Adobe deletes Lightroom 6 if you update it, but here’s how to bring it back

If you still haven’t switched to Adobe’s subscription plan and still use Lightroom 6, be careful with the updates. The recent reports from users say that Adobe Download Manager has deleted Lightroom 6 from their computer and replaced it with Lightroom CC. You can prevent this by changing some of the settings instead of using the default ones.

If this has already happened to you, don’t panic. You can still get Lightroom 6 back if you don’t want to switch to the subscription software, and Adobe has shared the steps you need to take.

As PetaPixel reports, there have been reports about this problem during the past couple of days. One of the photographers complained about this issue at Photographic Society of New Zealand Facebook page:

“Anybody using Lightroom 6 standalone version beware if the Adobe Download manager indicated that you have updates. I ran the update last night and the update decided to uninstall my Lightroom 6 and install Lightroom CC. If you then try to log into Lightroom it now demands a Subscription or a 7-day trial, thus preventing you from getting your images.”

So basically, Adobe “tricked” the users into at least trying the CC version, but it left them without the standalone software. Adobe has confirmed this issue and wrote a blog post about it on Lightroom Journal today. They admit that they’ve made a mistake, but point out they’ve resolved the problem. They offer the solution to bringing the Lightroom 6 back:

“Now once you click on the “Update” button next to Lightroom Classic CC, you will see under the Advanced Options, the “Remove old versions” is unchecked by default.  As a result, you can try out Lightroom Classic CC for the trial period and still keep Lightroom 6 running in tandem on your desktop.”

If you don’t want your Lightroom 6 to disappear during the CC trial, make sure that “Remove old versions” is unchecked:

As I said, there are users who have already had Lightroom CC replace Lightroom 6 on their computer. If you want to get it back, Adobe offers a solution for it as well:

• Uninstall Lightroom Classic CC from your computer. Follow the instructions in Uninstall Creative Cloud Apps.
• Download the Lightroom 6 installer from Download Photoshop Lightroomand install it again on your computer.
• Follow these stepsto update to Lightroom Classic CC while retaining the versions of Lightroom installed earlier.

To prevent unpleasant surprises in the future, make sure to check which settings are stored by default when you update the apps. You can check them on this link.

As Adobe writes, they have made a change to the “Remove old versions” option. From now on, it won’t be checked by default for users upgrading to Lightroom Classic CC. But if you’ve already made the mistake, follow the steps above and you should have your Lightroom 6 back on your computer.

[via PetaPixel]