Issue still present (year 2025)

Joel, I assume the actual edges of the non-selected object do not get rendered, and only the bounding box hugs it? Or there is no object at all that the bounding box hugs actually, and it’s just void (checked with Outline mode)?
When and if it happens the next time, please also check these:
1. Is the 'selected' object marked in any way in Layers panel?
2. Does resizing or rotating the bounding box affects the object? Does Undo help to drop the 'selection'?
3. How did you exit the isolation mode (Escape, breadcrumbs, double-click), and how deeply grouped is the object?

This happens to me at least once a week. It seems random and inconsistent, so it's hard to reproduce, but this last time I believe I was working within a group in isolation mode, then after exiting isolation mode and selecting items in a different group, the bounding box "stuck" to always including the last item selected within the previous group. I use groups a lot and move in and out of isolation mode frequently, so this may be why I experience this bug so often. I was unsuccessful in trying to reproduce it. To remedy, I just quit and restart Illustrator.

try COMMAND + H? or VIEW --> HIDE EDGES
Not sure if we were having the same problem, but somehow my problem stopped after COMMAND + H.

Mara, these two feel like different bug reports.
This one is about having a selection, but having the bounding box larger than the visible selection.
The other one you shared a link to, is more about having nothing selected, but still having a bounding box drawn.
While the reason can be the same, no comment prove it :(
The problem with both is that they happen randomly and no steps exist to reproduce them.

How often does it happen for you, and which of two it is?
The team can try to make a setup to try and catch it, if it happens often enough at your side.

I haven’t seen it in years (which is both good and bad)...

Hi @Ankit,

This issue still persists (it has been years).
But it isn't a bug on a file we could send, it just happens at some point, and as we need to keep working, we restart Illustrator to continue our work.

I don't know how will it help to get in touch via e-mail. If you'd like to have a look at this bug behaviour while it is happening, to be able to directly chat and show/interact might be more efficient.
Should the support team be interested, let us know if there is a way to reach out "live" while it is happening (and when we're not in a hurry to complete our work).

Best regards,

Mara

See here too : https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-desktop-bugs/suggestions/35964202-object-selection-stays-selected-after-clicking-awa

My coworkers and I are having this issue as well, after updating our Mac OS to Ventura 13.4. It's driving us crazy. I reached out to the email above but haven't heard back. Please advise!!

The issue still exists and happens frequently.
It's one of the most common and annoying bugs to encounter and it has been for several years now, without any fix. Chances are high you can reproduce the bug by simply using Illustrator (V27.6.1, Windows 10, as well as the AI versions prior to that).

Still an issue.

Same here. This bug persists for so long! Adobe seems to be incompetent to detect en correct this issue.

Skyla, it’d help immensely if you were able to find exact steps to reproduce it with the art you have. And please keep the fil, in case it never happens again.

Bounding box appears in unusual places when I'm grouping/ungrouping. Then it gets stuck. I cant deselect it, delete, move, un/group, etc. It stays put and I can't get rid of it. Even when undoing my previous actions.

Regina, so far I can’t reproduce the issue. How permanent this behavior is for you?
Can you share the file that always work like this for you? Make sure that you have only the part that causes the problem.

A bounding box appears after using the divide tool. When I select another path to perform another divide action, the tool responds that it can't divide when more than object is selected. The bounding box persists even though the interface says "No Selection" and there is no highlight in the layers panel. The properties panel transform shows an x and y position as well as width and height for the bounding box (which can be moved and resized). Using "Deselect" from the top menu does nothing. I have to save and close the file, and then reopen it to get rid of this bounding box. This affects productivity when I have multiple divide actions to perform.
Illustrator 25.3.1 (64-bit); Windows 10 Enterprise

About once a day I'll run into an issue whereby I'll select an object or group, and a random object on another artboard will be selected at the same time. This random object isn't part of the other group, and doesn't actually show up as being selected however the bounding box shows that something else is being selected.

Moving or rescaling the objects that I actually intended to select doesn't effect anything else, however it's a pain having to locate the bounding box.

This usually coincides with Illustrator being bogged down with massive amounts of lag, and is all fixed when restarting Illustrator (including the lag).

Am having this issue on multiple Mac OSX computers.

It seems it is the same issue I am facing 3 years after this bug report.

As you can see on the screenshot, no layer is selected, yet the selection box won't go away wherever I click to try to make it disappear.
I had to quit and open again.

Not the first time it happens, but it seems there are more and more bugs now than before...

---
Adobe Illustrator 25.4.1
SE :Windows
Version :10.0
Architecture de processus : x86_64
Mémoire intégrée :16234 MB

Not sure if this will help anyone else, but for me, it's usually because I had a linked object in a locked clipping mask selected, and then tried to deselect. Unlock the clipping mask, deselect, and re-lock.

That following thread was created in 2013. After many years, the "correct solution" was highlighted green, does not solve this ongoing issue.

While this may be difficult to recreate under different circumstances, Adobe should at least look into any stray bug cleanups as they continue to evolve.

This has rendered the software almost unusable. The cursor will randomly select an object and, despite locking it, locking the layer, creating new objects, undoing/redoing and restarting the software, the problem is not solved. I can create new lines/objects, but then it includes the new stuff in with the one dumb thing that's selected. I can't reformat the new shape without it manipulating the thing that's selected. It's like my art is stuck in one giant, unhappy family photo.