Ai version 27.6.1 rotating linked files without me asking it to do this.

[Glenn305505337i2a]

Just updated Adobe Illustrator to version 27.6.1.

Upon opening an existing, saved file which I have already been working on for several months, two of the  linked files (photos) are now rotated 90 degrees and no longer match up with the layers I have already drawn in above the linked files.  Does anyone know what is going on?  Is there a fix for this, or is this something that was accidentally "broken" with the update to version 27.6.1?  I've never encountered this previously.

Thank you to anyone who is willing to help.

[Monika Gause]

THose photos, can you please tell us more about them? Which file format are they in? Have they been taken with a smartphone?

[Glenn305505337i2a]

The two photos which have been mysteriously rotated are both jpeg files.  They were taken in February 2023 using my iphone X.  At that time, I emailed them from my iphone X to my imac, and then did "file -> place" to put them on a background layer for use as a reference/guide for drawing vector art in Adobe Illustrator.

Both of these jpeg photos/files behaved fine until I updated to Ai 27.6.1 on Thursday, 06/15/2023.  The next morning, 06/16/2023, when I launched Ai and opened my doc, these two jpegs had been rotated.  I cannot undo this rotation because I did not "do" it in the first place.  Thank you for your willingness to assist me.

[Monika Gause]

I would suggest you open the files in Photoshop, rotate them upright and then use "Save as" to save them as new files. 

[1h63965575]

It's probably a bug on Illustrator's side.

<Sample image>
Taken with iPhone 11(Photographed vertically)
On iPhone, the default orientation is landscape, and if the photo is taken vertically, it will be rotated 90 degrees as an attribute (Orientation=6)

<Reproduction steps>
1. Arrange and save images taken with iPhone at 27.5 or below or 27.8.1 or above.
2. Unintended rotation occurs when opening with 27.6.1 or 27.7

or

1. Arrange and save images taken with iPhone on 27.6.1 or 27.7
2. Unintended rotation will occur if opened below 27.5 or above 27.8.1

<Result>

27.5 No Rotate
27.6.1 Rotate
27.7 Rotate
27.8.1 No Rotate
27.9 No Rotate
28.0 No Rotate

[1h63965575]

Fix up

1. Arrange and save images taken with iPhone at 27.5 or below or 27.8.1 or above.
2. Unintended rotation occurs when opening with 27.6.1 or 27.7

27.5 No Rotate
27.6.1 Rotate
27.7 Rotate
27.8.1 No Rotate
27.9 No Rotate
28.0 No Rotate

or

1. Arrange and save images taken with iPhone on 27.6.1 or 27.7
2. Unintended rotation will occur if opened below 27.5 or above 27.8.1

27.5 Rotate
27.6.1 No Rotate
27.7 No Rotate
27.8.1 Rotate
27.9 Rotate
28.0 Rotate

[Monika Gause]

If you want to report it to the Illustrator team, please do so at https://illustrator.uservoice.com

[Ajlouny]

The bug persists in the current version (29.2.1) on iMac 5K (2017) running Ventura 13.7.2.

When placing (importing) an image with a rotated orientation in the EXIF data, Illustrator correctly applies the rotation. However, every time the file is reopened, Illustrator re-applies the EXIF rotation to the image, even if it was already corrected and saved.

[Linda.R.Smith]

I am now having this same issue with the latest Illustrator version 29.2.1. Some placed images are randomly rotate 90˚, 180˚ when I reopen an Illustrator document.

[Monika Gause]

WHat kind of images? Photos directly from a phone?

[Linda.R.Smith]

@Monika Gause Yes from the metadata, it appears they were taken from a smart phone (outside, onsite). They've been provided to me as .jpg right side up. Metadata: iPhone 13, 12 Pro

[Monika Gause]

Can you open them in Photoshop, then save them as new files and then place them?

[Linda.R.Smith]

I just did after you mentioned if they were from a phone. I work with +hundreds of images. As of late is the first time I've experienced this. I don't think opening up every file and resaving them this is a viable solution especially when it wasn't and issue before.

[Monika Gause]

---

@Linda.R.Smith  schrieb:

As of late is the first time I've experienced this. 

---

It doesn't happen with all images.

I#ve also seen it happening from time to time but not generally.

[Beep Sparrow]

I'm having this same issue on 29.2.1.

[Ajlouny]

I just updated to Illustrator 29.3, looks like the bug is fixed.

[david_6755]

Updated to 29.3, still rotaing linked images in certain files

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @Linda.R.Smith, @Ajlouny, @Beep Sparrow, and @david_6755,

Thanks for reaching out and sharing your experience. We’ve seen similar reports of linked or placed images rotating unexpectedly, and we understand how frustrating this can be—especially when working with a large number of images.

To help us investigate further, could you share the following details?

• Does this happen with all images or only certain formats (JPEG, PNG, etc.)?

• Are the affected images taken directly from a smartphone, or have they been edited/saved in another app before placing them in Illustrator?

• If possible, could you share a sample Ai file along with images where this issue occurs?

• Your system specs (OS version, CPU, GPU, RAM) and whether this happens consistently across different documents.
• A screen recording of the issue would also be incredibly helpful in diagnosing the problem.

We want to ensure this is properly escalated to the product team for a fix. Looking forward to your response!

Best,

Anshul Saini

[david_6755]

to my understanding they are only smartphone pics affected. 

[Beep Sparrow]

Nope, mine that keep rotating are all from a photoshoot with a DSLR. My photographer uses a Canon, I believe.

[kirstinhepburn]

Same. I did a shoot for a client using both iPhone Pro and Canon DSLR and images from both sources are janky.

[kirstinhepburn]

Hi Anshul -- just reporting the same issue. I've done a quick screen recording of what happens when I open the Ai file and all the images are randomly rotated. I'm on Ai 19.2.1

https://www.loom.com/share/254a4511b6de47ba9a36e446fea56444

[michaelw35756003]

Had the same issue, also iphone shot jpegs. Resaved in Photoshop as tiffs, relinked and all works fine

[jenuary]

This is happening to me as well. I opened an .ai file originally created in 2024 with dozens of photos placed (linked, not embedded). Had no issues with photos auto-rotating when I created the document, saved pressready PDFs, and printed.

As of today, every time I open the file, 17 of the photos (out of maybe 100; all jpgs) are rotated 90 degrees. I've corrected them within Illustrator three times, and when reopening the file, they revert to rotation. The original files in the packaged links folder are not flipped.

Mac, Illustrator 29.2.1, file is packaged and saved in Dropbox.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @jenuary @kirstinhepburn @michaelw35756003 @Beep Sparrow @david_6755 @Linda.R.Smith,

Thanks for sharing your experience. The team has been actively investigating this issue, but we’re unable to reproduce it on our end using Illustrator 29.3 on macOS.

To help us better understand the problem, could you please share a sample Illustrator file along with the affected images? If the content is confidential, feel free to send the files via Dropbox, Google Drive, or similar services through DM.

Your input will be invaluable in helping the team identify and resolve the issue. Looking forward to your response!

Best,

Anshul Saini