What you need to know
- Adobe released an update to its Lightroom app for iOS earlier this week.
- The update contained a bug that erased photo edits and presets not backed up to Lightroom cloud.
- Adobe has confirmed that those photos and presets are not able to be recovered.
Some iOS users of Lightroom are in for some really unfortunate news.
Reported by 9to5Mac, Adobe has confirmed that photo edits and presets lost to a bug in the latest version of the Lightroom app on iOS are not able to be recovered. Adobe's release of version 5.4 of the Lightroom for iOS app introduced a bug that erased photo edits and presets that had not been backed up to Lightroom cloud.
This bug is unfortunate timing for Adobe, who just recently announced that its MAX 2020 Creativity Conference will be open for free to everyone. The company has pulled the release and replaced it with version 5.4.1 of the app this week, but Adobe has confirmed that those who have lost photos and presets because of the bug will not be able to recover them.
The bug was discovered by one user who posted the following concern on Adobe's forums:
"Yesterday when I use the Lightroom Mobile, it was okay. I still have my presets and pictures saved in the apps but today , 18th August 2020 , after I updated the apps on Apps Store, all of my pictures and presets gone. I really need this to be fix as soon as possible. Please help me as I really need all those pictures and presets."
A representative from Adobe released a statement saying that the new version has fixed the bug but that lost images and presets "are not recoverable."
"We are aware that some customers who updated to Lightroom 5.4.0 on iPhone and iPad may be missing photos and presets that were not synced to the Lightroom cloud. A new version of Lightroom mobile (5.4.1) for iOS and iPadOS has now been released that prevents this issue from affecting additional customers. Installing version 5.4.1 will not restore missing photos or presets for customers affected by the problem introduced in 5.4.0. We know that some customers have photos and presets that are not recoverable. We sincerely apologize to any customers who have been affected by this issue."
If you have not yet updated to the latest version of Lightroom on iOS, you should update directly to version 5.4.1 and avoid the bug. However, it is always best to back up your data in any way, so make sure your edits and presets are always backed up to Adobe's cloud.
