Photos Grey Exclamation Issue

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Level 1

8 points

Photos Grey Exclamation Issue

I have an old 2009 vintage Macbook Pro that I use along with multiple other devices on iCloud. At some point it started displaying newly imported photos thumbnail, but when viewed full size they had the dreaded grey triangle. The photos display normally on all other devices connected to iCloud as well as on the problem laptop when viewed on iCloud via browser. It also displays older shots just fine. The laptop is running OS X 10.11.6 (15G22010). I have repaired and rebuilt the base, reloaded an older backup, all with no success. The only information I have found is in the system log that states issues with the image conversion process, but I wasn't sure what was safe to copy and paster here. Any ideas on anything to try next? Most threads on this never seem to have a confirmed fix?

MacBook Pro 13″, OS X 10.11

Posted on Dec 21, 2020 9:59 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Mavadog Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 21, 2020 11:49 AM in response to léonie

To answer both questions, the photos with issues are from an iPhone 7, iPhone SE and an iPhone 12Pro. I'm happy to say that switching it to Most Compatible resolved the issue, but I really don't fully understand it. I was using an old iPhone 7 previously and that worked just fine. At some point something changed perhaps with a IOS or a Mac OS upgrade? The SE previously worked as well. The 12 never worked on the old Mac so I assume the preset is to High Effecincyperhaps it got automatically switched to High Efficiency. My old Mac can't support any OS above what it is currently running so I guess my only option is to leave the phones set to Most Compatible. Any downside to that for editing, etc? Thanks a ton for the solution!

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

200,663 points

Dec 21, 2020 10:46 AM in response to Mavadog

To add a bit to Tony's advice: If the file format is HEIC and the images have been taken with an iPhone or iPad, you have two options:

Change the Settings > Camera on your mobile device to take the phtoos in a more compatible format.
Or convert the HEIC images or HEVC videos. You can convert HEIC files at ‎heictojpg.com

See: Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices - Apple Support

If the High Efficiency format is not the problem, check, if you are having enough free storage on your Mac to be able to download the originals from iCloud. You need free storage, not just available storage.

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Answer 3

Dec 21, 2020 2:45 PM in response to Mavadog

There are two downsides.

1 - the image files will take more space.

2 - Live photos don't work as well in jpg format.

There is a useful article on the differences here:

https://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/heic-vs-jpg-whats-the-difference/

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Answer 4

Mavadog Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 21, 2020 4:19 PM in response to TonyCollinet

Thanks! Maybe I'll just do without on the old Mac, good excuse to upgrade to a new Air! Still works like a champ, so I hate to give it up.

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Answer 5

Dec 21, 2020 10:20 AM in response to Mavadog

Are the photos that won't display from a phone or iPad in HEIC format?

Your older macos cannot work with HEIC Format images. You will need to change your phone/pad camera to store images in "most compatible" format (which is jpg format)

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Photos Grey Exclamation Issue

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