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9

Illustrator 2020 keeps crashing on macOS Catalina

Participant ,
Dec 22, 2019 Dec 22, 2019

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So, I just got my new 16" Macbook, i9 processor with 64gb Ram.

Only problem is that Ilustrator now keeps crashing. I don't have any issues with my old 2015 Macbook, or my iMac 5K, only with my new 16" Macbook. Only Illustrator crashes, and it happens at least 4-5 times during a day. No pattern. Latest version of Illustrator and lates version of MacOS.

 

I finally found a solution. It was another user who wrote me a message with a solution that at least worked for me.

I haven't had a crash in 2 days now.

Preference > Performance > uncheck "GPU Performance"

 

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correct answers 3 Correct answers

Adobe Employee , Mar 16, 2020 Mar 16, 2020

Hi there,

 

We are extremely sorry to hear this. Turning off GPU performance might have worked for them but not for you. Looking at the crash report you submitted on 5th March, it looks like an GPU issue but there could be other factors too. It looks like one-on-one support will be able to help you best. Please head here (https://helpx.adobe.com/support.html) and select the chat button in the lower-right corner of the page. We can help troubleshoot faster that way.

 

Thanks!

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Participant , Sep 04, 2020 Sep 04, 2020

I have updated to the Metal Beta, available if you are signed in to Adobe:

https://www.adobeprerelease.com/beta/85A6F544-2705-49BD-8314-DD549C6A1713#

 

In the release note, it says:

 

Illustrator 24.3 Metal Build 3 (Mac Only)

Stability improvements - we believe several crashes are addressed by moving to Metal. (As OpenGL was deprecated – stability issues reported around GPU Rendering should be addressed with Metal support).

 

I would consider that to be an official admission that there is a GPU renderin

...

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Adobe Employee , Sep 07, 2020 Sep 07, 2020

Hi all,

 

We understand how frustrating crashes can be. We have consolidated the most popular solutions that help in fixing these issues and also, how you can recover unsaved documents after a crash. Please check this help article for more details.

 

If you still need help, feel free to reach out, we'd be happy to help.

 

Regards,

Srishti

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Contributor ,
Oct 10, 2020 Oct 10, 2020

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"I think we should post anywhere that can assist making small and large issues known. I find the fact that our Adobe software has been crashing with the new system and new MacBook Pro a fairly large issue." Yep. The more posts the more hits people get when searching. The fact is I searched this issue for a long time with no explanation until on one of the crashes I saw a message about the GPU, then when I started adding that to my search metric BINGO!  

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Explorer ,
Oct 14, 2020 Oct 14, 2020

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I'm just adding my voice to the chorus. Illustrator on the New 16" MBP is practically unusable. In all my years of using Adobe stuff I've never had such a horrible experience. Either I turn off GPU performance and get a janky work experience with fewer crashes, or I turn it on and get constant crashes. Looking at this thread this has been going on pushing a year and nothing has improved.

 

Illustrator 24.3 (but really all versions since I got the MBP)

Catalina 10.15.7

MBP 16

2.3 Ghz 8-core i9

32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4

Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB VRAM

1 TB Disk

No external monitors, no printers (wifi or otherwise), no external disks, nothing attached.

 

There's no rhyme or reason to the crashing. I might be working in Illustrator, or I might be in another program or the Finder when it crashes.

 

I've tried uninstalling/reinstalling (and nuking every file associated with Adobe scattered throughout the disk) and other tweaks beyond GPU checkbox (amount of Undo's, storage disk, other preferences, etc.). Nothing works. I guess the good news is it's not just my computer (judging by this and other threads), but the bad news is Adobe doesn't seem to be addressing the problem.

----------- MacBook Pro 16 | 2.3 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9 | 32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4 (RAM) | AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB

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Participant ,
Oct 14, 2020 Oct 14, 2020

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I concur. And despite Monika's insistance that we not pester the developers with issues LIKE THE PROGRAM CONSTANTLY CRASHING, I feel the more we try and raise the issue the better.  No matter the forum, just incase someone pokes the right buttons to figure out what the issue is for the rest of us.  ðŸ˜›

 

Recently I downgraded to beta V24.3 (from beta v25 which worked no better - despite the documentation saying the issue with the GPU was fixed). It worked OK for a few days, then after a few crashes (primarly when the machine wakes up) I AGAIN lost all my preferences and settings. So, sick of setting those up everytime,  I'm back to the regular (non-beta) version of Illustrator 2020. Which AT LEAST keeps my prefs after a crash. I am using the GPU performance, since without it the program is basically useless - and am just saving my work about every 30 seconds. I honestly dont' know if there is an answer to this GPU issue currently. I, like most people, am not running anything funky. Just the MBP 16 with 1gig HD, and 32G of RAM. No external drives, no wacky plug-ins, basically just the Adobe CS and assorted productive apps. I am plugged into a 32" 4k monitor, but let's hope that isn't above the bar of getting the program to work properly. 

 

I agree, I've NEVER had issues like this with any other Adobe program on MBP. 

Maybe the next full release will addresses this? Maybe...?

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Explorer ,
Oct 16, 2020 Oct 16, 2020

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I'm with you, documenting such a terrible flaw in a program that I pay a lot of money for (and I've shelled out a lot for it over the course of my 20+ years purchasing upgrades) seems resonable and needed. Anyone who says otherwise obviously has some other agenda. At a bare minimum it lets other poor saps like us know they aren't alone and it's not something they're doing wrong. It really is shameful that Adobe has let such a problem run rampant for so long.

----------- MacBook Pro 16 | 2.3 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9 | 32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4 (RAM) | AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB

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New Here ,
Oct 19, 2020 Oct 19, 2020

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I'm kind of dying here. I ended up buying a brand-new iMac because I couldn't get Illustrator to run on my 13-year-old iMac that was otherwise working fine. After spending hours working with an Adobe tech, to no avail, I assumed that because of its age, I'd finally reached the end of my iMac's useful life in terms of Creative Cloud apps.

 

I've been trying to do freelance work on one job for weeks now, and was so excited to boot up the newest version of Illustrator on my brand-spanking-new machine, only to find that when I tried to save my work, Illustrator crashed. Then it crashed on reboot. Then it crashed again on reboot. Lather, rinse, repeat. I'm a graphic designer trying to make a living using tools I've spent quite a lot of money on, and the basic, industry-standard program I rely on won't even open. 

 

Running Catalina 10.15.7

Processor 2.3 Ghz Dual-Core Intel Core i5

Memory 16 GB 2133 Mhz DDR4

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 1536 MB

 

Someone PLEASE tell me how I can make this stuff work.

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Participant ,
Oct 21, 2020 Oct 21, 2020

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So anybody else downloaded the updated Photoshop 2021?

Now Photoshop crashes all the time. It's even worse than Illustrator. As soon as I open PS and just move a layer, click a layer or anything else, it crashes.

Well done Adobe!!! You now manage to F#ck up my life completly!!!!

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Explorer ,
Oct 21, 2020 Oct 21, 2020

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At this point, I think we need a larger number of voice for Adobe to do a single thing for us... Been almost a year and they can't find the solution... 

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Explorer ,
Oct 21, 2020 Oct 21, 2020

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I have friends who have a new 13" MacBook Pro, no problems at all. Do we know it's limited to the 16"? Also, I'm sure we have some crashes that are happening for different reasons. All crashes are importatnt to track down, but the crashing that seems to happen when the system sleeps and then returns to Adobe program is the one common "crash" that many of us have. Again, there is no Illustrator function I do, it's simply when I break and come back, the program crashes. Photoshop and InDesign have been acting the same way for me. 

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Participant ,
Oct 21, 2020 Oct 21, 2020

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For me the crashes vary, but ALWAYS/ONLY when the GPU preview is turned on. Defnitely crashes a lot when my computer wakes up, or when I switch back to it from another program. But also when I'm using pasted image or placed images in a design. If I turn GPU off (which comically Illustrator does by default after a crash I've noticed) the app runs like it's underwater and I'm using a 12 year old machine. 😞

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Explorer ,
Oct 21, 2020 Oct 21, 2020

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"waking up, switching back from another program", these are the primary crashes that we all share. I'm glad that it is not swithcing off my GPU each time however. I apologize if you stated this, but did you get the upgrade on the graphics card?

 

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Participant ,
Oct 21, 2020 Oct 21, 2020

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Hmmm...I don't think I did... Here are my Graphics cards:

AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 4 GB

Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB

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Explorer ,
Oct 21, 2020 Oct 21, 2020

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Same here. So I believe our systems switch card usage depending on our activity. This is how I understand this. So it appears the latest Adobe software is not dealing with this "switching" gears that is happening. 

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Participant ,
Oct 21, 2020 Oct 21, 2020

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Hmm...I'm not sure. In another post I read to turn off "Automatic graphics switching" in the System Prefs / Energy Saver control panel (which I have). It states "when disabled, your computer will always use high-performance graphics."  But it doesn't seem to be helping.  ðŸ˜ž

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Explorer ,
Oct 21, 2020 Oct 21, 2020

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Yes, I just made sure that my "automatic graphics switching" is turned off as well. Maybe a dead end there. I'm just wondering what could be happening when we "wake" or "switch" or programs that makes it crash. Something in that action triggers it. Also, not everyone is having this issue. I'll keep checking in and report anything I find. 

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Explorer ,
Oct 21, 2020 Oct 21, 2020

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I believe it is linked to the 16in structure.

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Community Beginner ,
Nov 13, 2020 Nov 13, 2020

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Yes having the difficulties with both Illustrator and Photoshop 2021. Both have high rate of crashing down multiple times a day.

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Contributor ,
Nov 19, 2020 Nov 19, 2020

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Yep. I've had some Photoshop crashes as well. I see there is a new update that is supposed to address it. That said, it's been awhile since it crashed.

 

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Community Expert ,
Nov 20, 2020 Nov 20, 2020

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Contact Customer Care. Have them log into your system and check it out. https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html

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New Here ,
Nov 12, 2020 Nov 12, 2020

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Adding my experience to this. I had a mid 2012 macbook that ran Ai pretty decently but decided it was finally time i upgraded to a retina display. I bought a brand new 13" Macbook Pro and Illustrator has been a nightmare for the last year. 5-10 crashes a day with hours of lost or partially recovered work. Im constantly taking screenshots of work for fear that something will crash when I save or while im making adjustments. It's ridiculous that Adobe has not fixed this or even acknowledged it. I discovered that turning off GPU can help but that is a poor solution.

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Contributor ,
Nov 12, 2020 Nov 12, 2020

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so, Version 25 was supposed to fix this issue with the 16" MacBook Pro. It has not. 

 

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Contributor ,
Dec 01, 2020 Dec 01, 2020

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In fact no only is it not fixed but the entire Adobe Creative Cloud Suite is like a NASCAR crash fest on all my computers! Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, all crashing on both my Macs.  So I went from one app crashing on one computer to 3 apps crashing on two computers - that's only a 600% increase.

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Explorer ,
Dec 02, 2020 Dec 02, 2020

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Yes sir!

 

I have updated to Big Sure OS and the latest .ai and still get crashes on the regular.

 

My crashes happen in the background and or while switching from one program to another. There is no one .aii action that I can associate to the crash.

 

BC

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Community Beginner ,
Dec 03, 2020 Dec 03, 2020

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Hi - I'd like to add my two cents because this issue is NOT limited to the MBP as everyone seems to think. I have a graphic designer in my department who is on a brand new 27" iMac, who is having this exact same issue. She tried updating to the latest AI a few weeks ago to no avail, then tried installing older version, also to no avail. Poor girl has AI crash multiple times a day, which means shes only being half as productive as she should be able to be.

Her computer specs are as follows:

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
Processor: 3.8GHz 8-core 10th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz
Memory: 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory
Graphics: Radeon Pro 5500 XT with 8GB of GDDR6 memory
Storage: 2TB SSD storage

I'm going to update her to the latest AI version 25 (which I just updated to a few weeks back), and also grant AI full disk permissions, in hopes that this helps. The odd bit is that we have about ~10 iMacs and 2 MBPs in this department, most of them a bit older but a few that are even newer than hers. She is the ONLY one having issues. We did not set it up via a Time Machine backup, so it shouldn't be related to any of her settings (unless its related to her Adobe settings specifically IF she managed to copy those over from her old iMac)

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Explorer ,
Dec 03, 2020 Dec 03, 2020

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Thank you for sharing, keep us posted. 

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Community Beginner ,
Dec 08, 2020 Dec 08, 2020

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Sadly after a few days of no issues, Illustrator just crashed again about 20min ago. I had installed it without importing previous settings, and gave it full disk access. 2.5 work days issue free. 

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