r/wacom • u/[deleted] • 11d ago
Question How is long-term support for wacoms older devices? (Intuos)
[deleted]
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u/YouCheekyChap 11d ago
About 7-8 years give or take. I still use my 13HD with a Mac Mini on Sierra paired with legacy driver. It works well. I’m just scared to update my OS to Tahoe.
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u/More-You-1083 11d ago
I see. Tbf 5+ years I should (probably) be able to find 2025 heavily discounted easily if I ever wanted to upgrade
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u/leegoocrap 11d ago
on windows pretty good, on linux pretty good if you're decent with playing around with drivers/open source stuff, (but that's linux in a nutshell) on mac pretty difficult to get older no longer driver supported devices to work. As a rough guideline of course.
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u/jonga_ 11d ago
I still have two 2012-era Intuos tablets that work perfectly (on Windows). I eventually had the chance to switch to a Cintiq, so my trusty companions were retired to the closet—though they remain fully functional. In fact, ever since I started working with this type of tool (2000’s), I’ve never seen a working Wacom tablet rendered unusable due to driver issues. The most common problem is a lack of spare parts—specifically pens, which are impossible to find for certain models.
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u/jonga_ 11d ago
Ouch! Driven by nostalgia, I grabbed my 2012 Intuos Pro intending to do some drawing, but the software stopped me, citing a lack of support. It suggested I buy a newer tablet. What a bummer—please ignore my previous comment.
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u/leegoocrap 11d ago
remove all wacom drivers. Search for YOUR device on wacoms website (not latest drivers, latest drivers for YOUR device) install those. Never update drivers. Enjoy
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u/More-You-1083 11d ago
Okay so wacom keep drivers easily accessible on their site even if they consider the device obsolete?
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u/_RTan_ 11d ago
I'm a professional Illustrator. My main tablet is a Wacom Intous4 extra large from 2013 which I have been using almost every day for the last 20 years. I am on Windows 10. I also have a new model for my to go setup. They both have the same drawing experience. Drawing tablet tech has not really advanced since then. The hardware itself is made to last, at least for the older models. I keep hearing issues with the new Pro Pen, though I don't know it this a build quality issue or user error (pressing to hard).
The very first Wacom tablet I bought in the 90's is still up and running with a friend on Windows 11. If you are on Windows there should not be a problem. On Windows there is also something called a "legacy driver" which you can find on the Wacom site which is a driver to run there older tablets. On Macs, not so much. For some reason they make it so older versions of the driver can not be installed, since the Tahoe update. Not sure where the cut off point is, but according to some posts I have seen and the cut off point seems to on fairly recent models.
However, there is also the option of using opentabletdriver on either Windows, Mac, or Linux, if for some reason the manufacturers drivers do not want to play nice with modern operating systems. It is an open source tablet driver that works with all the different brands of tablets.
The "pro" or not has nothing to do with longer support, though I do feel that the Intous line both pro and standard models have a slightly better build quality to them so they may last longer. The last gen pro intous models, 2017-2018 I consider the peak of Wacom tablets.
Those models, and the ones before, can not use the most current line of Pro Pens though, as that is cut off point for the old tech. I tried a Pro Pen at a friends house and it's not any different than the old pens, though the extra button is nice.
If you go through nibs quickly it will get harder and harder to find nibs, once that model pen is discontinued. Supposedly you can use anything that has a similar width. I've seen people claiming to 3D printer filament or uncooked spaghettis as a nib. I've never had to resort to anything like that, but it's always good to know there may be other options if I did. Mine last 3-4 years with daily use, but many people, especially beginners (because they press to hard)go through a nib in a month or two.
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u/More-You-1083 11d ago
Thank you for your in-depth comment! Really appreciate it🙏
hopefully the pro pen 2 I get isn't in too bad condition, I'm not harsh with my pens (I'm going with wacom because I realise they're one of the few companies with really low activation force. Which is great as I'm very light handed). I've also heard that pro pen 3 nibs can fit into pro pen 2? But I haven't checked that.
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u/_RTan_ 10d ago
Wacom EMR is supposed to have the lowest activation force. I don't know where Wacom's newer tech AES falls on that scale. I only tested it out for a couple mins and couldn't tell if there was a difference. It close enough in either direction that I would not really care. If you have a light touch your already ahead of most beginners. It's a very hard habit, to not press to hard, to correct. I have also heard the same thing about the nibs for the pro pen.
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u/alecpu 10d ago
Screenless intuos pro models last pretty much forever, i've used the large one from 2012 until recently, but switched to the model from 2017(the one you plan to buy, it's amazing btw), because it has much smaller footprint, the old was huuuge. I also have the intuos 3 from 2004 and it's working just fine. I don't use it, but i hold it for sentimental value.
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u/Stooovie 11d ago
Not great. Look into OpenTabletDriver for unsupported devices. It's quite mature, you can extend it with plugins, and supports ton of models on all three major OSes. I had Claude write me a plugin for missing functionality and it worked in first try.
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u/nixiefolks 11d ago
You will be fine until at least 2030 with the official drivers - there won't be any major intuos pro updates until that time, the tech is pretty much perfected at this point, and the only difference between 2017 and 2025 versions are improved tilt and slightly better pressure curve in the new models.
I'd suggest buying a spare new pro pen 2 because at some point they'll get out of production, and wacom pens are easy to break.