icloud.com - My photos are half resolution after downloading

OMG you have to HOLD down the button to get the option to download original? With no pop-up or any indication that you may have to hold the button for a long time with mouse click to get the option to pop up.

Then you cannot set to always do what you set it to. You have to go through this on every single download click. Sheesh.

I finally got it to work sort of, but it still will not download portraits with background blur or bokeh in JPEG format at full resolution but only if shot with iphone 12 pro max. Older photos shot with iphone 7 plus can be downloaded in "most compatible" in FULL resolution.

Any photo or video downloaded shot with iphone 12 pro max and choosing "most compatible" option is cut down resolution to half in photos and 720p from 4k in videos!

For portraits it's either HEIC full resolution with no bokeh or half resolution jpeg with bokeh for 12 pro max shots. Why does apple make it impossible to just download what you want easily? Why cant I download portrait jpegs at full resolution? It makes no sense.

But I also discovered that older portrait shots with background blur I shot with iphone7 plus download in JPEG at FULL resolution with background blur but not portraits that I shot with iphone 12 pro max, those are still half resolution photos.

So anything on icloud shot with iphone 12 pro max and choosing the "most compatible" option so you can get jpegs and edits, are cut down resolution! This is unacceptable, and seems to be some sort of a bug or poorly thought out feature. I want my photos and videos in full resolution regardless if I download jpegs or HEIC download.

TLDR

It doesn't matter which settings I choose in phone, I get only half resolution photos or 720p vids when choosing "most compatible" download but only with vids/ pics shot with 12 pro max. This must be a bug of some sort. it makes no sense.

I have just discovered something.

I went back to the pics when I had an iphone 7 plus and all those pictures are full resolution. I even took a picture with a very old iphone 5s and that was full resolution.

This bug only seems to be affecting my new iphone 12 pro max. All photos from this new phone are only being uploaded to icloud at half resolution!! I pay $1200 for a new phone and they break the icloud photo upload. All options are the same on these phones!

"Download and keep originals" is set in photos options.

When I go to icloud.com and select photos to download onto my PC, they are half resolution and low quality.

I do not understand why. They are full res on my phone. Why is apple cutting the res in half? Is there any other settings that affect that because I cannot find any.

Please tell me where these options are on icloud.com. There are no options as listed in the document you linked to.

my photos are still half resolution in icloud.com and after being downloaded on PC.

I am not the only one with this problem and I have never found a solution.

I'm talking about icloud.com website, not the app.

Where those options listed in that document you pointed to?

Why are my photos half resolution?

Why is Apple support ignoring this problem?

Why can't I get any answers?

Why can't this problem be escalated to someone who can fix it?

This is the only option when selecting photos to download from icloud.com website and the photos are only half resolution on the website and also after downloading. (pic)

Is there an actual Apple employee available to work on this issue?

It's kind of a big deal when you cannot download full res photos from icloud.com because of some "bug" or whatever reason.

Ok. Also for reference I cannot use icloud for windows or itunes on windows for phot and video backup because the programs are poorly written and will not allow me to customize the drive which is used for backing up photos and videos. I have a small fast SSD for C drive and 20 TB of other drive space but all these apple programs only allow C drive to be used for storage. So that makes it impossible to use since I do not have enough space on C drive. So they need to fix this icloud.com problem.

"Feedback for Apple goes here >>>"

One solution recommended was to use icloud for windows. That post was describing why that is not a solution for me.

I know apple loves to delete posts here that can be construed as "feedback" in any way shape or form but that was an answer as to why it is not a solution, not "feedback" to apple.

Wait. Are you saying I cannot have full reolution photos in icloud if I choose to keep full resolution photos on my phone?

If you see them on your icloud website please take a screenshot. I do jot see where those options are.

I just took a pic on old iphone 5s and it was full resolution on icloud.com download. I took same photo on iphone 12 pro max and it is half resolution on icloud.com. What is going on!?