Currently Being Moderated

Why is iCloud uploading my entire iCloud Photo library again after I moved its location?

That is unfortunately what will happen, when you move a Photos library to a different drive. You have to enable iCloud Photo Library again for the moved library, and iCloud will upload all photos again to merge them into the library in iCloud.  There are many reasons for iCloud to upload the library again and to merge it again with iCloud:

  • When you move the library to a different drive.
  • When you restore the library from a backup.
  • When you switch the iCloud library temporarily to a different library and back to your original library.
  • When you enable My Photo Stream for a different library, for example an Aperture library and then switch back.
  • When you repair your current iCloud Library.

 

All these events will cause Photos to upload the library again to iCloud and to compare it to the current iCloud Photo Library in iCloud.

 

If your Photos Library is large, be prepared for a long upload time if you repair your Photos Library, change its location, or disable iCloud Photo Library. Sometimes there is no help for it, but uploading the library again may take a week or longer, depending on the size of your library.

Replies

Delete User Tip

Are you sure you want to delete this user tip?