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Why do already imported photos show up on computer every time I plug the iPhone into Mac?

I get this window when I plug my iPhone into the iMac.




Then I see all these duplicates of pictures already in my iMac Photos and iCloud.




Then I click Photos to see my pictures.



How do I delete the duplicates without importing again. It is impossible to do without importing all and deleting all again. They keep showing up.

iMac 27″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Aug 4, 2020 9:13 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 7, 2020 8:15 AM

I see the 'already imported' and 'new items', but the duplicate new items are old pics that have already been imported into Photos. I can see them only Mac and on my mobile devices. I took the time to delete al the duplicates months ago, but they still appear every time I plug in my iPhone. Is there a way to delete them before I import them again? I don't want to waste the time deleting them all again.

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 7, 2020 8:15 AM in response to chris_g1

I see the 'already imported' and 'new items', but the duplicate new items are old pics that have already been imported into Photos. I can see them only Mac and on my mobile devices. I took the time to delete al the duplicates months ago, but they still appear every time I plug in my iPhone. Is there a way to delete them before I import them again? I don't want to waste the time deleting them all again.

Aug 6, 2020 1:43 PM in response to billybilly

Hello billybilly,


We understand that you're looking for some guidance on importing photos from your iPhone to your Mac, and we'd like to get you pointed in the right direction. Check out our page here: Import photos from a camera or phone using Photos on Mac


As shared and demonstrated under step 3, you should see "Already Imported" and "New Items" in two distinct sections. We hope that this helps!


Take care.

Aug 7, 2020 10:38 AM in response to billybilly

Billy, are you importing your photos as JPEGs from the iPhone?

If your iPhone is taking your photos in the High efficiency format, but you are importing them as JPEGs, the HEIC files on the iPhone will always appear as new photos, because you did not import the HEIC files. You may want to check the Settings on the iPhone for the Camera and for Photos > Importing to Mac and PC as described here: Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices - Apple Support


Another possible reason for duplicates is iCloud. Is iCloud Photos enabled on your iPhone and "Optimise iPhone Storage"? If the iPhone is syncing with iCloud and continually downloading the photos again from iCloud, when you want to use them on the iPhone, they will be new photos with every download from iCloud. If your iPhone is syncing with iCloud, you should download them from iCloud instead of importing them from the iPhone.


Why do already imported photos show up on computer every time I plug the iPhone into Mac?

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