Kontakt Error Message: "This patch has been generated by a newer version of the application."

Symptom

When trying to load an Instrument from the Kontakt Libraries Browser, you receive the following error message:
This patch has been generated by a newer version of the application.
Please upgrade your copy to load the patch.

Cause

This message appears when you try to load an Instrument in Kontakt that has originally been created with a newer version of Kontakt. Patches in Kontakt are not backward compatible with previous Kontakt versions.

Solutions

Install Kontakt's latest update with Native Access.

macOS Only: Using Kontakt on Older Operating Systems

The latest version of Kontakt may not be available to update on older versions of macOS. Please verify that your version is a Currently Supported version of Mac OSX with Apple.

Windows Only: Using Kontakt as a Plug-In within a DAW

Please try the following if you are using Kontakt as a plug-in within your DAW and still receive this error message after updating Kontakt:

1. Reinstall Kontakt in order to update the plug-in file as explained in this article.
2. Check to make sure that your DAW is set to scan the correct VST plug-in folders, as explained in this tutorial video.