Windows 11 24H2 compatibility with indesign

Hi there,
hope this is the right thread for my post. I would really appreciate your input on this issue.
I just got an upgraded work computer today—a Microsoft Surface Laptop, 7th edition, running Windows 11 Home, version 24H2.
I installed Adobe Creative Cloud, but when I tried to download the InDesign app, I got the message: "InDesign is not yet available for your device." Upon further investigation, I found a beta version of InDesign available, but after downloading it, it doesn't look the same and isn't functioning properly.

I’ve read that InDesign is expected to be released for Windows 11 version 24H2 sometime in November 2024, but I’ve been checking for updates and nothing has appeared yet. I need it for work immediately, so I was considering rolling back Windows 11 from version 24H2 to 23H2. However, I’m not very tech savvy, and I’m concerned that doing this might cause more issues than it solves.

What’s the best solution to get InDesign working properly on my device?

Thank you,
DJ

Hello to you, too. Welcome to the forum.
The way I understand it, at this point the beta version of InDesign is your only option in 24h2 when using an arm processor.. Here is Adobe's official statement regarding Indesign and it's compatibility with 24h2 & ARM. https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/windows-arm-support.html

There are several ways to rollback your device to 23h2 if it upgraded to 24h2 within the last 10 days.
I don't know if it matters but If it were me, I would unstall the beta version of Indesign before attempting rollback.

I also strongly suggest you make a system image of 24h2 as it is using 3rd party imaging software before attempting a rollback. It's better to be safe than sorry if something goes wrong. Be sure to create recovery media for whatever imaging software you choose to use.

Option 1-
Go to Settings > Windows Update > Advanced Options. Click "Recovery."
Click "Go back" in the "Recovery options" section.
Follow the on-screen instructions in new window and confirm the rollback.

Option 2-
Settings>System>Recovery (on right side)>troubleshoot>advanced options>uninstall updates>uninstall latest feature update

Once you rollback successfully using either method , immediately go to WindowsUpdate and pause updates for 5 weeks. Otherwise WU will upgrade you to 24h2 again. Since you run HOME, use this tutorial Option 2 (Reg file method) to set your target release version to 23h2.
Once you do this, you can go back to windows update and release the pause on windows update. However,
NOTE: While this should work, it has been reported that for some users MS has not honored this setting and upgraded Home machines to 24h2 anyway. So it may behoove you to keep Windows update paused until Adobe can work out their issues with Indesign in 24h2 on Arm devices..
You can then re-installl whatever version of Indesign that works correctly for you in 23h2.

Option 3-
You can also restore a 23h2 system image created before the upgrade. That be the case immediately follow the above procedure to pause your updates.

If you successfull get back to 23h2, make a system image of it. It can save your bacon in the future. Designate it as 23h2 so you won't get confused with any image you made of 24h2.

I always promote regular system images, but in the case of 24h2 I urge people to be prepared due to all the various issues this upgrade has caused.

If it has been more than 10 days since the upgrade. rollback is NOT an option. The only way to get back to 24h2 is a clean install or system image recovery.

I am not sure what you did, but I guess you tried to download InDesign from some Adobe Application. Have you tried to download the Trial version directly from Adobe? You can then use your key to activate:

@spapakons and @jeed Some Adobe apps run natively on Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X Series processors, while others currently run via emulation. At present time, InDesign works on ARM devices through emulation mode only via Microsoft PRISM (its new emulation layer in Windows 11 24H2), not native ARM64. Adobe warns that Indesign will not work exactly the same on Snspdragon devices as it does natively on other devices.

This user wanted to rollback and I told her how, but IMO her limitation is not 23h2 or 24h2, but the fact she is using the Snapdragon processor. Since Indesign Beta is all that will work with this processor, having 23h2 or 24h2 is not going to make a difference to change the way Indesign works. In fact, since all I've read is that Indesign beta was developed for 24h2. a rollback to 23h2 make make Indesign beta unavailable for use in 23h2

Her surface is new. Indesign is not going to work the same on it as it did on whatever old device she used that had a different processor that handled Indesign natively..

That's why I always prefer to be as "legacy-full" as possible (the opposite of "legacy free"), including running Windows on a x86 CPU, not ARM. I hate it when compatibility is compromised. Yes, we have to move forward some time, but I prefer a smooth transition, not to abandon all old devices and all old applications/games. Exactly what Apple is trying to do by abandoning Intel CPUs and using Apple Silicon and by removing "legacy" features from their new computers. I want to ADD legacy features to a new computer to make it more compatible with everything, not to remove features!