1:
NT- RAM:0,0MB, VRAM:0,0MB, Combined:0,0MB

Cache2:
m:3 237,3MB, n:0,0MB

U-main: 141,0MB

Standard Preview Size: 5120 pixels
Displays: 1) 5120x2880, 2) 2560x1440, 3) 2560x1440

Graphics Processor Info:
Metal: Apple M1 Max
Init State: GPU for Export supported by default
User Preference: Auto
Enable HDR in Library: OFF
GPU for Preview Generation: Auto (S5_24)

Application folder: /Applications/Adobe Lightroom Classic
Library Path: /Volumes/4TB-LEXAR/2026/2026.lrcat
Settings Folder: /Users/kasparssilins/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom

Installed Plugins:
1) AdobeStock
2) Aperty
3) Logi Plugin

Correct answer j_ceppaglia

Okay, I reached out to support and they got into my computer and fixed it. When I asked what they did to fix it, here is what they said.

“Your Lightroom Classic masking tools issue is a known bug after recent updates. The most effective immediate fix is to reset Lightroom's preferences and disable GPU acceleration, which often restores masking functionality.

So we have reset the preference for your Lightroom Classic and it worked fine now”

j_ceppagliaCorrect answer

Participant

Okay, I reached out to support and they got into my computer and fixed it. When I asked what they did to fix it, here is what they said.

“Your Lightroom Classic masking tools issue is a known bug after recent updates. The most effective immediate fix is to reset Lightroom's preferences and disable GPU acceleration, which often restores masking functionality.

So we have reset the preference for your Lightroom Classic and it worked fine now”

j_ceppaglia

Participant

Has this been resolved? Im having the same issue and I'm backed up! I need help

SStrackside

Participant

All of a sudden having the same issue… ever find a fix? I have shut down & restarted numerous times - I literally left my desktop for a week - it worked last week, now I come back with a ton of work to do & FFS…. masking is not working - I try to do one & it disappears - the only way around it is to use presets with existing masks & modify - AI detection isnt the issue I cant do a brush, or a gradient...nada…..

Colijn van Noort

Participant

It looks like 15.2 introduced an issue with the GPU. When I disabled GPU support under preferences the lag was completely gone… And yes, my video drivers are up-to-date...

SarahP022426

Participant

I’m experiencing this for the first time, as well. When I couldn’t get the brush tool to work, I tried the AI Select People; it allowed me to select facial skin and create a mask, and then LR crashed. Tried the same thing again, and again it crashed.

JohanElzenga

Community Expert

Uninstall your 2 third party plugins to see if one of them causes this. The ‘Masking activated’ message you see in your video is definitely caused by a plugin; it is not a standard Lightroom message. The other issues may be caused by a non-compatible plugin too. My guess is that ‘Logi’ plugin. I’m 99% sure this is the one that creates that message, so that is my first suspect. I have an M1 Max running Tahoe 26.3 as well, and I have no issues at all.

-- Johan W. Elzenga

K

kasparss95237364Author

Participating Frequently

That was the first thing I tried when the issue started - it changed absolutely nothing. I uninstalled every single third-party plugin and the problem persisted. I only reinstalled Logi Options+ later because I need it for my controller, but I experienced this exact same glitch twice while running a completely clean setup with zero plugins installed. This isn't a plugin compatibility issue; it's a Lightroom bug that isn't being addressed.

JohanElzenga

Community Expert

Does that controller have drivers that might be buggy? Like I said, I have the same computer as you and no issues, so why don’t I see that bug if there was a bug?

-- Johan W. Elzenga

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