Adobe Photoshop Elements 22 doesn't work correctly with Mac OS Monterey (new OS released 2 days ago)

[Jean5E45]

Hi

Adobe Photoshop Elements 22 doesn't work correctly with Mac OS Monterey (new OS released 2 days ago).

Other members in the same case ?

Thank you for your answers. Jean.

[Edgar5FA8]

Most users have found that once PE stops working, force quit. Simply restart the computer and PE should work again. Hiwever, it will only work once. A computer restart is required every time you want to use it again. It should work fine after the computer restart.

[Glenn 8675309]

"A computer restart is required every time you want to use it again." That's not "working" and the end user should not have to do that.

[MASewall]

It's worse if you are using an M1 based Mac. PSE 2022 sows the seeds of an OS crash that will happen with an hour or two, at a more or less random interval. Apparently, it corrupts Rosetta 2.

[DaJo1307]

What are you doing Adobe to solve this problem? This problem has been known since the end of October now. Adobe PSE 2021 on a Mac with an Intel processor is also not performing correctly.

[DaJo1307]

Adobe PSE 2021 on a Mac with Monterey and Intel processor.

[mrubell]

They...Don't...Care!

My only work-around that works on my macbook is to reboot in safe mode.

[Peter21944027dwb7]

Same problem here, Organizer will open, but it never stays where I left it, always jumps back to the top of any page of numerous files! Very frustrating!! And yes Elements won't open ( most of the time! ) Monterey and Elements 22

[bythecshore]

I have a new Macbook Pro with M1 chip and PSE 2022 works great (although no faster than on my 2017 Macbook Air).

I don't know why it's working for me and not for others. Maybe because of the configuration I have? Which is a 1TB flash drive and 32 GB RAM. 

Still, I am looking for a new, rewritten version that takes advantage of the M1 archetecture - it should really scream. 

[Cathy Tilby]

Why doesn't ADOBE get a Mac with the Monterey update and see what is wrong for themselves.  

This is ridiculous.  My work has come to a grinding halt because I cannot use my Photoshop.  We should have been notified before we did the upgrade on our computers.

[mrubell]

Agreed! Lawsuit time for all the lost business!!

[Jim221923900wah]

Jean & Greg,

I found the same thing. I just updated my OS and now I can't open the editor. I can open the organizer.

Jim

[Greg_S.]

For those who may not have seen it, an Adobe employee has posted a possible workaround that may work for you. 

And while I can understand all of your frustration with Adobe about this issue, I am making the following comments to put a little context in what some of you are saying.

• First and foremost, I can tell you that Adobe is keenly aware of the problem and is working towards fixing it as quickly as possible.  So you can say that Adobe doesn't care about its customers as much as you want, but that explanation doesn't make a whole lot of sense in the middle of the biggest software selling season of the year.  Nor does it explain how Adobe got to be one of the most successful companies in the world.
• I know nothing about computer programming.  But it seems to me that it takes two to Tango.  (See the post linked above.) The whole purpose of an OS is to provide a platform for other programs to run.  So why then did Apple put out a new OS after Elements 2022 was released and failed to enable the OS to work with a very successful consumer-level program? 
• And why did Apple put out an OS that broke earlier versions of Elements?  Since I am not a Mac user, I'm not going to bother researching whether Apple gave Mac users any warning that Monterey would not work with Elements (or any other programs).   Or did Apple not care about its customers?
• If in fact Mac users were warned that Monterey was not compatible with programs that had already been released, why are you all complaining?  And if Apple didn't warn you about problems with already released programs, why are you complaining about Adobe?
• And on a similar subject, the System requirements published by Adobe for Elements say it will run only on macOS 10.15 or macOS 11 and therefore not on macOS 12 (Monterey).  I realize that most users don't read these specs, but if you are one of those users, Adobe has a 30-day no-questions-asked refund policy.
• I think I have read every complaint about Monterey posted on this Elements forum.  From what I have seen the only consistent issue has been the fact that the computer has to be rebooted in order to launch the program more than once in a session.  I have seen very few, if any, complaints that the features of the program don't work once the program has been successfully launched.  (There may be one or two posts relating to Save or Save As commands, but that would likely be an OS issue.)  So, I  ask myself why Mac users don't simply keep the program open.  I assume the window can be minimized and that those of you with the latest and greatest Mac machines can keep the program running without any effect whatsoever on your other computer work.  I'm not trying to downplay the obvious annoyance that this problem is presenting to you all, but it sure seems that it is being blown way out of proportion.
• If anyone is having problems that are unrelated to launching the program, by all means post about them in a new discussion thread.

[Hoot Gibson]

While I agree with much of what you said, I do have a problem that seems to be unique. I can't install Photoshop Elements 2022 on my (new) 2019 iMac. Due to iMac failures, it took almost a year to get my iMac working successfully. Once we did, I upgraded to the latest OS which is Monteray. Then I got a notice that the Elements 2022 package was on sale, so I bought Premier E and Photoshop E. My bad for not checking to see if the newest Adobe release would work witht he newest Apple release. This is the first time in 21 years of Mac use that I've had that problem.

As far as I can tell, Premier Elements works, and Premier Elements Organizer works. I've never used either before, but they seem to work, as fr as I can tell. They installed with no problem. Photoshop Elements however, will not install. Tried four times, and it gets to "Installing (9%)" and there it stays. Currently I'm 1.5 hours in on my 5th attempt, and it's stalled. I've had it for as long as 6 hours before I got tired and Force Quit the install.

I don't blame Adobe nearly as much as I blame Apple. They used to be a very dedicated user friendly company, but as the years go by, I've seen that deteriorate so much that I'm considerring moving to Linux. 

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-elements-discussions/photoshop-elements-2022-won-t-install-...

[MASewall]

• Apple's release date for Monterey was known to Adobe and everyone else MONTHS before PSE 2022 was released.
• As a major developer, Adobe had to have had pre-release versions of Monterey MONTHS before either PSE 2022 or Monterey were released. Hence, the order of release dates is entirely irrelevant to the issue. Above should have fixed the bug before releasing the software.
• As a major developer Adobe must have known what everyone else did about the new MacBook Pro. Regardless of rumors, the fact that EVERY new Mac from early 2021 forward would be based on the M1 CPU system. Hence, identifying Mac software as 2022 that does run native on M1 Macs is at best misleading. The fact that it's Intel errors corrupt Rosetta 2 and bring down the entire OS is unforgivable as well as unacceptable. It means that ANY use of PSE 2022 must be followed by an immediate restart OR a spontaneous restart within a short time will occur because PSE left a "time bomb" in the working system memory.
• I did receieve a refund, but that also means I no longer have Photoshop Elements. I happen to have limited need of photo editing; so, I am able to get along with a competitor's software, but many other Adobe customers will be a great deal more inconvenienced.
• Has it occurred to you that regardless of who's at fault, the longer we have to get used to using competitor's software (which by-the-way, because they have not yet built a mass market reputation, is MUCH less expensive), the less likely they'll ever generate revenue for Adobe (prior to PSE 2022, I purchased earlier versions of PSE at least 4 times). Ask anyone who understands marketing and you learn that nearly all the profit comes from repeat customer sales (custoemr acquistion is expensive).
• At the very least the failure of PSE 2022 to work with Monterey and to run native on Apple Silicon is a major embarssment for Adobe.

[mrubell]

What a disingenuous response from Adobe.
First, if you're trying to tell customers you care about them, then don't
make a rant about we aren't making sense, when we've paid for a product
that you're still selling, doesn't work AND you're not telling new
customers about the problem in advance.

Second, your talk about a refund policy. What about us Elements 2021
users? We paid for the product, it doesn't work, and I wasted 8 hours on
hold with a variety of unhelpful agents who all expressed surprise at the
issue rather than letting me know up front that there was one. AND, when I
asked for a refund, I got transferred and disconnected literally 7 times
over 2 days and was finally told I was out of the refund period. Duh! I
wouldn't be asking for a refund if what I paid for was working.

Third, you say, "I'm not trying to downplay the obvious annoyance..." Well,
actually, yes you are.
So don't chastise us for complaining about your broken program that you're
still selling and making tons of money on.

[Greg_S.]

@mrubell, although I am given the title of Adobe Community Professional on this forum, I am just a regular user (like you) who tries to offer some help.  I am not employed by Adobe and the opinions I offer here are solely my own. 

I am sorry if you think I am ranting.  As a Windows user, I have no dog in this fight.  I just find it hard to bite my tongue when I see some of the comments made here.  I have been active on video and photo editing software user forums for many years.  I suppose this thread is fairly tame in comparison to some I have seen.  After all, I don't think anyone here has yet claimed to be a software engineer who thinks the program can be fixed overnight.  But there seem to be a lot of "experts" on software beta testing and development.  I actually have some experience in that area with private beta testing of several different programs. So forgive me if I have a different opinion than others have expressed here.  And also please forgive me if I smile at the legal opinions being offered.  As a retired lawyer, that is at least an area where I have some professional experience.

[MASewall]

I wrote my first computer program in 1960. I've beta tested software from small vendors (admittedly infrequently--it's not my core thing to do) off and on for 20 years. I really can appreciate the difficulty in identiying where the bug is even in far smaller programs than PSE. The bug in PSE vs Monterey has to be particularly nettlesome because what is happening is the software is introducting corruption in the operating systems working memory in some location where it does matter immeidately. That is, the software corrupts the in memory OS, but not in a way the interferes with it's function, and doesn't obviously intefere with anythung else right away either. It becomes obvious when the program is quit, but shows up when trying to open it a second time (it hangs). There are some useful clues:

1. The fault occurs upon initial opening. The first time the software passes by it, the second time it cannot.
2. The fault causes an entire OS crash running on an M1 Mac.

• It should not be possible for a single app to bring down the OS,  but that's what happens.
• The OS depends upon Rosetta 2 to execute Intel code
• Rosetta 2 is bound into the OS and seems to be the only thing here than can bring the whole OS down.
• So, PSE 2022 is corrupting Rosetta 2

Finding the corruption in Rosetta 2 has to be less taunting than trying to find it in all of Monterey. Still not an easy task. Still Adobe had access to Monterey code a year ago and had to know there was a problem before labeling the program 2022 and putting it on the market. I'm not surprised that no laws were violated--buyer beware is ancient advice. As I marketing professional, I am qualified to note that the PSE 2022 problem is a substantial, and expensive in opportunity cost terms mistake. It's ethically questionable as well.

I prefer the Apple universe for my own reasons, but the bulk of professional photograhic and video editing takes place on Apple platforms. I have not seen sales data, but that is the public perception if not the economic reality. Windows users can insist they "do not have a dog in this fight," but note it's THIS fight. Don't count on Adobe not letting you down on Windows 11 or 12.

[mrubell]

Hi Greg,
Thanks for your reply. You're right - I assumed you were an actual Adobe
employee and not someone just trying to be helpful.
And, you're also right that any legal opinion I might have about holding
Adobe accountable with a lawsuit would not be worth anything. But what's
legal and what's ethical are rarely partners in our justice system. It
still does not seem right that Adobe is selling a product to unsuspecting
(Mac) customers that doesn't work and they don't tell them that upfront.
It also doesn't seem right (as an Elements 2021 user) that a product that I
paid for doesn't work anymore just because I updated my operating system.
I use a lot of different software and the only one that fails is Photoshop
Elements.
But still, I do want to thank you for your insight and civilized input.
Michael

[MASewall]

It is not all unusual for an OS system upgrade to break apps. Upgrades inherently mean that things have changed, usually for the better. I have lots of apps that start telling me that they are updating in anticipation of the forthcoming OS everytime a new system version is on the horizon. I was aware probably about two years in advance that (was it Catalina) that a forthcoming upgrade would require 64-bit apps and no long provide an emulation for 32-bit apps. That change required purchasing new versions of Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrdobat (I no longer use Acrobat as a result, I highly recommend Wondershar PDFelement), and some others.

Monterey is not the first OS upgrade that requires purchasing a new version of PSE. I've done so several times over the years. HOWEVER, this is the first time purchasing a new version becasue of a new MacOS has resulted in an app that doesn't work. Executing once per restart while installing corruption in the working copy of the OS is NOT WORKING.

[flyingfox0923]

mine isn't working as well. keeps locking up. 

[creepyboab]

Try adding 'Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor' App to your login items.

Launches OK on start up, or a restart. Just don't quit the program, or a restart will be required to launch it again.

The App can be found here- 

Applications > Adobe Photoshop Elements folder > Support files folder > Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor

[MASewall]

PSE 2022 is likely to crash even though it is simply sitting there open. This proposed strategy is a nonstarter on an M1 Mac because it will cause a spontaneous restart not long after it is launched.

[creepyboab]

I should have mentioned this works fine on my 2017 iMac. Perhaps a non starter for M1 Mac owners.

Re. 'likely to crash even though it is simply sitting there open' I've not encountered that (yet!). Been there when I need it for three days now.

[Thonic61]

Then update your macbook to macOS Monterey, and you're out in the rain with your Photoshop Elements. Like me with my Macbook Pro from 2016.

[Thonic61]

Sorry, I meant your iMac, of course