LR classic 14.4 extremly slow since last update

[Jan30114387580s]

Dear Adobe Team,

despite having followed some recent tipps (like deleting preferences in the library, deleting cache, changing the performance settings, deactivating modules etc.) my Lightroom Classic V14.4 is working very very slowly in the developer module: going to the next image is lacking performance and is delayed, copying the image settings to the clipboard is delayed 2-3 seconds...

All this happened directly after updating from the previous version befor 14.4.

My hardware was not changed in between, catalog was/is the same etc.

Working on a Mac Studio M1 with 64GB Ram OS Sequioa 15.5, just one display.

LR classic 14.4

It would be super nice if there would be a more helpful tipp or update to get back to the previous performance.

Best regards 

Jan

[nikunj.m]

Hi, thanks for reaching out, and we're sorry about the trouble!

You mentioned you've tried changing the performance settings. Did you try the steps from this article: https://adobe.ly/4f7GYmz

If not, try them and check if it makes a difference. 

If you continue to experience the same behavior, try creating a new catalog and importing a few images to test. 

Let us know how it goes! 
Thanks,
Nikunj

[Ian Lyons]

Please, provide your System Info. You can obtain this from the LrC Help > System Info menu item. Use the Copy button at top right corner of System Info dialog to capture the info, then paste into your reply to this thread.

[johnrellis]

Are you applying Denoise to batches of photos, or have you enabled Catalog Settings > Metadata > Automatically Write Changes Into XMP?

[Jan30114387580s]

Hi,

thank you all for your tipps; it seems to work better now turning OFF the "Automatically Write Changes Into XMP"; but turning this on, makes it slowly again.

I am writing all datas on an external and fast thunderbold-SSD, but I will check this SSD if there are some other problems.

Writing XMPs was never a speed problem until updating LR to 14.4.

Concerning my work it is obviously no option to me to leave XMP writing turned off, because it is a fall back and when archiving my photos I need to have the current/latest XMPs side by side with the image files.

Saving XMPs by hand is too error-prone imho.

I will try to keep you up to date if performance is coming back to normal...

Best regards

Jan

Here are my system-infos:

Lightroom Classic-Version: 14.4 [ 202506051112-5918896a ]
Lizenz: Creative Cloud
Spracheinstellung: de-DE
BetriebssyAnzahl Threads, die Camera Raw verwendet: 5
Camera Raw SIMD-Optimierung: SSE2
Virtueller Speicher in Camera Raw: 1001MB / 32767MB (3%)
Physischer Speicher in Camera Raw: 1019MB / 65536MB (1%)

Cache1:
Final1- RAM:324,0MB, VRAM:1.063,0MB, JPF_250528_1096_b.PSD
NT- RAM:324,0MB, VRAM:1.063,0MB, Combined:1.387,0MB

Cache2:
m:5.780,6MB, n:183,7MB

U-main: 504,0MB

Standardvorschaugröße: 1680 Pixel
Monitore/Anzeigegeräte: 1) 2560x1440

Informationen zum Grafikprozessor:
Metal: Apple M1 Ultra
Anfangsstatus: GPU zum Exportieren wird standardmäßig unterstützt
Benutzerpräferenz: Automatisch
HDR in Bibliothek aktivieren: AUS

Anwendungsordner: /Applications/Adobe Lightroom Classic
Bibliothekspfad: /Volumes/BuzzLightyear/Lightroom/LR6_Alle/LR6_Alle.lrcat
Einstellungen-Ordner: /Users/jan/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom

Installierte Zu

stem: Mac OS 15
Version: 15.5.0 [24F74]
Anwendungsarchitektur: arm64
Anzahl logischer Prozessoren: 20
Prozessorgeschwindigkeit: NA
SQLite-Version: 3.36.0
Integrierter Speicher: 65.536,0 MB
Dedizierter GPU-Speicher, der von Lightroom verwendet wird: 3.560,4MB / 49.152,0MB (7%)
Für Lightroom verfügbarer phys. Speicher: 65.536,0 MB
Von Lightroom verwendeter phys. Speicher: 10.648,6 MB (16,2%)
Von Lightroom verwendeter virtueller Speicher: 440.098,1 MB
Cache-Speichergröße: 5.780,6MB
Interne Camera Raw-Version: 17.4 [ 2272 ]
Maximale satzmodule:
1) AdobeStock
2) Aperture/iPhoto-Import-Zusatzmodul
3) ColorChecker Camera Calibration
4) Flickr

Config.lua-Flags:

[johnrellis]

[This post contains formatting and embedded images that don't appear in email. View the post in your Web browser.]

"it seems to work better now turning OFF the "Automatically Write Changes Into XMP"; but turning this on, makes it slowly again"

Are you also applying Denoise to more than a few photos? 

"Saving XMPs by hand is too error-prone imho."

To work around this in LR 14.4, periodically I do these steps:

1. In the Library Filter bar's Metadata browser, select the Metadata Status column and then Ctrl/Cmd click all the statuses except Up To Date:

2. Select all the displayed photos and do Metadata > Save Metadata To File.

Though the LR catalog is pretty robust, there are too many reports of catalog corruption on these threads for me to rely entirely on my catalog backups (Mac Time Machine + Backblaze to the cloud).

[Jan30114387580s]

I do the denoise always just shortly before I export my files; filtering via Metadata -> ISO and apply the denoise depending on the fifferent ISO;

during editing the denoise is not used/applied.

I had - in the early days of lightroom - performance issues with applying the denois early in my editing; so I get used to do it always as the last step before exporting.

The "by hand" saving of metadatas and editngs is not really an option to me; I would like to rely on the former automatic savings so I do not forget it before archiving the pictures.

[Jan30114387580s]

I did some checks concerning speed of my SSD:

SSD with the pictures (and XMPs) on it: constantly 1400 MB/sec (read and write)

SSD with Raw cache an LR catalogue on it: 300-350 MB/sec (read and write)

I also did some health care procedures with theses drives: no problems found.

So if my performance issue is coming von writing the xmp files it seems not to be a hardware issue;

I suggest  update to 14.4 causes some xmp writing mechanism changes?

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi Jan, thank you for sharing the detailed follow-up and the SSD speed results.

From the numbers you shared, your external SSD is fast but still slower than the internal SSD in your M1 Ultra Mac (Apple’s internal SSDs usually deliver much higher speeds). Lightroom’s XMP auto-write process can involve a lot of small, frequent writes, and these operations are generally much faster on the internal SSD due to lower latency and better optimization.

As a next step, could you please test this by:

- Test by copying/duplicating your catalog and a small set of images to the internal SSD and enabling “Automatically Write Changes Into XMP.”

- Then check if the performance improves in the Develop module and when switching between images.

This will help confirm if the slowdown is related to the external drive’s write behavior rather than a Lightroom 14.4 change.

If the issue persists even on the internal SSD, we’ll escalate this to the product team for deeper investigation.

Please let us know the results. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us pinpoint what’s happening.

Best,

Anshul Saini

[Claus5E1D · Accepted solution]

Hello Adobe,

I am a photographer and not a hardware engineer or computer specialist, and I use and pay for Lightroom because it is the best product for me. When it works!

I have rolled back update 14.4 because I simply could not work with it. I am having performance issues, which I can see in various posts that many other users are having.

I think that with the many detailed feedback Adobe has received from users, it should be possible to recreate the problems and find a cause. And then to give customers feedback on a time horizon for a solution. I do not have the time or inclination to go through endless lists of possible solutions, which often seem like guesswork. It also seems hopeless to try to solve a problem when you do not know what it is. And as I see it, Adobe does not know what the problem is.

I need solutions and an expected time for a solution.

If the current problem is a mystery to Adobe, as it seems, I would also like to know.

Best regards
Claus Bach

[Jan30114387580s]

Hello Claus,

although your solution is so close, I stupidly didn't consider it until your post. Thanks. I did not know how to downgrade since all the cloud installation junk came to daylight. But after a quick research it seems to be very easy. Thanks again for that eye-opening post. I give LR 14.3.1 a try and hope for better / good-old performance.

[Claus5E1D]

It was very simple to do, and I have had no problems since 🙂

[Gabor Lenart]

The problem is that I like the new functions, like the AI denoise directly on the raw and things like that. So I don't want to go back to previous versions. Adobe should figure out the problem why the Library module is so extremely slow on 5K display. The develop module is all right if I use smart preview mode turned on in the performance tab in settings. But if I turn off the smart preview mode, the develop module is kind of slow, going from one image to another.

[Beth301242496ipw]

Having a similar problem.  Already using my Mac's internal SSD and with the update to 14.4 my LR Develop is painfully slow.  NOTHING has changed in my settings; only change to LR is the most recent update.

[johnrellis]

@Beth301242496ipw, "with the update to 14.4 my LR Develop is painfully slow."

Are you perchance applying Denoise to larger numbers of photos?

[Beth301242496ipw]

No, I am not.  It's slow to Import, painfully slow to use Develop Module, and export is crazy slow as well.  I'm wondering when Adobe is going to address the issue created during their latest update.  I've read several different threads and see that Adobe is asking the user questions about their usage of LR, but I don't see where Adobe is looking at what changes were made in 14.4 to cause so many users problems since the 14.4 update.  

[dj_paige]

@Beth301242496ipw 

Please be specific, what in the Develop Module is painfully slow?

[Jan30114387580s]

Since today macOS updated to 15.6 I need to wait what will happen the next LR editing I need to do.

Maybe this changes something??

Yesterday I did change the thunderbolt port my external SSD is plugged into -  to figure out whether the daisy chain could have be part of the problem.

Speed test is the same as in the daisy chain, but it is worth trying this other TB port.

Yesterday I tested a brand new catalog on the Mac internal SSD including writing XMPs simultaniously; it seemed to be not as bad as on the external drive but not as it used to be; and this catalogue is not filled close to the number of pictures I have archived in my main working catalogue (nearly 900.000 pictures).

Please stay tuned I will report if and what happens the next working days.

[Jan30114387580s]

Some feedback from the last days: the issues does not be better with MacOS 15.6 (instead of 15.5), so my performance loss seems not be a part of the macOS ?!

I also notice performance issues on my mobile Mac; it runs with the current version of Lightroom and also shows some performance issues as decribed.

I can not provoke the performance issue with a special move, but it appears on and on.

What I also noticed that a performace problem appears editing Fuji GFX100S and Fuji GFX50S II raw files; I am not used to editing such files but last week I had to and I found out that working with those raw files is really a pain in the a.., I needed to wait nearly 3-4sec to work with those files or copying and pasting developing values...

I do not know wheather this is "normally" the case withe Fuji raws but working performance is not up to date.

I stay on track and keep informing everybody....

[Gabor Lenart]

I feel the same, especially when moving from one photo to another in Library. It is sooo slow.

I build 1:1 previews, I use internal SSD, everything is exactly how it should be and it's so slow. 

I use 5K Studio Display and it is only fast if I lower the resolution which is painful. I never had to deal with this before.

[dj_paige]

I feel the same, especially when moving from one photo to another in Library. It is sooo slow.

I build 1:1 previews, I use internal SSD, everything is exactly how it should be and it's so slow. 

I use 5K Studio Display and it is only fast if I lower the resolution which is painful. I never had to deal with this before.

By @Gabor Lenart

When you reduce the resolution and LrC seems to speed up, this is a classic symptom that your hardware is stuggling with the 5K monitor. What is the make and model of your GPU and CPU? 

[Gabor Lenart]

Yes, exactly, I feel like not a lot of people complaining about this because they are using Lightroom with only MacBook screens or lower res displays. On the Apple Studio Display 5K it is painfully slow to cull images because you have to wait for every image to come along. If you press the keys too fast, Lightroom just skipping the images and you nevery even see the image. It is extremely annoying, so much so that I actually started to explore other ways to cull, like FastRawViewer which is ridiculous becuase I love Lightroom and I don't really want to jump all over apps just to cull my images, especially when Lightroom has better functions for culling. It is just so slow. It was so fast in the past, but current versions are very slow 😞

[Jan30114387580s]

One current update: nothing changed really, it is a p..n in the a.., yesterday I had to work really fast and Lightroom slowed me and performance annoyingly down, like hell. I do not understand why and what happend in last months, but my setup has not been changed for years. Going from one file to another: slow, takes 3-4 seconds, copying exposure values to the clipboard: slow, takes seconds until the contextmenu appears, a.s.o.. Maybe I have to give Capture One a chance, but I am so used to all the short cuts of LR. It's simply very annoying.

[Jan30114387580s · Accepted solution]

Some news.

Following the post from Claus5E1D - rolling back to a former LR version - I gave it a try and _ oh WONDER _ old performance is back now! 

I rolled back to LR 14.3.1 and all the slow downs and issues have been gone, performance is good, no waiting for a preview, no time consuming lack while switching to the next picture, no waiting for the context menu to show up.

I tried different methods to bring back performace, but only rolling back worked for me.

So with that in mind I would say that the performance problem came with the LR update to 14.4.

Please Adobe, it would be nice if all the performance issues will be erased with the next big update. But having my work in focus, I stay as long as possible with LR 14.3.1...

[Jan30114387580s]

Oh dear, Adobe,

since I update (yes I tried once again) to verison 14.5.1 I had to discover that this version makes the same problems as my attempt to use ver. 14.4.1..

I mentioned this with this notice her (https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/lr-classic-14-4-extremly-slow-since-las...).

I found out that usind the "writing XMP to disc" makes it slowly. But, brothers and sister, this DID NOT HAPPEND to version 14.3.1 on the same MAC Ultra and all the same hardware and SSD.

No hardware was changed, once again.

There must be a difference with writing the XMP sidecar files that has been changed between these versions??!!

I try to avoid of writing XMPs by hand after all my changes; it is not very usefull always have to think whether I had saved these changes by hand. This is - from my point of view - a consistency / safety risk.

The SSD I use ist lightning fast, as I said, I hadn´t any performance issues with all the last xx previous versions except since 14.4....

I am going crazy with this and it makes me angry. Have I do to stick forever with vers. 14.3.1 ?

Please, please, ADOBE team, fix this; I am working with Lightroom since version 1.0, paying all the updates and the subscription models; but with this performance problems I need to quit and change to Capture One or something different that does not slow down my working process.

Best regards from Stuttgart

Jan

Hardware:

Mac Studio Ultra

external SSD with thunderbolt

macos Sequoia

coming from LRc version 14.3.1

just one display attached