Premiere projects saved in v25.6.0 cannot be opened in other v25.x versions

[Francis-Crossman]

We are aware that customers who saved projects in Premiere v25.6.0 may find that those files now open only in v26 (beta) and cannot be opened in v25 versions. We know this is disruptive, and we’re working on a fix. 

What you need to know: 

• Projects saved in v25.6.0 save in the v26 version format. 

• Because of this, they can’t be opened in earlier versions, including v25.6.1 (even though it is the current generally available release) 

• We’re developing a tool that will let you convert affected projects back to a v25-compatible file.  

Our Solution 

We’re building a small app that will convert a v25.6.0-saved project back to the v25 format. We’ll share more information, including availability and instructions, as soon as the tool is ready in the coming days.  

We know that there is nothing more important than the reliability of a project file, so we’re working with urgency to get this downgrade tool in your hands as quickly as possible. 

We know there are a number of downgrading apps available online, but we strongly recommend utilizing our tool when it becomes available. Non-Adobe apps and scripts are often outdated and may cause crashes and data loss.  

Further Details 

A bug caused Premiere v25.6.0 to prompt customers to enable Object Masking even though it is not yet in full release. Object Masking (and our yearly major version update) changes the Premiere project file structure such that it can only be opened in v26, which is only available in public beta. Turning this on caused projects to save in the newer v26 project format, even though users were still technically on the v25 release line. 

Opening an older project in v25.6.0 triggered a prompt to save a copy of the project with “_1” appended. We know that many customers upgraded the project and continued working in the new copy, potentially also deleting the original. This means the only active version became the file saved in v26 format. 

Premiere 25.6.0 was only available briefly before being replaced by 25.6.1 and is no longer available to reinstall. This means impacted users who auto updated to 25.6.1 cannot open v26 formatted projects. 

[Dirthmitore]

I have a project that was "saved in a newer version of Premiere Pro and cannot be opened in this version."

I have the latest version, believe me.

This was tried on another computer with the latest version of Premiere (23.6.0 from August).

With the exception of the project creator having a time machine, how can this happen?

[Peru Bob]

Try creating a new project and import the old one into it.

[Dirthmitore]

I just tried that, and when I tried to import the project, it gave me the same message.

(Also, thank you for your reply.)

[Stan Jones]

I suspect it was opened in the Beta, which is project file version 42.  The next major version of PR (version 24) will be file version 42.

PR 23.6 is project file version 41.

You can check the project version, and change it, via instructions for downgrading. That may or may not work correctly. Be sure you backup your files.

https://helpx.adobe.com/in/premiere-pro/using/exporting-projects-applications.html#OpeningPremierePr...

There are also non-Adobe methods for downgrading a project file.

The disclaimer is that there is no guarantee that the older version will correctly work for any newer elements. So always backup all the relevant files.

Google "Downgrading Premiere Pro project file"

These methods generally unzip the .prproj, edit it in a text editor, and replace the version (42 for the current Beta and upcoming PR 24) with "1." The "older" version of PR opens the converted file and sees the version as "one" and therefore "older." So it converts the file to its own version.

Stan

[Christiaan1]

Where can I find what is new, or if the bugs I experience have been solved?

[Averdahl]

I don´t think it has been updated yet. The link below stops at version 25.5.

What’s new in Adobe Premiere Pro

[MyerPj]

I thought it was on the 12th, tomorrow.

[R Neil Haugen]

I was on a pro editor's group zoom on Friday the 7th, with a staffer as part of the panel. He mentioned that 25.6 was coming, but "in a week or two" so I'm roughly expecting that between the 14th and 21st of November 2025.

[Srfaye327]

Creative Cloud prompted me to update to 25.6 this morning and I did, although I can't find any official release notes from Adobe. Very strange. I updated it and Premiere seems to be having issues - when it launches, it prompts me to enable object masking but if I say yes, PP crashes and re-launches, prompting me again. It will only launch if I tell it to skip activating object masking.

[Srfaye327]

[Stan Jones]

@Srfaye327,

There's probably a post somewhere about the process. For some time now (years?), the practice is to roll out the update over time. I've been a user who gets the update quickly, and other times not for several days. It drives me a little nuts.

Also, the Welcome to Premiere Pro xxx is always delayed by some amount. Today, a search on the forum for "welcome to " finds lots of welcome to pages, but the latest is 25.5. I can think of many reasons this might be so, but it makes is hard to get an answer to your question.

I still believe the best practice is not to update until the "Welcome to" announcement comes out. And if you have a particular bug that is important to be fixed, ask in a thread for it and find out if somewhere has tested it. As a forum helper, I try to update quickly and test the bugs I am following to help users like yourself.

The masking is interesting. Projects with masking enabled are a new project version. If masking is not enabled, I wonder if it will be the older project version. That's what happened in the Beta.

And finally, as to your crashing, when I update, I reset preferences, cache, and plugin loading cache, and then create a new project to test basic functioning.

Stan

[Xhr1stt]

When I try to send clips from Premiere Pro to After Effects using “Replace with After Effects Composition”, After Effects opens but doesn’t import the selected footage — I just get an empty composition. The dynamic link between the two apps still works, but the clips themselves never appears in After Effects.

[Srfaye327]

Thanks Stan! That helps me makes sense of it. I'm not too concerned with the crashing at the beginning since I'm not using Object Mask and can just skip it on launch for now. I have a feeling this will all get resolved over the next several days to a week.

[R Neil Haugen]

I just got the CC Desktop app showing 25.6 is available, and installed it. The weird thing is it says that my 25.x Production projects were created in a previous version, and must be converted. 

Huh? Same major version?

[R Neil Haugen]

I just upgraded my released version from 25.5 to 25.6 ... and now on launch, Premiere says my 25.5 Production projects "were created in a previous version  and  must  be updated" ... ?

What the hay?

@Kevin-Monahan or someone ... ?

[jamieclarke]

Hi @R Neil -  the team is aware of the issue please uninstall 25.6 and continue to use 25.5

In the Creative Cloud Desktop app, click the Apps tab in the sidebar.
Locate the Premiere Pro box, then click the three dots in the lower left corner of the panel.
Select Other versions, and from the list, choose Premiere Pro (25.5).

If you’ve enabled the masking feature in 25.6, you’ll also need to clear out some preference data before reinstalling:
Remove the 25.0 Preferences Folder

• Windows: C:\Users\<YourUserName>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Premiere Pro\25.0
• macOS: ~/Library/Preferences/Adobe/Premiere Pro/25.0

You can safely delete the entire 25.0 folder.  

Please note that deleting the preference folder will reset all your preferences. 

We will update you as soon as the fix becomes available

[tonywithasony]

Just updated to 25.6 and now when I start PP, it shows me a dialog box titled, "Try the new AI-powered object masking." On that dialog box is a button "Enable new masking." If I click that, PP crashes and restarts, showing me that dialog all over again. If I click "skip," I can use PP as normal, it seems.

OS is macOS 15.7.1 on an M1 Max MPB.

I tried clearing my media cache and restarting but that didn't help.

[jamieclarke]

Hi @tonywithasony - 

We are sorry for the troubles you are encountering. We understand where our oversight lies and apologize to the users encountering this frustrating scenario. Rest assured that we are preparing a patch for 25.6 and will release it as soon as possible.In the meantime, we recommend uninstalling 25.6 and reverting to the stable 25.5 release.

In the Creative Cloud Desktop app, click the Apps tab in the sidebar.
Locate the Premiere Pro box, then click the three dots in the lower left corner of the panel.
Select Other versions, and from the list, choose Premiere Pro (25.5).

If you’ve enabled the masking feature in 25.6, you’ll also need to clear out some preference data before reinstalling:
Remove the 25.0 Preferences Folder

• Windows: C:\Users\<YourUserName>\AppData\Roaming\<AppName>\Preferences\25.0
• macOS: ~/Library/Preferences/<AppName>/25.0

You can safely delete the entire 25.0 folder.  

Please note that deleting the preference folder will reset all your preferences. 

We will update you as soon as the fix becomes available

[R Neil Haugen]

Thanks for the quick reply, Jamie!

[R Neil Haugen]

From staffer Jamie Clarke, the team is aware that the 25.6 version has an issue where it requires upgrading, and he suggests reverting BACK to 25.5 at this time.

[Stan Jones]

@Srfaye327,

Does 25.6 want to convert your 25.5 projects? Here's the staff response Neil refers to.

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-discussions/25-6-must-convert-projects-from-25-5-version...

I still don't have the option for 25.6, but in the Beta 25.6, when you enabled masking, the project FILE type increased (to 44), and your old projects needed to be converted, and your new/converted projects could no longer be opened in the release version.

I wonder if that is holding true here. Since you did not enable masking, perhaps you're still on the 25.5 file version (43). 

Stan

[Srfaye327]

Yes, PP did want to convert my project!

[Christiaan1]

Yesterday evening, here in Europe, I could download 25.6. It was NOT the beta.
When I installed it and started the program, it asked me if I want to use the new AI Masking tool.
Then my projects would be converted to 26.0 and are not backwards compattible.

So it looks like the masking tool has been gone to the stable release in 25.6. But I can not find official news on that. Which I think is strange.

Is everything going as it should?

[Christiaan1]

[Piotr Gardecki]

I'll try to power through it for now — hopefully they'll fix it soon.