MacBook Photos app is taking weeks to re-sync with icloud

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Level 1

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MacBook Photos app is taking weeks to re-sync with icloud

On an early 2015 MacBook (SN: C0***VH8, i5 or i7 cpu, 8gb ram), after a small (and rare) manual import to the MacBook's 80gb Photos library from an offline iphone seemed to disrupt iCloud sync, I tried the following fixes to get the MacBook Photos app to resume syncing with iCloud:

> unchecking "icloud library"

> signing out of Icloud, & back in

> resetting Network Settings

> installing latest OSX update

> waiting 24 hours

A day after all this, MACBOOK OSX PHOTOS said:

63,580 Photos, 1,916 Videos

Uploading 59,436

(Keep in mind 99% of those 59,436 "uploading" photos are already in icloud.)

We called Apple, and they told us to keep waiting for the sync to finish.

ELEVEN DAYS LATER.... It now says:

Uploading 11,559 photos, 1,916 videos

The fact that it's taking this long makes it VERY likely that when it's "done", things still won't work right. Anyone with experience knows how likely that is. Uploading a few new photos will likely take hours. Which is very bad.

Since Apple isn't offering a solution -- Is there anything else I should be trying?

[Personal Information Edited by Moderator]

MacBook

Posted on Sep 24, 2019 7:53 PM

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Answer 1

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léonie

Level 10

194,871 points

Sep 25, 2019 10:33 AM in response to Doc Crumble

> unchecking "icloud library"

The new long upload has been caused by disabling iCloud Photos and turning it on again. If you enable iCloud Photos again for a library, Photos will have to compare the library to the photos in iCloud and merge the library into the existing iCloud Library. Your library is rather large. The last time I uploaded my library (40000 photos at that time) to iCloud it took a bit more than 10 days. So the upload of your library seems to take as long as expected.

Turning off iCloud Photos and turning it on again is a rather expensive operation. I try to avoid it.

Wait for the sync to finish. anything else will just let the upload start all over.

You may want to check, if you imported items to Photos that are incompatible with iCloud Photos.

This can be done with a smart album with the rule "Photo is unable to upload to iCloud". If this album is not empty, I would export the items in this album to a folder in the Finder, the delete them from your Photos Library. Then try to reimport the items and see, if Photos is giving a warning about being incompatible.

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Answer 2

Doc Crumble Author

Level 1

40 points

Sep 26, 2019 10:45 PM in response to léonie

Thanks for the quick reply! Let me know if the following questions needs separate threads -- but they all pertain to this issue.

> I thought that "uncheck (& recheck) icloud" was generally considered an earlier step in troubleshooting than "sign out of icloud & back in". (I.e. It's less drastic & more often advised.) Is that wrong?

> Is Photos > Prefs > "pause for one day" safer / better?

> Is it possible that the choice to "optimize / don't optimize" (or perhaps "delete / don't delete locally") which I saw when unchecking "icloud > photos") contributed to the problem?

> Does the word "uploading" really just mean "syncing" in this context?

Assuming a new TEST Library starts syncing much faster, Do you recommend:

> (1) exporting recent imports, (2) using Time Machine to restore earlier copy of macbook library file, (3) import the exports?

or

> (1) exporting recent imports, (2) create new library file, (3) Let it download all files from icloud, (4) import the exports?

or

> Trying a "repair" of the macbook's Photos Library?

> Does a "repair" of the Library always restart the "uploading" procedure?

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MacBook Photos app is taking weeks to re-sync with icloud

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