Participant

Question

Does Photoshop Elements 21 still run on macOS Tahoe 26

Forum|Forum|4 months ago
September 12, 2025
9 replies
3561 views

Hello everyone,

I'm currently using macOS Tahoe 26 on my Mac mini (M4) and tried to install Photoshop Elements 21. Unfortunately, the program won't launch; instead, I just get a message saying the version isn't supported.

Has anyone managed to get Elements 21 to work on macOS Tahoe 26? Are there any workarounds, or is upgrading to a newer version the only option?

Thank you for your help!

Best regards,
Patrick

F

franz_6409

Participant

Funny (or not):

Adobe PSE 2026 is also not running on MacOs Tahoe. Support said, I should downgrade my OS (which also does not work, unless I fully delete my HardDrive):

AuburnBoy

Participating Frequently

It might depend iff you already have a prior version of PSE installed. I installed PSE 2026 on both my iMac (running Sequoia) and MacBook Pro M2 (running Tahoe), works great! But it was an upgrade version on top of PSE2020.

I’ve also received poor advice from the Adobe phone staff. One guy said Adobe no longer sells a perpetual version of PSE when I was having trouble finding it to buy and download. While listening to his “advice”, I found, downloaded and installed the PSE2026 upgrade and it worked fine. But I’m not sure about a fresh install with the full version. In did see purchase options for the full version of PSE 2026 for Mac so I must assume it does work.

Randolph II

Participating Frequently

I do agree.

Upgraded from PSE 2021 to PSE 2026 on my MacBook air M3 (Tahoe 26.0.1) works smooth and without any trouble so far.

V

Vard23649874lbcz

Participant

All,

I haven't tried it yet, but I see that https://www.photopea.com/ is a possible solution to replcae Photoshop Elements. I understnad that it's not nearly as comprehensive as Photoshop Elements, but it is free. Worth a look.

AuburnBoy

Participating Frequently

Ultimately and begrudgingly I had to upgrade to Photoshop Elements 2026 for $79.99. Actually the cost isn't so bad, it works out to $2/month. It's more the principle. While I was looking for the latest version, the Adobe chat rep told me the perpetual versions are no longer offered, then I found the upgrade a few minutes later on my own. Caveat emptor!n Let's see what happens in 2029, but I'm good until then.

V

Vard23649874lbcz

Participant

I contacted Adobe Help Center and receied the same answer: Photoshop Elements 2021 WILL NOT WORK with MAC iOS 26 (Tahoe). I was told that I had to purchase the new 2025 version. Note: Read the detailed agreement. While many of the Adobe products are subscription only, you can buy the PSE 2025 for $99.99 + tax....but the "fine print" says that it is only good for three years. Watch out, Adobe is trapping us into a subscription base business model. Follow the $$$

G

gbread

Participant

Maybe it's time to start researching other photo editing apps. I'll do that this weekend.

ines777

Inspiring

Please let us know what you find.
Sent from my iPhone

Jeff Arola

Community Expert

gbread,

Did you buy Photoshop Elements 2025 from the Apple App Store?

G

gbread

Participant

I can't get Adobe Photoshop Elements 2025 Editor to open, since updating to MAC Tahoe 26. I get an error message: Receipt Validation Failed.

G

gbread

Participant

I'm sure that they will fix this soon… So many of us really rely on this app.

Glenn 8675309

Legend

No they will not fix anything prior to pse 2025. Even PSE 2024 became unsupported once PSE 206 came out. Any version before that? Zero chance of any update- absolutely zero.

S

SparkleHedgehogUK

Participant

Same issue for me after installing main public release. So annoyed