Get help using My Photo Stream

Find your issue below and follow steps to resolve it.

I don't see photos from My Photo Stream on my iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple TV

If you’ve turned on iCloud Photo Library, every photo and video you take will live in iCloud, including ones from your My Photo Stream. If some of your devices don't have iCloud Photo Library turned on, My Photo Stream will upload your recent photos to share with those devices.

If you can't find your My Photo Stream images in the Photos app, follow these steps:

1. From the Home screen, tap Settings > Wi-Fi. Make sure that Wi-Fi is on, and that you have an Internet connection.
2. Go back to Settings and tap iCloud > Photos.
3. Make sure that My Photo Stream is on. If it’s already on, turn it off and tap Delete. Then, turn on My Photo Stream again.
4. On the device that took the photo you're looking for, close the Camera app. Nothing uploads to My Photo Stream until you do.
5. See if your iOS device is below 20% battery power. If it is, My Photo Stream will be disabled temporarily to preserve battery life.

If you're using an Apple TV, it might display only your most recent photos due to its storage capacity.

I see different photos in the My Photo Stream album on each of my devices

Your device will keep up to 1,000 photos, even if they're older than 30 days. Photos older than 30 days are removed from the iCloud server, so depending on when you enabled My Photo Stream, your devices might not have the same photos. Due to capacity, your Apple TV might display only your most recent photos.Follow these steps to delete older photos from My Photo Stream and put your most current photos on all of your devices:

1. If there are any photos in the My Photo Stream album you'd like to keep, save them to your device. Then, back up your photos and other data.
2. From the Home screen on your iOS device, tap Settings > iCloud > Photos. Turn off My Photo Stream.
3. Confirm that you want to Delete Photos.
4. Turn on My Photo Stream again. iCloud will push your stored photos to your device.
5. Repeat these steps for each device.

I don't see any photos in the My Photo Stream album in Photos, iPhoto, or Aperture

If you turned on iCloud Photo Library, your My Photo Stream photos from your other devices can be found in the All Photos album. If you didn't turn on iCloud Photo Library and you don't see any photos in the My Photo Stream album, follow these steps:

1. Make sure your Mac has an active Internet connection. Without Internet, updates to My Photo Stream won't appear in Photos, iPhoto, or Aperture.
2. From your Mac, choose System Preferences > iCloud. Make sure you use the same Apple ID as on your other supported devices.
3. Open Photos, iPhoto, or Aperture. Then choose Preferences > iCloud (or Photo Stream).
4. If you're using Photos, iPhoto 9.4 or later, or Aperture 3.4 or later: Make sure that My Photo Stream is selected. Then, if you want all future iPhoto or Aperture photo uploads to also upload to My Photo Stream, select Automatic Upload.
   If you're using iPhoto 9.2.2 through 9.3.2, or Aperture 3.2.3 through 3.3.2: Select Enable Photo Stream and Automatic Import.

I imported photos to Photos, iPhoto, or Aperture, but I don't see them in My Photo Stream and the service is turned on

If you're using Photos, follow these steps:

1. Make sure your Mac has an active Internet connection.
2. Check if you're using iCloud Photo Library in the Photos app. If you enabled iCloud Photo Library, photos from other devices using My Photo Stream will appear in All Photos.

If you're using iPhoto or Aperture, follow these steps:

1. Make sure your Mac has an active Internet connection.
2. In iPhoto or Aperture, go to Preferences > iCloud (or Photo Stream).
3. Under My Photo Stream, see if Automatic Upload is on. If Automatic Upload isn't on, you can do two things: Turn it on and upload again. Or, drag the newly imported photos into the My Photo Stream album in your library.