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User profile for user: cbderksen
cbderksen Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

iCloud not downloading original photos to Mac

I have a photo library of +25,000 images in iCloud. I recently reformatted and reinstalled macOS 10.15 on my MacBook Air and enabled iCloud photo syncing using the "Download Originals to this Mac" option. However, after downloading a couple hundred photos, it has stalled. I have kept my Mac online and powered on for days with no change, although sometimes it will download a few and stop again. I have tried turning syncing on and off, restarting the computer, and various other obvious options.


I have macOS Catalina (10.15.1) installed on a 2013 MacBook Air with 300gb free on my hard drive. My photo library syncs fine with my iOS 13 devices.


Does anyone have any ideas on how to force iCloud to download all my photos to my Mac?

MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.15

Posted on Nov 13, 2019 8:49 AM

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User profile for user: cbderksen
cbderksen Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Posted on Nov 16, 2019 12:11 PM

I found the solution that worked for me...


Workaround to force download of originals:


  1. Under your iCloud profile, find the total size of "Photos and Videos" stored in your iCloud Storage.
  2. Attach a spare external hard drive equal to the total size of that.
  3. Go to your Photos library and hit Command + A to select all items.
  4. Click File > Export > Export Unmodified Originals for XXXXX Photos and dump them to the External Drive
  5. Leave computer running with proper cooling for the next couple of days.
  6. Reformat the External Drive when Export is complete.


Forcing the export of the entire library Originals forces Photos to proactively pull of each Original from iCloud into your Photos Library first before making a dump of unsorted copies into the external drive, the Export function is used as a pawn to trigger this priority thread (console process com.apple.photolibraryd.backgroundjobservice.highpriority).


Source: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/clean-install-photos-icloud-library-wont-sync.2204664/?post=27933707#post-27933707

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User profile for user: cbderksen
cbderksen Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Nov 16, 2019 12:11 PM in response to cbderksen

I found the solution that worked for me...


Workaround to force download of originals:


  1. Under your iCloud profile, find the total size of "Photos and Videos" stored in your iCloud Storage.
  2. Attach a spare external hard drive equal to the total size of that.
  3. Go to your Photos library and hit Command + A to select all items.
  4. Click File > Export > Export Unmodified Originals for XXXXX Photos and dump them to the External Drive
  5. Leave computer running with proper cooling for the next couple of days.
  6. Reformat the External Drive when Export is complete.


Forcing the export of the entire library Originals forces Photos to proactively pull of each Original from iCloud into your Photos Library first before making a dump of unsorted copies into the external drive, the Export function is used as a pawn to trigger this priority thread (console process com.apple.photolibraryd.backgroundjobservice.highpriority).


Source: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/clean-install-photos-icloud-library-wont-sync.2204664/?post=27933707#post-27933707

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User profile for user: sterling r
sterling r
User level: Community Specialist

Nov 16, 2019 12:00 PM in response to cbderksen

Hello cbderksen,


Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities. It sounds like you're having trouble downloading your photos to your Mac. I'd be happy to provide information that may help.


If you're using Wi-Fi, try connecting to a different network to see if that makes any difference. Since you have a large library, the rate at which the photos download will depend on the speed of your connection.


You may also want to start up in safe mode to see if you can get the download to complete: Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac.


Take care.

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iCloud not downloading original photos to Mac

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