P: Some AI Mask Overlays do not appear (Win)

[digitaltranc3]

Product: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (Desktop/Cloud-based version)

Version: 8.3

Operating System: Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, OS build 26100.3915

Date: April 30, 2025

Issue Description:

Since updating to Lightroom Desktop version 8.3, I am experiencing an inconsistent issue where mask overlays for certain AI-generated masks fail to display on some images. This makes visually confirming or refining these specific AI selections difficult or impossible when the issue occurs.

Specifically:

• Mask overlays for Select Background and Select People appear to work correctly and consistently display their overlays.
• Mask overlays for Select Subject, Select Sky, Select Objects, and the new Landscape Masking features are intermittently invisible. The overlay simply fails to appear on certain images for these mask types, while potentially working correctly on others.
• When the overlay is invisible for these specific AI masks, the mask itself is generated (adjustments affect the correct area), but the visual feedback (overlay) is missing.
• Overlays for manually created masks (Brush, Linear Gradient, Radial Gradient) consistently display correctly as expected IF a new mask is created with these, but adding a Brush, Linear Gradient, Radial Gradient does not show the color overlay on masks created with the above problematic mask types.
• This inconsistent behavior began immediately following the update to version 8.3. Functionality was normal and consistent in the prior version on this same system.
• This issue is not related to standard overlay visibility settings being incorrect (details below).

System Information:

• CPU: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-12950HX
• RAM: 64.0 GB
• GPU: NVIDIA RTX A3000 12GB Laptop GPU
• GPU Driver Version (Latest Tested): R570 U4 (573.06) (Clean installed & tested: April 29, 2025)
• System Type: 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Troubleshooting Steps Performed (Exhaustive - All Failed to Resolve the Intermittent Issue):

The following steps have been systematically performed. The intermittent invisibility of overlays for Subject, Sky, Object, and Landscape AI masks persists:

1. Standard Overlay Settings Verified Correct:
   • Confirmed "Show Overlay" checkbox in the Masking panel is ON.
   • Cycled through all available Overlay Modes using Shift+O.
   • Confirmed the main Mask Opacity slider is set sufficiently high (e.g., >50%).
   • Explicitly checked the nested Overlay Opacity setting via the ... menu > Color Overlay Settings > Opacity slider; confirmed it is set well above 0%.
   • Toggled overlay visibility off/on using the O key.
2. GPU Configuration & Driver Verification:
   • Toggled the Preferences > Performance > Use Graphics Processor setting through all states (Auto, Off, Custom/On explicitly enabled) followed by Lightroom restarts. The issue occurs regardless of GPU acceleration status.
   • Performed clean installations of NVIDIA GPU drivers. Tested thoroughly with driver version 572.76 and confirmed the issue persists even with the latest production driver R570 U4 (573.06) (released April 28, 2025), also installed cleanly.
3. Lightroom Application Resets:
   • Performed a full Lightroom Preference Reset using the Alt+Shift key combination during launch and confirming the dialog prompt.
   • Manually located and reset the Lightroom AI Model Cache by renaming/deleting relevant folders (e.g., ModelZoo, CR_OCPS, ModelAssets within relevant %APPDATA%\Adobe\CameraRaw, %APPDATA%\Adobe\Lightroom, or %LOCALAPPDATA%\Adobe\Lightroom folders) to force a complete redownload of AI assets.
   • Performed a full uninstall and reinstall of Lightroom Desktop 8.3 via the Creative Cloud application, including associated component cleanup where possible.
4. System Environment Isolation:
   • Created a brand new local Administrator user account on Windows. Logged into the new account, launched Lightroom, synced minimal data, and tested AI masking. The intermittent issue persists in the new user profile.
   • Reviewed running background processes and services; disabled non-essential software temporarily; no obvious conflicts identified.
   • Ensured the Operating System (Windows 11 Pro 24H2) is fully updated with all current patches.
   • Performed multiple system restarts throughout the troubleshooting process.
5. Content Variance Test:
   • Tested the AI masking overlay issue across numerous different image files (various camera RAW formats, JPGs). The problem where overlays fail to show for Subject/Sky/Object/Landscape masks occurs intermittently, seemingly dependent on the specific image, but the exact trigger hasn't been identified. Background/People masks consistently work on the same images where others fail.

Context Regarding Related Issues:

The intermittent nature makes this difficult to reproduce reliably. I have seen a related (though different) report in the Community about AI mask overlays failing 'on hover' in Lightroom Desktop 8.3, potentially indicating broader instability with AI mask visualization in this version.

Impact:

This bug introduces unpredictability and significantly hinders workflow when using Subject, Sky, Object, or Landscape AI masks, as visual confirmation is unreliable. It forces extra steps or requires rolling back to a previous version to guarantee functionality.

Request to Adobe and Community:

1. Is Adobe aware of this specific issue (intermittent invisibility of Subject/Sky/Object/Landscape AI mask overlays) in Lightroom Desktop 8.3? Is it under investigation?
2. Are other users encountering this specific type of intermittent failure with these particular AI masks? If so, have any specific image characteristics or triggers been identified?
3. Are there any known conflicts or alternative workarounds (beyond downgrading) that might address this inconsistency?
   
   

Any insights or official acknowledgement would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

---

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @digitaltranc3,

Thanks for the detailed and well-structured report — it’s clear you’ve done a thorough job troubleshooting this.

That said, while your explanation is excellent, we’re currently missing the supporting materials (like screenshots, screen recordings, or sample files) that we need in order to escalate this to the product team effectively. Since the issue is intermittent, we completely understand that capturing it may take a little time.

To help us investigate further, please do the following:

• System Info: Go to Lightroom > Help > System Info, save the details in a .txt file, and upload it here.

• Sample Image: Share one or more image files where this issue occurred (any image that reproduces the behavior).

• Screen Recording: If possible, record your screen when the issue happens — even a short clip will help us a lot.

Once we have those, we’ll check with our dev and product teams to see if this behavior is known or currently being addressed.

Thanks again for your patience and cooperation!

Best,

Anshul Saini

[digitaltranc3]

Please find the requested items attached. Thank you.

I am getting an error attempting to attach the DNG here (even when exported from Lightroom: "The attachment's pxl_20250310_234913877.raw-02.original.dng content type (image/DNG) does not match its file extension and has been removed." So I am sharing it via Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bWkCumaSJ7sTMoSl2CYR4G64AysQhcUi/view?usp=sharing 

[Generous_view0D45]

Make a linear gradient then resize it by a good amount. While you're doing so, you'll notice the whole gradient subtly starts to rotate. I don't think this happened before the recent LR update, but I could be wrong.

Running on Windows 11.

Editing to add info: This happens with all images when lens corrections are enabled with a profile selected, assuming the profile has distortion correction. If you want to really magnify the effects of this bug, select a profile for a super distorted lens (such as a fisheye). The rotation should be pretty damn obvious then, unless you're trying your absolute hardest to not see it. 

Even better, with a fisheye profile selected, simply moving the linear gradient without even resizing it will result in it resizing itself, and rotating it will result in it not rotating about its center point, but rather around some other point altogether.

[Sameer K]

Hey, @Generous_view0D45. Welcome to the Lightroom Community. I'll move the post to Lightroom Ecosystem discussions for now.

I've tried to recreate this and couldn't get it to behave as reported. Also, please test and confirm if the issue appears with a specific file. Please share a video & screenshots of the workflow and the system info from Lightroom Help > System info > Copy and paste into a text document > Upload and attach here.

Thanks!

Sameer K

(Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

[Generous_view0D45]

Respectfully, I would not be here if this was a one-off issue with a single file. 

To be clear, when I say slowly, I mean slowly. Unless you're looking closely, you're not going to notice unless you resize the gradient by most of the length of the photo.

[Thomithy Trash]

I'm using Windows 11, Lightroom Cloud Based V8.3.

I've only been using lightroom for about 6 months, and every time theres an update I think "hey maybe this will finally be fixed" but it ends up just being another AI data scraping thing no-one wants instead of a patch that makes the product we're paying for fit for purpose.

Steps to recreate the issue.

1. Open lightroom.

2. Choose a photo, any photo, or import a new one to try it on.

3. Create a new mask, doesn't matter which kind.

4. Make a change to the mask. Whether it's widening a radial gradient, adjusting the angle of a radial gradient, using the brush to remove half of the background from your mask because the useless AI can't differentiate between a blue sky and a red bird, small changes, big changes, doesn't matter. Just continue working for somewhere from 2-30 seconds

5. Now, the coloured overlay will either:

a. disappear for no reason, or

b. remain visible even when you toggle it on and off with the "show overlay" toggle, but at some point will disappear, never to return

6. New masks appear without an overlay, and cannot be toggled on.

6 months ago this only happened occasionally, and I was able to fix the issue by just relaunching lightroom. When that stopped working I found a "reset the preferences" method that worked for 2 days until another update came through. Then I found the only way to fix it was to delete the photo from my lightroom library, restart my computer and import it again, of course this means starting the edit from scratch. Now, not even a fresh install does anything.

With this latest update, I can't mask at all because I have at most 30 seconds to create a mask with any degree of accuracy. I've googled every variation of this issue I can think of and tried every fix suggested to anyone who ever had a remotely similar issue, and while I'm happy to try anything suggested that I haven't already, I'd be more receptive to suggestions for alternatives to lightroom that work consistently.

[rue_5457]

I am having this exact same issue. Would love to know what the fix is when there is one!

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

We've thus far been unable to reproduce this failure internally. We do have a bug open to investigate, but it would help us greatly identify the culprit if someone who is afflicted could provide precise, reproducible instructions that our engineers could use to diagnose the problem. 
Our engineers have identified the issue and are working on the fix for an upcoming release. 

Thank you for your patience. 

[defaultevmwk7alewi7]

After I create a mask in lightroom and i click out of the mask and i then try to go back into it. it will not show my mask again. it would only show the icon and not the red outline of what i masked. 

[Generous_view0D45]

@Sameer K upon using my own unpaid time to do further testing on Adobe's behalf, I've narrowed down the issue to Lens Corrections. It would appear that linear gradients only slowly rotate on resizing if Lens Corrections are enabled.

[Sameer K]

Hey, @Generous_view0D45. I've just tried to recreate this on the latest version of Lightroom with a few RAW files, but Lightroom worked as expected. Could you share the specific Camera & file you're working on, along with the system info? 

Thanks!

Sameer K

[jeff01AB]

I'm having the exact same issue. It started about 3 days ago. I'm using Cloud Based Lr V8.3.1. I previously would right click on an image and click the "Overlays" option at the bottom of the pop-up menu. Now that option has been replaced with "Enhancements"... which I don't need.

I know it's not a brand new computer, but I haven't had any Lr issues until a few days ago when this started.

Here are the specs for the computer I'm using.

Windows 10 Home
Version 2009
Installed on ‎9/‎18/‎2021
OS Build 19045.5737

Device Name LEGION
Processor 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz 2.30 GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB (15.8 GB usable)
Storage 477 GB SSD SKHynix_HFS512GDE9X084N
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU (4 GB), Intel(R) UHD Graphics (128 MB)
System Type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

[simonw7491262]

Lightroom v8.3.1, PC, Windows 11

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Open a photograph in Lightroom,

2. Choose masking and create a mask, noting the default red overlay

3. After making your selection, zoom (say to add or remove finer detail from the mask),

4. Return to the mask.

Results:

The red overlay is no longer present. It is no longer possible to see what you have added or removed from the overlay. The overlay is shown as "on" in the sidebar. Toggling it off and on does nothing. Rebooting Lightroom or PC and Lightroom does nothing. The mask is useless. A new mask will have the overlay only until you leave it and then come back to it, then this issue occurs again. Making using the app very difficult.

[Jason Pursell]

Also experience the same issue.

Screen Recording 2025-05-09 193232.mp4

[Jason Pursell]

Forgot to add specs:

Edition Windows 11 Home
Version 24H2
Installed on ‎10/‎18/‎2024
OS build 26100.3915

Device: Dell XPS 15 7590
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-9980HK CPU @ 2.40GHz 2.40 GHz
Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.7 GB usable)
Internal Graphics: Intel UHD 630 (Shared memory)
Dedicated Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 (4GB dedicated memory)

[Generous_view0D45]

@Sameer K I'm using an a7R V with a Sony/Zeiss 24-70 f/4 and I'm on Windows 11.

[Generous_view0D45]

@Sameer K Disregard my previous comment. I've just confirmed that the issue occurs with just about every lens profile I've tried regardless of what lens I was using on my camera (including photos taken with no lens at all).

[KerinGui]

Bonjour , 

Je rencontre un problème depuis plusieurs jours avec l'affichage d'incrustation de masque dans LR sous Windows (non LRc) , j'ai beau activé l'affichage via le curseur ou appuyer sur la lettre O , rien ne se passe , l'incrustation du masque ne s'affiche pas sur l'image (me concernant ça devrait s'afficher en rouge) .

J'ai fait la mise à jour du logiciel avec la dernière version très récemment (Version Lightroom : 8.3.1 x64 (May 5 2025) , ma carte graphique est également à jour et j'ai vidé le dossier cache du logiciel .

Je précise aussi que le paramètre d'opacité d'incrustation est sur 50% (pas défaut) et j'ai tenté plusieurs fois de fermer/réouvir le logiciel et même de redematter le pc.

Auriez-vous une idée ou une piste pour résoudre ce pb ? car difficile de travailler correctement sur un masque donné quand on n'arrive pas à le situer avec précision . Merci .

[Andy Baines]

Hi there, 

Apologies if this question is answered somewhere else - I had a look but couldn't find it. 

I created a colour range mask, and have since been adding to the mask, including subtracting the sky, using the select object tool, and adding some brushes. For at least the third time today (this has never happened before), the mask overlay has suddenly stopped showing despite the overlay tab being toggled to 'on'. 

I did not change the overlay settings, and have double-checked and the opacity is around 80%. This isn't to do with the brush tool opacity, either (I know similar problems are related to low flow and density, but I'm pretty sure this isn't relevant in this case). 

I tried toggling the overlay on and off, I tried restarting LR, and I tried disabling GPU acceleration and restarting. With the latter, I tried two methods: I turned acceleration back on as soon as I reopened LR, but this didn't work; and I also tried checking the overlay with the acceleration still turned off. It did appear to momentarily flicker on, but is now off (again, the overlay toggle is set to 'on). 

I'm out of ideas. I do admittedly not have the best laptop, but this problem has never happened before. Any guidance greatly appreciated. 

Lightroom version: 8.3.1 WAS x64 [ 20250505-2344-4fb7147 ] (May 5 2025)
NGL Version: 1.41.0.11
WF Version: 7.3 5f6f02e
VF Version: 1.0.154
HIL Version: 40501
CAI Version: c2pa-c/0.6.0 c2pa-rs/0.46.0
PH Version: 5.2

Operating system: Windows 11
OS Version: Windows 11 Home (2009)
Application architecture: x64
System architecture: x64
Computer model: HP HP Spectre x360 Convertible 13-aw0xxx / Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G4 CPU @ 1.10GHz
Logical processor count: 8
Processor speed: 1.4 GHz
Real memory available to Lightroom: 7868.6 MB
Real memory used by Lightroom: 1529.1 MB (19.4%)
Virtual memory used by Lightroom: 2273.9 MB
Memory cache size: 1643.5 MB

Internal Camera Raw version: 17.3.1 [ 2227 ]
Maximum thread count used by Camera Raw: 5
Camera Raw SIMD optimization: SSE2,AVX,AVX2
Camera Raw virtual memory: 687MB / 1886MB (36%)
Camera Raw real memory: 690MB / 7868MB (8%)

Display: 1920x1080
System DPI setting: 120 DPI
Graphics Processor Info: DirectX: Intel(R) Iris(R) Plus Graphics (27.20.100.9268)
Graphics Processor Detail: loaded: Yes, supported: Yes, compute: Yes, init: I3_GPU4, hard: success, soft: success, al: No, dl: No
OS Media Capability: true

Thanks,

Andy

[Andy Baines]

I am also having a similar issue to digitaltranc3. I just posted my own post on this issue a few minutes ago, as I hadn't seen this thread. One thing to add: in my case, it happens randomly/unexpectedly. I can be working on a mask for several minutes and then suddenly the overlay just disappears. It's hard to do a screen recording of this happening because it doesn't happen at a predictable moment - at least not in my case

[fsafdssaf]

Same issue, Mac OS, Current OS, Current LR 8.3.1 - masking overlays 90% of the time never show up, extremely infuriating.

[Andy Baines]

Hello there.

Just wanted to add an additional bit of info on this issue, in case it's of use. I believe that the sky mask is the most frequently affected - at least in my case. I can't recall overlays for brush masks and radial/linear gradients ever disappearing, and indeed they still show even after the sky mask overlay has disappeared. A colour range mask overlay once disappeared, but this happened just once, whereas the sky mask overlay now disappears every single time at one point or another. There doesn't appear to be any particular action that triggers the disappearance.

Not sure if that's any use, but thought I'd share just in case. 

Thanks,

Andy 

[Generous_view0D45]

@Sameer K see edits to the original post. 

[Blade283694466fq1]

Hey Adobe, I've experienced this in several ways. With sky masks and object masks. The mask doesn't disappear immediately, it's when you go to edit with a brush or anything else. Here is how you reproduce it. Apply the sky mask, leave to the edit workspace and zoom in to desired amount (because you can't zoom in when masking and that is very dumb), go back to mask, create add or subtract brush, and somewhere around this point or once you start applying the brush, the mask overlay will disappear. 

If I had to guess, it has to do with the zoom. I was editing a sky mask earlier not zoomed in and the overlay stayed. The fact you cannot zoom in when masking might be why your dev team missed this if it is indeed caused by zooming in. Hope this gets fixed soon, it is a horrible bug. 

[simonw7491262]

I tend to use radial and linear gradients and this issue occurs with them, unlike Andy Baines experience. All masks are affected for, create the mask and then leave it or zoom in, the mask is no longer visible. 

The issue has been going on close to a month with no fix, are there are logs we can provide? Where would they be found if there are?