When N key is pressed to get the Pencil, it says "an unknown error occured"
I am in AI 27.0.1 on a 2021 MacBook Pro running Monterey. Each time I hit the N key to get the pencil, it says "an unknown error occurred." It doesn't crash, but I can't use the pencil.

The problem got 'solved' by unplugging a Dell monitor connected to MacBook Pro. Changing the resolution also helps.
However, this is not a true solution, but a workaround. If you have this issue too — please vote and comment.
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Yes, you can send the file over to sharewithai@adobe.com — the team reads it all the time, but I personally doubt this can help, since you both say it’s not file-specific... correct?
Again, you were not able to verify if disabling the second monitor change anything. The bug is rare enough, and limiting it at your side can be very helpful for the team. Try to work with your MacBook only and unplug temporarily your Apple Studio Display. -
Jon commented
Is there any way I can send you my file and have it tested to see if your team can replicate the error?? This is insane.
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Jon commented
Switched from AI 2023 to AI 2022. Was able to work for an hour before getting this error again. Now I've quit AI 2022, and will be relaunching, only to know that literally any time, I'll get this error again, and will have to repeat this process again. And again. AND AGAIN. AND AGAIN.
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Jon commented
Issues still persist. No logical pattern; it's all seemingly random. The only common thread is the use of the pencil tool. THIS IS SO INFURIATING.
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The plot thickens :(
Thanks for keeping it updated... -
Jon commented
I would like to add the AI 2023 seems to be less stable with regard to this issue than AI 2022. Example: I was working in AI 2022 using the pencil when I encountered this error. I quit, then opened the file in AI 2023 and began using the pencil tool again. Literally the 2nd time I selected the pencil tool, I got this error. At least in AI 2022 I get a few minutes — and sometimes a few hours — of usage out of the pencil tool before getting this error.
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Jon commented
Repeated issues with this today. But now it's happening sooner (doesn't take hours to fail), and way more frequently. The only workaround — and it's a ****** workaround — is to quit and relaunch Illustrator. Imagine being on a deadline, and having to do this 5, 7, 10 times a day, just to be able to use one tool that is required for the project. Imagine how much wasted time you'd have after several weeks and months of this.
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Jon commented
Of course, after posting this last update, this issue is happing with a lot more frequency. Like every 5–10 minutes. I've even restarted my computer several times. WTF.
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Jon commented
Been switching back and forth between AI 2022 and 2023 today. Each time this issue presents itself — again, usually hours after I start working — I have to save and quit, and relaunch the file in the other version — only for the same thing to happen hours later. THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING.
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Jon commented
Shift+N is the Shaper tool. I would like to add that one of the other suggestions was to try using the pencil tool in an earlier version of AI. I switched to using AI 2022 for the project I'm working on that demands lots of pencil usage, and things seemed to be working fine. Then, all of a sudden, after two days of using the tool for several hour stretches, I finally got this error. I really don't understand the randomness of the error, or why it seems to happen after HOURS of using the tool. It's so unbelievably infuriating.
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I wonder what changes if the tool gets reassigned to, say, Shift+N instead? Will the error still pop up? This would allow to see if the tool is somehow faulty, or rather the hotkey N itself.
But I can see this is not comfortable at all, so it’s just an idea I’d personally test... -
Jon commented
This is still an issue. And it's very random. I've been working for 4.5 hours in Illustrator today, using the pencil tool, and only just now got this error.
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Jon commented
Please for the love of god look into this. Since there doesn't seem to be anything else about this issue online, it appears to be extremely rare, and only happens under very specific circumstances, but if it's happening to more than one person, it *has* to be happening to more people that just aren't posting about it.
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Jon commented
Yes, YES, 1000x YES. FINALLY, after searching the internet for a couple of weeks, I found something online that references this. I have this issue too!!! It recently started happening for me, but admittedly, I never really used the pencil tool, and I recently started using it a lot for a new project.
I have a 2021 16" MacBook Pro with the M1 Max chip running MacOS 13.0, and have a dual monitor setup with a 2022 27" Apple Studio Display acting as my primary display (the MacBook Pro acts as my extended display).
This issue started happening in Illustrator 27.0.1 a couple of weeks ago (when I started using the pencil tool a lot). The only temporary solution I've found is to save the file, quit Illustrator, and then relaunch Illustrator. It's a temporary solution, because, when Illustrator relaunches, I'm able to use the pencil tool, but after a random amount of time (sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes an hour; it really is random) I get the error again, and need to repeat my temporary solution of saving, quitting, and relaunching.
I reinstalled Illustrator 2022, hoping it was merely an update issue, but it's happening there, too. WTF is this?? I really need to use the pencil tool a lot for this project (like 5 hours per day for several days), and having to quit and relaunch Illustrator multiple times per day to deal with this is not only extremely frustrating, but is costing me countless time I don't have.