Adobe Photoshop Requires Windows 10 Anniversary Update

Contact your IT department to request an OS upgrade.

You reinstalled Windows 10 using a USB drive or DVD that you burned in 2015 or 2016. That installation media does not have the Anniversary Update slipstreamed into it.

You aren't alone. Here are the three most common situations that trigger the “requires Windows 10 Anniversary Update” message:

This requirement was first introduced with . While earlier sub-versions of Photoshop CC 2018 could run on older builds like Windows 10 version 1511, subsequent updates strictly mandated version 1607 or newer. Why This Requirement Exists adobe photoshop requires windows 10 anniversary update

The error is not a bug – it’s a . Updating Windows to a supported version (1607 or newer) resolves the issue immediately. Sticking with an outdated Windows build will permanently lock out newer Photoshop releases.

Despite the technical justifications, the rollout of this requirement was not smooth. The error message "Adobe Photoshop requires Windows 10 Anniversary Update" often appeared without a clear "Update Now" button. This left users scrambling to the Settings menu, only to find that Windows Update claimed their system was "up to date."

There is no fix. You cannot run modern Photoshop on Windows 7. Contact your IT department to request an OS upgrade

Rarely, the error appears incorrectly. Try these steps:

Adobe generally aligns its software support with Microsoft’s lifecycle. When Microsoft ends support for older Windows 10 builds, Adobe often deprecates support for them in new Photoshop releases to ensure stability and take advantage of modern OS features.

Before you do anything, verify if you actually need the update. You aren't alone

This phenomenon is known as the . Windows 10 has a history of feature updates failing to install automatically. Many users were stuck on Version 1507 or 1511 for years because their update services were corrupted, or because they had paused updates to avoid system restarts during critical work hours.

For a user, the update might have just meant a slightly different looking login screen. For Adobe, it meant access to new libraries and system architectures that were simply non-existent in the original Windows 10 release (Version 1507) or the November Update (Version 1511).