Why am I getting the message " Photos cannot load adjustments for this image"?

Hello Mr Sweeney T,

Thanks for that info and choosing the Apple Support Communities. If I understand correctly, you are having issues with accessing an image in the Photos app on your Mac, as you get an error message. Based on that error, this could be network related, so please check for potential sources of interference, make sure you have the recommended Wi-Fi router settings and other steps from these resources on your situation.

Potential sources of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth interference

Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points

Check for Wi-Fi issues using your Mac

If this is not network related, use safe mode to start up your Mac as it does the following things:

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed
• Loads only required kernel extensions
• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically
• Disables user-installed fonts
• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

Log in to your user account and test the issue while in safe mode and also check if this is storage related.

Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac

Graphics performance limited in macOS Recovery, safe mode, or Guest User mode

How to free up storage space on your Mac

Cheers!

This problem has been taken up in numerous discussions on this site. It is unlikely that it is network related as PM suggests (so I wonder if PM is a bot). I have this error too, which is characterized by the following behaviors: (1) photo is shown in lower quality than the original, (2) editing is impossible and produces the well-known error "Photos cannot load adjustments for this image", (3) it is not possible to reset the adjustments, (4) editing in any other application produces an error, and (5) exporting the unmodified original is not possible as it produces an "Unknown error (4)". Repairing the library reports success but does in fact NOT solve the problem. From these behaviors it seems that Photos has lost the original and the library is left with a low-resolution preview. Not sure why and when this bug started manifesting itself, but I noticed it first in Mojave and it persists in Catalina. It seems to affect some photos from 2015. I have not found any working solution and it is unlike that a fix can ever be found, since indeed the originals of the affected pictures cannot be found in the photoslibrary. They have simply vanished.