Adobe Photoshop Requires Windows 10 Anniversary Update -version 1607- -

If your hardware cannot handle a newer version of Windows, you can install a legacy version of Photoshop that supports older OS builds: Open the desktop app. Navigate to the Apps section and find Photoshop.

Multicore Intel® or AMD processor (2 GHz or faster) with SSE 4.2 or later and 64-bit support [Source: ProX PC].

To check if you're running Windows 10 Anniversary Update, follow these steps:

: Sometimes, your Windows settings may falsely state "Your device is up to date," even if you are trapped on an obsolete Enterprise or LTSC (Long-Term Servicing Channel) branch. Method 1: Force a Windows Update Using the Update Assistant

After the update is complete, restart your computer and try installing Photoshop again. In most cases, this will resolve the issue entirely. If your hardware cannot handle a newer version

Choose an older version of Photoshop (such as CC 2017 or CC 2018) that matches the system requirements of your current Windows build. Summary of Troubleshooting Steps

By running Windows 10 Anniversary Update (Version 1607) or later, Photoshop users can benefit from:

Developer tooling and runtimes OS updates often refresh the system C runtime, Windows SDKs, and debugging tools. Compilers, libraries, and platform-debugging hooks that ship with a given SDK affect build targets and supported behaviors. By targeting 1607, Adobe aligns Photoshop’s build and test matrix to a stable set of system runtimes and APIs, simplifying development and QA while reducing obscure bugs that only appear on older or inconsistent environments.

While Windows 10 Version 1607 (the "Anniversary Update" released in 2016) was once the bare minimum requirement for legacy Creative Cloud apps, modern versions of Photoshop demand even newer system environments. To check if you're running Windows 10 Anniversary

How to Fix the "Adobe Photoshop Requires Windows 10 Anniversary Update (Version 1607)" Error

To prevent future installation blocks, ensure your PC meets or exceeds these baseline specifications:

Conclusion Requiring Windows 10 Anniversary Update (version 1607) is a practical signal: Photoshop depends on platform capabilities, driver stability, security guarantees, and runtime behaviors that became reliable at that point. The requirement reflects the complexity of delivering a high-performance, secure, extensible creative application across a fragmented ecosystem. For users and IT teams it is both a prompt to upgrade and a reassurance that Adobe has a tested baseline; for developers it is a pragmatic constraint that enables better features, fewer platform-specific bugs, and more predictable performance. In the end, such requirements are less arbitrary barriers than expressions of the tight coupling between leading-edge creative software and the underlying operating system that must host it.

: Adobe software implements strict cryptography standards for cloud syncing and licensing that older OS builds cannot support. How to Fix the Error Choose an older version of Photoshop (such as

Run the downloaded .exe file and follow the on-screen prompts to upgrade your system to the newest build without losing your files. Step 3: Turn Off Compatibility Mode for Adobe Installers

According to historical software lifecycle documentation , Version 1607 has long passed its end-of-service date. If you plan to use the newest versions of Adobe products, keeping your operating system entirely current is no longer optional. For example, contemporary releases like Photoshop Elements 2026 drop support for Windows 10 entirely , requiring Windows 11 (Version 23H2 or later) alongside advanced hardware processors that support AVX2 extensions.

Aligning with Microsoft’s "Current Branch" allowed Adobe to ensure their software ran on systems receiving the latest security patches.

The requirement for Windows 10 Anniversary Update (Version 1607) primarily impacts Adobe Photoshop CC 2018 (version 19.1)

If a simple cache clear doesn't work, underlying installer conflicts might be causing the version glitch.