Cannot work offline with Lightroom Classic

[kellym88031232]

Apologies if this is a duplicate post.  I posted this message about 40 minutes ago and when I refreshed the page my post disappeared.  Here is a copy of my original post:

I will be travelling on a plane without internet access, and I will be in locations without wifi.  I have read numerous articles that say I should be able to use Lightroom Classic offline, but I cannot get this to work.  Anytime I try to access Creative Cloud without an Internet connection, I get a message that says, "No internet connection.  You can still access Your work and some other features offline.  For the full experience of this app, please connect to the internet."

I have tried signing out of of Creative Cloud and signing back in again; this did not make any difference.

As background information, I have a MacBook Pro 2018 (Mac OS Mojave) and an iPad Pro 11-inch.  I will be travelling in March and want to take my MacBook with me so I can copy my photographs from SD cards to my laptop and import them into Lightroom Classic so I can apply keywords and make minor edits while I am on my 10-hour flight.  I have Creative Cloud installed on my MacBook.  Also, I have an organizational subscription through my company for all Creative Cloud apps.

Should it be possible for me to open Lightroom without an Internet connection?  Does it matter that I am using an organizational login versus a personal one? Any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this issue?

Thanks.

[GoldingD]

Ok, first off, sign in thru the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop App when you have Internet access.

Second off, DO NOT SIGN OFF.

The very second you sign off via the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop App, the Programs like Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, Photoshop, get deactivated on that computer.

 So do not sign  off.

When you use the computer in a location with no internet, as long as you did not or do not sign off, you should be good to run Lightroom Classic, etc.

Even though you have no internet, the apps will work. UNLESS you are just outside contract limits for authenticating your license (what, every 90 days or so on yearly subscription)

[kellym88031232]

Thanks for the prompt reply.  I just tried this again... I disconnected from wifi, opened Creative Cloud, and I received the same message:

"No internet connection.  You can still access Your work and some other features offline.  For the full experience of this app, please connect to the internet."

I use Lightroom Classic approximately 5 times a week on this computer, so there should be no issue with regard to contract limits.  

I am not sure what to try next.

[GoldingD]

"No internet connection.  You can still access Your work and some other features offline.  For the full experience of this app, please connect to the internet."
 

Ahh, are you sure we are talking about Lightroom Classic, and not Lightroom?

In whatever flavor of Lightroom you are running, that got that message, verify your version. In Lightroom click on Help, click on System Information, click on Copy. Paste first 10 or so lines in a reply.

[kellym88031232]

Yes, I am using Lightroom Classic (not the cloud version).  (I click on Lightroom Classic in the Creative Cloud apps launcher.)

As requested, here is the info from System Information.

Lightroom Classic version: 9.1 [ 201911291132-64cf80b4 ]
License: Creative Cloud
Language setting: en-CA
Operating system: Mac OS 10
Version: 10.14.6 [18G103]
Application architecture: x64
Logical processor count: 8
Processor speed: 2.7 GHz
Built-in memory: 16,384.0 MB
Real memory available to Lightroom: 16,384.0 MB

[Christa28935077kviy]

I have the same experience. I frequently do scuba dive trips to remote locations where I do not have internet access available. Lightroom Classic no longer working offline prevents me using it, precisely when I need it to work so that I can check the quality of my underwater photos and see what I may need to capture in my next dive.  I will be searching for a replacement tool for the Adobe Suite if this continues to be how it works. 

[Christa28935077kviy]

Wi-fi On

Wi-fi Off

[GoldingD]

Odd, mine does not act that way. 

Other memebers?????

[GoldingD]

Oh, wait a sec. Are we talking the same thing

In your test

With Internet, in the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop App, make sure you are signend in. In fact sign out, then sign in, watch for any error message.

Then Launch Lightroom Classic. Test.

Close Lightroom Classic. DO NOT sign out via Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop APP.

Disconnect from the internet

Check in the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop App that it still has you listed as being signed in (do not sign out)

Launch Lightroom Classic, how soes it behaves.

From you last remark I was wondering if your issues were with using the Adobe cloud, not with Lightroom. Scratching head.

OHHH, just a wild what if, do not, do not log in or log out via Lightroom Classic. Not the way to go now days.

[DdeGannes · Accepted solution]

You cannot access the Adobe Creative Cloud app while you are not connected to the internet, so you will not be able to sign in to your account, however if you did not sign off you should still be able to boot Lightroom Classic, go to your applications folder on your hdd and double click on the Lightroom Classic badge. That should work if you did not sign out from from the Lightroom menu.

[kellym88031232]

Oh, my... this has definitely been one of those "keyboard/operator" errors!  I see now that - of course - I was not able to launch Lightroom (or any of the CC apps) from the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop launcher when I was offline... because I was offline.  🙂   After I disconnected my wifi, I was able to open Lightroom Classic via Launchpad.

Thank you both, Dennis and David, for your prompt replies and for answering my question.  I was starting to think I might need to find a Lightroom alternative.  🙂

[stuartw51981125]

Realistically the only way around this problem is to completely ditch Adobe and their subscriotion model.

I've been using lightroom for years - joined subscription model. At first it was fine but now I just find that I am being asked to verify my account over and over again. I have twice been caught in a situation with no internet, away from home and Lightroom wouldn't launch because it coulkdn't verify me. Yes...this was my fault. I have the programme running on a number of machines and often have to sign out of one. In an ideal world I would have checked that the programme was ready to run on my laptop before leaving home. As it happens....I forgot.

Fortunately I also had DxO photolab on my laptop. I bought this but seldom used it until being shut out of lightroom forced me to start.  It's possibly not as as good as lightroom and there's no fuss about subscriptions. I now use lightroom for cataloging and importing but DxO has become my goto photo editor software. I am therefore paying quite a lot for sofware to import and cataloge photos. Thanks to Adobe actually looked at the cataloging features on DxO....thyey're not too bad. 

There are several othe Adobe rivals out there.....

[Christa28935077kviy]

This is a common enough scenario that the user should not have to check before leaving home. I use it at home, I expect it to work when I travel, with or without internet access. I pay $54.99/month for a tool I mainly want to use while traveling. I only ever use it on two machines, so it is not a matter of being logged in elsewhere in my case. This is prioritizing business needs over the user experience. It used to work perfectly well - I had been using it for years.

[Michael J. Hoffman]

It seems from your screen shots in the message below that you are trying to use the Adobe CC Desktop app to launch Lightroom Classic. This only works if you're connected. Instead, you need to launch Lightroom Classic directly. Just find the application and double click it to launch. For easier use in the future, pin the application to your dock.