Q: photos deleted despite plenty of iCloud storage

gail from maine wrote:

 

Well, yes, But if the OP does not want their iCloud photos to be deleted, then they would need to turn it off on the device. Having a back up copy is not going to change the behavior of iCloud Photo Library in terms of deleting everywhere if you delete anywhere.... That's what I meant

 

GB

They could always import them directly from iCloud.com as that is where the full-resolution copies are stored. I would preference this as downloading directly to the phone seems unlikely an option given the customers present situation. Go to iCloud.com, click Photos>Select Photos>Click any photo and then use the Select all command (Command+A on Mac, Control+A on PC) This will select all of your photos and videos in your library, then you can click the Download option to download them to your computer. That will be your means of archiving. After you have done this, you are free to delete whatever photos or videos you wish from your phone knowing full well they are stored on your computer safely.

Well, that wasn't the point I was making. elcpu recommended that the OP import their photos and provided the Import Link. The OP indicated that they wanted to delete photos from their phone, but was dismayed that they were also deleted from the iCloud Photo Library.

The simple answer is that if you want to delete photos from your device but not from iCloud Photo Library, you have to turn the iCloud Photo Library option off on the device. The you can delete at will and it will have no affect on the Photo Library. You can then import new photos to your computer which is running iCloud photo library, and they will upload to iCloud from the computer.

GB

Sorry then it seems our messages may have gotten crossed. I was working under the preface that the customer had little wiggle room in storage to begin with.

This can cause issues for simply importing directly from your phone if you are using Optimized Storage. At that point, the phone is the middle man between your full-resolution images and videos from iCloud and your computer. So if the customer has little storage for all of their full-resolution photos to load over, then there is going to be an obvious bottleneck for doing that.

That is why I offered my alternative. You guys already covered the why of the matter of iCloud Photo Library and how it is not an archival record of their photos to be able to delete from their phone while still remaining in iCloud. Do you understand what I am speaking to now?

Sorry, but no, I'm not sure what you are indicating.

When I was referring to importing, I was referring to importing without using iCloud Photo Library at all. So there would be no optimized images.

The iCloud FAQs refer to making a backup of your photos. So, the terminology is different when you are using iCloud Photo Library. You don't import at all. You just let the system upload new photos to iCloud where they get disbursed as thumbnails or full-resolution depending on the settings you have on the devices/Macs you are syncing with.

With the backup - the FAQs specifically indicate that the photos would be downloaded to your computer and then saved to the computer as a separate library, on a separate drive, or on another computer using Image Capture or Photos.

So, bottom line, if you are importing photos, you are uploading photos from your device's Camera Roll to your Photos app, and iCloud Photo Library is not used by that device.

GB

Okay, that's fine. I'll break it down then.

The user has stated that optimized storage is on and that he is low on storage.

If he turns off iCloud Photo Library now, the next option it is going to give him is to either "Remove from iPhone" or "Download Photos & Videos". He cannot download, because he wouldn't have the space to load them to the phone. He cannot remove, because then he would be left with no photos on his device at all. They would still remain in iCloud Photo Library of course, but it defeats what you were trying to explain.

That is why I suggested the method that I did. I hope that makes sense this time.

Test it for yourself if you don't believe me. I'm not shooting from my hip though. I'm an expert in these things.

BBoiss wrote:

I'm only here to share what I know.

What "you know" contradicts what Apple Recommends.

elcpuMay 17, 2016 6:09 PM      Recommended

Try a Forced Restart. Hold down the Home and Wake/Sleep buttons at the same time for about 15-20 seconds until the Apple logo appears. You will not lose anything. Then gently clean the area with a soft cloth and try again.

I think I'll stick with Apple's recommendations.

Gail,

To cover your inquiries:

Forced Restart as explained by Apple.

Restart your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

"You should force restart your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch as a last resort, and only if it's not responding." - taken directly out of the above article

The advisors I was speaking to are AppleCare advisors. The first people you speak to on the phone.

The majority of the people you speak with in an Apple Retail Store that are "behind the bar" are what is known as FRS or Family Room Specialists. They have roughly a weeks worth of training. [a crash course in mobile support only]

Regarding pigeon superstition - you can look this one up yourself, I am sure. Just because you flap your wings and it produces the desired result does not always mean the two are related. YES, restarting IS the first step. To restart your desktop, you don't pull the power cord from the wall, do you? You go through the software to do that. By the same logic, you should not be skipping the normal restart method of your device, and doing a forced restart as though you were unable to do so through holding the Sleep/Wake button.

Regarding levels - this was not the first time that a level has been thrown at me with the intent to state "I am right and you are wrong, because of the level." I have been a participant to this forum for under a week. Before that, I was training the very people you turn to when you find yourself scratching your head and no one else can help.

Can you understand where I am coming from now?

Sounds like a good approach to me. I don't use iCloud Photo Library and much prefer 3rd party clouds like Dropbox or Google Drive, my preferred cloud storage. I also import my photos to my computer and then backup my computer to an external hard drive. They are inexpensive anymore. Never lost anything this way.

Well, again, it depends on whether you were using iCloud Photo Library to share your photos with all of your devices. But if not, then you can turn iCloud Photo Library off. If you decide you want to keep iCloud Photo Library for uploading from your Mac, be sure to turn it off on the phone before doing any deleting.

As you go forward, you would want to upload your new photos by importing them into Photos or you can upload them to Dropbox (or both). If you have imported to Photos, then you can sync back any photos you want on your device through iTunes. If you only upload to Dropbox, I am not sure of the method to get them back on your phone if you want some of them there.

But here are the two pieces you would need to import to Photos and to sync back from Photos to your phone:

PHOTO IMPORT IOS TO MAC/PC

iTunes 11 for Mac: Set up syncing for iPod, iPhone, or iPad

Best of luck,

GB