Since it opens files perfectly fine but hangs exclusively when launching or quitting the application itself, the issue is likely a corrupted local app state, cloud-sync handshake glitch, or a broken recent files cacheon the Mac Studio rather than a core app bug. When Acrobat launches on its own, it loads the Home screen, recent file previews, cloud storage connections, and welcome messages—any of which can cause it to stall.
Clear the Recent Files Cache (Most Common)
If Acrobat is trying to generate a preview thumbnail or ping a file path that is broken, unreadable, or points to a disconnected network drive/server, it will beach ball infinitely on launch.
- Force quit the app if it's frozen.
- Open any individual PDF directly from your Finder (since you noted this bypasses the freeze).
- Once open, go to the top menu bar and select File > Open Recent > Clear Recent File List.
- Quit Acrobat normally and try launching it by itself to see if the loop is broken.
Turn Off Cloud Syncing & "Home" Features
If clearing the recent files doesn't fix it, the culprit is likely the app trying to call home to Adobe's servers during the launch/exit sequence.
- Open a PDF to get into the app without it freezing.
- Go to Acrobat > Preferences (or Cmd + ,).
- Under General, uncheck Show online storage when opening files and Show online storage when saving files.
Clear Corrupted Preferences Plist Files
Because it's happening on your Mac Studio but not your MacBook Pro, your local user preference files on the Studio may be corrupted.
- Force Quit Acrobat.
- Open Finder, click Go in the top menu bar, hold down the Option key, and click Library.
- Navigate to Library/Preferences and look for any files starting with com.adobe.Acrobat.
- Move them to the Trash (this resets Acrobat to factory defaults without losing your software license).
- Relaunch the app.
Wipe the Keychain Credentials
Sometimes a corrupted licensing handshake in the macOS Keychain causes a hang when the app initializes or tries to sync data back to the cloud upon closing.
- Open Keychain Access on your Mac Studio. Spotlight search for Keychain Access (or you can navigate to it in /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications). When prompted, choose the non-default option to open Keychain Access instead of Passwords.
- Search for Adobe.
- Delete the entries related to Adobe User Info and Adobe App Info.
- Open Acrobat, sign back into your Adobe account, and test the launch/exit cycle
Troubleshooting steps from Adobe: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/troubleshoot/performance-issues/acrobat-crashes.html
