Troubleshoot issues with updating Acrobat or Reader on Mac OS

Last updated on May 24, 2023 | Also applies to Acrobat Reader, Adobe Acrobat X, Adobe Acrobat XI, Reader X, Reader XI

Adobe Acrobat

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Issue

You receive an error when trying to update Acrobat or Reader.

Solutions

Solution 1: Reinstall Reader or Acrobat.

Acrobat Reader

Installing Adobe Reader is a two-step process. First, you download the installation package, and then you install Reader from that package file. You don't have to remove the older version of Reader if you are installing Reader. For step-by-step installation instructions, see Install Adobe Acrobat Reader | Mac OS.

Uninstall Acrobat or older versions of Reader

Acrobat Reader
- There is no uninstaller for Reader in Mac. You can directly delete the application from the Applications folder.
Acrobat
- Choose Applications > Adobe Acrobat, select the Acrobat Uninstaller, and double-click it.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to uninstall Acrobat.
  In the Authenticate dialog box, type the macOS user name and password for an administrator account and click OK.
  In case you do not remember your password, refer the Apple document: https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT202860.
- The uninstaller removes only Adobe Acrobat files from the system. It does not remove Acrobat Reader files, Acrobat user data, or files that are shared with other Adobe applications.
Do one of the followings to reinstall your application:
- Reader: Go to the Adobe Reader Downloads page and click Install Now.
  Refer the article Install Adobe Acrobat Reader | Mac OS for detailed instructions.
  To install older versions of Reader, refer: Install an older version of Adobe Reader on Mac OS.
- Acrobat: Download Acrobat from the Acrobat downloads page. Click the installer to start the installation process.
Start Reader or Acrobat, and choose Help > Check For Updates to install the latest update to your product.

Solution 2. Enable the root user.

This solution works best for error 1301 but can be used to troubleshoot other updater error conditions. For instructions, see Enabling and using the "root" user in Mac OS X on the Apple website.

After enabling the root user account, log in to the root user account and retry updating Acrobat or Reader.

Solution 3. Update Acrobat Reader and Adobe Acrobat manually

Installers for all supported products also appear on the product download pages (except for the full Acrobat). You can download and manually install these products as follows:

Open the product.
Choose Help > About Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.
Note the version.
Close the product.
If you do not have the latest version installed, download the needed installer from the following locations:

6. Click the installer to start the installation process.

Additional information

The log file is a file generated and appended to at runtime with status, operational, and error information describing what the Updater is doing. This information helps diagnose runtime problems.

In the case of installation failures, check the updater log file to know the reason of failure.

Log location

Macintosh (Reader): ${HOME}/Library/Logs/Adobe/Adobe Acrobat Reader Updater.log
Macintosh (Acrobat): ${HOME}/Library/Logs/Adobe/Adobe Acrobat Updater.log

Below is a list of few error codes and the suggested steps to try to resolve the errors.

Error	Title	Solution
1001-1099, 1100	Cannot download update files. Please verify that you are connected to the Internet and check for updates again.	Try downloading Reader directly from this page.
1101-1199, 1200	Cannot save files to disk. Please check for updates again.	Check for permission issues. Run Disk Utility > Repair Permissions.
1201-1299, 1300	Your version of cannot be updated because the application contents have been changed. The update could not be applied because the application contents were modified since the original installation. Please reinstall and check for updates again.	A file has changed or is missing. Uninstall and reinstall the program.
1301-1399, 1400	Your version of cannot be updated at this time. Please check for updates again later.	Enable the root user account and check updating the application.
1401-1499, 1500	An error occurred. Please check for updates again later.	Restart the Mac and retry.
1501-1899	Updater will try again.	Restart the Mac and retry.

Administrators

For details on how to configure and troubleshoot the Updater, see the Acrobat-Reader Updater Guide.

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