Unable to import Live Photos from Finder into Photos App (HEIC + MOV)

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Unable to import Live Photos from Finder into Photos App (HEIC + MOV)

I am on the latest version of MacOS Mojave 10.14.13 and I am having issues importing Live Photos from Finder into the Photo app.

I imported all my photos and videos taken on an iPhone XS Max iOS 12 in HEIF/HEVC format into my Macbook's Photos app. After that, I export them out of the Photos app using "Export Unmodified Originals", store them elsewhere and delete them due to lack of storage space on my Macbook.

However when I import all my exported photos back into my Photos app from Finder, Live Photos now became 3 second videos instead of a still photo with 'live' label. Viewing the 'info' of the video shows .mov. Two photos were 'live', but hovering my mouse over it plays the incorrect video.

I double checked my exported photos in Finder and do not see any problem. Live Photos were exported as a HEIC+MOV or JPG+MOV pair. I did not rename or modify any of the exported phots in Finder. I re-imported those photos back into the Photo app a day after exporting and the above mention problem occured. I even tried repairing my Photos Library using Option+Command.

Could someone please explain what's happening, and if there are any solutions? Now I am worried that my exported photos over the past few years could potentially be corrupted.

MacBook Pro 15”, 10.14

Posted on Jan 27, 2019 9:58 AM

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Answer 1

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léonie

Level 10

200,747 points

Jan 27, 2019 10:32 AM in response to TerenceTWT

This may happen, if you did not delete the Live Photos completely from your Photos Library. Both, the video component and the still frame need to have been removed completely, before you can reimport the Live Photo again. The Live Photos have to be gone from the Recently Deleted album, from iCloud, and from my Photo Stream. If the still frame should still be in your Photos Library, only the video component will be imported when you reimport the Live Photo, and then it will not be properly paired as a Live Photo.

Try this: before you reimport a Live Photo, search in Photos for the filename (without the extension). Delete all photos you find, then empty recently deleted, then reimport the Live Photo pair.

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Answer 2

TerenceTWT Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 13, 2019 12:40 AM in response to TerenceTWT

The problems has been resolved. I contacted Apple Senior Advisor over the phone and he resolved the problem. Here are the solutions:

Regarding manual import of Live Photo from finder to Photos app which causes incorrect video due to file name clashes, the issue is fixed by doing a proper import. I had been dragging the .heic + .mov pair into Photos app instead which is incorrect. Use the built in import function "Photos app > File > Import..." and the Photos app will auto resolve any file name clashes.

Regarding Live Photos becoming a video file when importing from iPhone to MacOS Photos app, this can be resolve by going into the iPhone settings "Settings > Photos", and under "Transfer to Mac or PC, select "Keep Originals".

Hope this helps anyone in the future who encounters similar problems!

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

200,747 points

Jan 27, 2019 1:05 PM in response to TerenceTWT

You could rename the pair of a video and still frame by appending a letter to the filename.

I just tested - when I renamed the two files like this and appended a letter "b" and imported them with File > Import, the Live Photo was alive after import.

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Answer 4

TerenceTWT Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 27, 2019 11:55 AM in response to léonie

Now when I look carefully, it seems that I have other photos (3 years old photos) in my photo library with the same name (IMG_XXXX) as my imported photos! Maybe name clashes could be the problem. What can I do to resolve name clashes?

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Answer 5

TerenceTWT Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 27, 2019 10:15 AM in response to TerenceTWT

EDIT: I re-imported my photos from my iPhone into the Photo app. All my Live Photos had became 3 second video file too! What is going on? It seems like all the Live Photos taken on iPhone XS Max iOS 12 are becoming videos when being imported into the Photos app on my Macbook...

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Answer 6

TerenceTWT Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 27, 2019 11:19 AM in response to léonie

I tried finding the still frame after deleting all my imports but cannot find them.

I tried manually importing 1 Live Photo (HEIC+MOV pair) at a time. Now Photo app is able to detect Live Photo. However, the live Photo playback video is incorrect. This is so weird.

I import the correct pair, but Photo app playback the incorrect video...

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Unable to import Live Photos from Finder into Photos App (HEIC + MOV)

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