After getting a warning that legacy sketchup (made for intel chips) will not work after the next Mac OS update on my M1 due to rosetta going away, I decided to get an older Intel MacBook dedicated for sketchup.
I’m trying to run SketchUp Pro 2019 on a 2020 13-inch Intel i7 MacBook Pro running macOS Tahoe 26.5.3.
After installation SketchUp opens, but freezes immediately on the Welcome screen. Nothing is clickable.
The exact same SketchUp version works normally on my M1 Pro running Tahoe 26.5.2. I have a paid license running on only one device currently.
I’ve already tried a fresh install, Wi-Fi off, opening an .skp model directly and am running out of ideas.
Has anyone tried installing legacy SU on an Intel Mac recently? Could Tahoe 26.5.3 be the problem?
I just downgraded to Sequoia, freshly installed SU19 and am stuck on the same “welcome to sketchup” screen with every helpful menu item greyed out.
Could this be a laptop issue? Its from a refurbished macbook seller with 99.9% 85k positive reviews. AI says it could be a graphics card error, but I don’t know if thats a reasonable suggestion or how to troubleshoot it.
keep in mind that screen relies on a built-in web browser component. If you are connected via an overly secure network, corporate firewall, or have strict privacy/VPN setups active, it can easily interfere with the login or web services.
A reliable fix is to clear out the local net cache so it’s forced to re-authenticate cleanly:
1. Close SketchUp.
2. Open Finder and press Cmd + Shift + G to use “Go to Folder”.
This wouldn’t be that issue where older versions look for a web address/browser that’s no longer available and needs to be manually pointed to a different asset is it? Sorry, I’m a bit vague on the exact details of that issue.
could you show a screenshot ? maybe we’ll see something else ?
nah, if AI knew anything, it’d be banned
sketchup 2019 is pre new engin, meaning that it runs on an old openGL from 2009 (on mac). at this point, a potato would make it run.
especially an intel machine.
On a M1 then a M4 I’ve had stability issues with old 2017. but the crash comes after the launch and some time spent doodling. the fact that you can’t go beyond the launch window screams connexion issue like Adam described.
I deleted the webcache folder and came to the same result.
I am not using a VPN, am in USA, using the same internet I use Sketchup19 on with my M1Pro and have never had this issue. This is a freshly erased laptop which I installed Sequoia on, then sketchup 19 only so far, no other changes made. I have tried wifi on and off. I got the .dmg file from this link : Downloading sketch up 2019 pro again - no links
There are a few threads on this forum using SU2020 who had what you are seeing on Sequioa. You may need to downgrade even further back - perhaps Mojave is a safer bet.
I’m going to try getting Catalina installed tonight which is what this shipped with back in 2020. Although I just got a popup I’m trying to work through saying “this version of catalina is too old for this device”, which i downloaded from the app store.
At the same time I am positive I used Monterey with a 2019 MBP I had very regularly with SU19. Any reason to jump so far back other than matching the OS with the SU19 version timeline?
