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User profile for user: john.peterson74
john.peterson74 Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

cannot import photos from an iPhone

I recently bought a 2019 MacBookPro to replace a failing 2010 iMac. I copied all the data files from the 4TB iMac to a 3TB drive. The new drive was formatted as MacOS Extended (Journaled) with a GUID partition map, and is now connected to a 5th generation Airport Extreme so that both I and my wife can access all the files. The Photos library is about 168 GB with about 25K photos and videos.


I cannot import photos from the iPhone to the MacBook. It recognizes the phone when it is connected, although it does not always detect that it is unlocked. I can select photos to copy, select import, and the photos appear to be imported, but never appear in the Imports album or in the designated destination folder. I can import using Image Capture, but I would rather do this the normal way.


If I connect the phone to the iMac, I can still import photos to the photos library that is still on the iMac.


Any ideas on how I can fix this?


2019 MacBookPro: macOS Catalina, 10.15.7, 16 GB RAM, 2TB SSD

2010 iMac: MacOS High Sierra, 10.13.6, 20 GB RAM, 4TB HD

iPhone 11, iOS 13.7, 64 GB

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Posted on Oct 19, 2020 11:17 AM

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User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
197,309 points

Posted on Oct 20, 2020 5:40 AM

Try to plug your external HD directly into your Mac, when you are working with the Photos Library. Can you import directly into Photos, if the external volume has a wired connection?

Photos has not been designed to work with photo libraries that are accessed over a network. Photos on Catalina is more restrictive when working with Photo Libraries in incompatible locations. In particular, you will get permission issues, if a volume has been used for Time Machine backups. It may be losing the connection to the library, if you are accessing it using the Airport connection.

See: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support


You can store your library on an external storage device, such as a USB or Thunderbolt drive formatted as APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled). However, you can't move your library to a disk that's used for Time Machine backups. Find out how to check the format of your external storage device. 
To prevent data loss, Apple doesn't recommend storing photo libraries on external storage devices like SD cards and USB flash drives, or drives that are shared on a network.

To be able to use my Photo Stream on your new MacBook the library on your external volume needs to be your System Photos Library. When you launch Photos and go to "Photos > Preferences > General", is the option "Use as System Photos Library" grayed out, as it should be? If not, click it. My Photo Stream will be disabled, if iCloud Photos is enabled. Is iCloud Photos enabled in "Photos > Preferences > iCloud" ?



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User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
197,309 points

Oct 20, 2020 5:40 AM in response to john.peterson74

Try to plug your external HD directly into your Mac, when you are working with the Photos Library. Can you import directly into Photos, if the external volume has a wired connection?

Photos has not been designed to work with photo libraries that are accessed over a network. Photos on Catalina is more restrictive when working with Photo Libraries in incompatible locations. In particular, you will get permission issues, if a volume has been used for Time Machine backups. It may be losing the connection to the library, if you are accessing it using the Airport connection.

See: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support


You can store your library on an external storage device, such as a USB or Thunderbolt drive formatted as APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled). However, you can't move your library to a disk that's used for Time Machine backups. Find out how to check the format of your external storage device. 
To prevent data loss, Apple doesn't recommend storing photo libraries on external storage devices like SD cards and USB flash drives, or drives that are shared on a network.

To be able to use my Photo Stream on your new MacBook the library on your external volume needs to be your System Photos Library. When you launch Photos and go to "Photos > Preferences > General", is the option "Use as System Photos Library" grayed out, as it should be? If not, click it. My Photo Stream will be disabled, if iCloud Photos is enabled. Is iCloud Photos enabled in "Photos > Preferences > iCloud" ?



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User profile for user: john.peterson74
john.peterson74 Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Oct 20, 2020 5:21 AM in response to john.peterson74

I have additional info. I turned off Photostream on my phone and on both computers. Then I turned it back on, took a photo with the phone, and it appeared on the iMac but not the MacBook. Is the phone 'paired' in some way with the iMac? The iMac was the computer what I used to backup the phone and where I always uploaded my photos. My wife backs up her phone to a 2014 MacBook Pro that we also own.


So is there a way to unpair my phone from the iMac and pair it to the 2019 MacBook Pro?

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cannot import photos from an iPhone

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