Dark Mode Does Not Stay - Reverts Always Even After Repair And Fresh Installation

[anmatr]

Hello, 

as the subject says, the dark mode or theme does not stay, I have to set it every time I start Acrobat Reader. Previoius setting does not stick. I have repaired Adobe Reader and had a complete reinstall and nothing worked so far.

My sytem: Windows 10 Pro, version 22H2

Adobe:Continuous Release: 2025.001.20577 | 64-bit

[Tariq Ahmad]

Hi @anmatr, 

Thanks for reporting the issue with Dark Mode not staying enabled in Acrobat Reader, even after a repair or fresh installation.

From what you’ve described, it’s quite likely you’re working on a company-managed or IT-administered machine. In such environments, settings like Dark Mode may not persist due to system policies or restrictions.

Here are some potential reasons why the preference isn’t sticking:

IT Policies or Registry Restrictions:

Your organization may be enforcing certain Acrobat settings via Group Policies or locked registry keys, which can override or block preference changes — including UI appearance.

Profile or File Permission Issues:

If your user account doesn’t have write permissions to certain folders (like AppData) or registry paths, Acrobat won’t be able to save your preferences. This is especially common in restricted or non-persistent profiles.

Reset on Login or Restart:

Some IT setups restore system or application configurations at each login or reboot, wiping any personalized settings like theme choices.

What you can try:

• Check with your IT support team if any policies are being applied to Acrobat.

• Confirm whether you have write permissions to your profile and settings folders.

• Try enabling Dark Mode on a personal, non-managed device to see if the issue is specific to your work setup.

If you’re also noticing other settings (like recent files or toolbar layout) resetting, that further confirms it’s likely an environment-managed restriction.

Let us know if you’re on a managed system or can test it on a personal machine — that will help narrow it down!

Best regards,
Tariq | Adobe Community Team

[anmatr]

No I am not working on a company-amanged or IT-administererd machine. This is my private laptop not connected to any company.

The user I am working with has admin rights and full access to the folder you mentioned.

[Tariq Ahmad]

Hi @anmatr, 

In that case, you can try creating a new user profile and check again. 

Also, try logging into the app, with the latest version, which allows you to share and store preferences online. 

Best regards,
Tariq | Adobe Community Team

[anmatr]

What user profile? A new windows user profile?

I'm working with  the desktop application, not with an Android app.

Not sure what that means and what the store preferences online have to do with this.

In general your advice is not specific enough to bring this matter forward. Can you be a bit more precise with your suggestions?

Thanks.

[Tariq Ahmad]

Hi @anmatr,

I understand, and I remember you are using a Windows machine, as stated in your initial post.

Let's try uninstalling the Reader app using the Acrobat cleaner tool: https://adobe.ly/3UCxMwU. Then, try reinstalling it and checking if the issue is reproducible.

If the issue is still reproducible, try adding a new user account.

Here is the support article from Microsoft on how to add a new user profile: https://adobe.ly/3UyQzcv

Let us know how it works.

Best regards,
Tariq | Adobe Community Team

[anmatr]

Still the same. Here the steps I took:

- Used the tool to "clean" the installation.

- Searched all folders with Acrobat|Reader|Adobe to see if any other installation locations are there and removed them.

- Downloaded latest Reader

- Restarted

- Ran the clean tool again

- Restarted

- Installed Reader

It is not possibe to create a new Windows user profile as a lot of application rely on that too. And frankly I find this a very bad suggestion for a software which is entirely under your control. There must be a better investigation and solution to this problem.

Last resort, I just remove Adobe Reader and will use a different PDF reader.

Thanks.

[creative explorer]

@anmatr in addition in what @Tariq Ahmad have suggested, I am going to go in a different direction. Instead of trying to use the Acrobat Dark Theme, have you tried using the System 'Dark' Mode Theme instead. And then in Acrobat, select the 'System Theme?' — Don't worry, not all of the applications will go Dark! 

It is a work-around...Shhhhh.... I may get into trouble for this...What we are telling Acrobat is to follow the system theme instead, you are essentially bypassing this broken internal preference-saving mechanism. Acrobat is no longer responsible for "remembering" the dark theme setting; instead, it's simply reading a value from the Windows operating system that is already set to dark mode.

[anmatr]

Thank you for this suggestion. 

I'm already using Windows dark mode - but there is no "system theme" in Adoboe.

[S. S]

Hi @anmatr,

Thanks for sharing the details. 

From the screenshot, it seems like the "Use System Theme" setting is disabled on your system. 

Here are two steps you might want to try:

1. At a Windows level - 

Go to Start > Registry Editor > go to location "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\Personalize"

Add Dword AppsUseSystemTheme

Change Value: 1

2. At app-level - 

Go to Start > Registry Editor > go to location "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\<version>\AVGeneral"

Add Dword: bUseSystemTheme

Value: 1 

In both the cases, the system and the app should enable the option for you to select "System theme" from the menu.

Note: Please keep all the applications closed when you make the changes to the registry. Also, log out and log in to Acrobat once you are done with the changes.

Let us know how it goes.

Regards,
Souvik.

[anmatr]

Applied the following reg settings as suggested:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\Personalize]
"AppsUseSystemTheme"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\AVGeneral]
"bUseSystemTheme"=dword:00000001

After that I restarted Windows.

Checked Adobe and I don't see any changes. The default Windows Theme dark is not picked up and only the two options as shown in the previous screen shot are available:  Light Grey, Dark Grey

When I changed to dark grey and restarted Adobe, it was not persisted. 

[S. S]

Hi @anmatr,

Thanks for the response.

I have forwarded this to the development team for further investigation.

In the meantime, can you check and confirm the below for me, please:

Right-click the application icon > Properties > Compatibility > the option "Run the app in compatibility mode for" is unchecked.

If not, please uncheck the box and let me know if you see the option.

Meanwhile, I'll check with the team and get back to you on further troubleshooting.

Your kind understanding and patience are highly appreciated.

Regards,
Souvik.

[anmatr]

Hello,

the option was set and "Windows 8" was showing in the box.
I've unticked the box and tried to start Adobe, then a pop up comes up:

 

Thanks.

[S. S]

Hi @anmatr,

Thanks for the response.

This looks like a conflict with Windows Defender and Acrobat.

Please run the Acrobat cleaner tool https://adobe.ly/40SruwT, reboot the computer once, and install the application using the direct link https://adobe.ly/4oqhapV and see if that works for you.

Also, if this doesn't work, help us gather logs from your machine: https://adobe.ly/4l1gBRA. Please make sure Procmon is selected. You can upload logs using this tool and share your Unique log ID with us. 

Look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Souvik.