Location metadata not visible for photos from Android phone

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Location metadata not visible for photos from Android phone

Hi,

the location metadata for photos taken on an Android phone, specifically my Nokia 4.2, is not recognized by Preview on macOS Mojave or Photos (v.4.0)

The metadata seems to be present in all the photos, as I can see the location if I view the photo in Google Photos. But once I transfer to the mac, it's gone.

EXCEPT for (inexplicably) panorama shots, where the metadata can be viewed by either package.

Anyone else had this issue or know of a workaround?

Thanks

D.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Jul 1, 2021 3:13 AM

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Answer 1

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outs1der Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 1, 2021 10:58 AM in response to Matti Haveri

Thanks for investigating Matti! I found I have exiftool on my machine but forgot about it (or why I'd downloaded it).

Remarkable that the Mojave tools are so sensitive (apparently) to the arrangement of the tags.

I can confirm I could fix the location viewing in the example I provided using the command (copied from the exiftools EXAMPLES):

exiftool -exif:all= -tagsfromfile @ -all:all -unsafe 2021-05-18\ 17.06.27.jpg

Is that similar to what you used/would use?

Seems like one approach is just to run this on all the files (preferable to upgrading to Big Sur!)

Thanks again for investigating and the helpful analysis! I really appreciate it

Cheers

D.

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Answer 2

Jul 1, 2021 6:47 AM in response to outs1der

In Big Sur 11.4 Photos and Preview the location is shown in both images.

But in Mojave 10.14.6 the location is not shown in '2021-05-18 17.06.27.jpg'.

The location metadata seems to be OK in both:

exiftool -a -G1 -s -n -ee '-*GPS*' .
======== ./2021-05-18 17.06.14.jpg
[GPS]           GPSLatitude                     : 51.4283194444444
[GPS]           GPSLatitudeRef                  : N
[GPS]           GPSLongitudeRef                 : E
[GPS]           GPSLongitude                    : 5.17363888888889
[Composite]     GPSLatitude                     : 51.4283194444444
[Composite]     GPSLongitude                    : 5.17363888888889
[Composite]     GPSPosition                     : 51.4283194444444 5.17363888888889
======== ./2021-05-18 17.06.27.jpg
[GPS]           GPSImgDirectionRef              : M
[GPS]           GPSImgDirection                 : 0
[GPS]           GPSLatitudeRef                  : N
[GPS]           GPSLatitude                     : 51.4283194444444
[GPS]           GPSLongitudeRef                 : E
[GPS]           GPSLongitude                    : 5.17363888888889
[Composite]     GPSLatitude                     : 51.4283194444444
[Composite]     GPSLongitude                    : 5.17363888888889
[Composite]     GPSPosition                     : 51.4283194444444 5.17363888888889

I could fix it by rebuilding the metadata in GraphicConverter (GC > Browser > Metadata > Rebuild. Also exiftool via the Terminal can do this).

After that the location metadata looks just the same but sometimes some apps fail to read metadata correctly until it is properly re-arranged. Mojave Photos Get Info:

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Answer 3

Jul 1, 2021 11:21 AM in response to outs1der

I usually rebuild metadata with GraphicConverter which AFAIK uses a command like:

exiftool -all= -tagsfromfile @ -all:all -unsafe -icc_profile bad.jpg

exiftool -m -P -overwrite_original_in_place -all= -tagsfromfile @ -all:all -unsafe -icc_profile bad.jpg

https://exiftool.org/faq.html#Q20

p.s. update exiftool if your copy is very old (macOS package can be installed via ctrl-Open or right-click > Open its installer).

https://exiftool.org

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Answer 4

Jul 1, 2021 4:42 AM in response to outs1der

Can you put a zipped (so the metadata is protected) sample photo in some cloud service like Dropbox?

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Answer 5

Jul 2, 2021 7:23 AM in response to outs1der

I have been under the impression that -overwrite_original_in_place is not the default and leaving it off generates *_original backup files (overwrite original by copying tmp file. Mac file creation date, type, creator, label color, icon, Finder tags, other extended attributes and hard links to the file preserved).

I'd not edit the Photos library package's contents because it might corrupt it. Deleting and re-importing the images is safer.

Have you asked the Nokia mobile phone manufacturer if they should update the camera software? The issue might very well be in Mojave, though, because in Big Sur this works as expected.

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Answer 6

outs1der Author

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8 points

Jul 1, 2021 5:17 AM in response to Matti Haveri

Sure, you can download two examples here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8jvvjw7mv0wexl3/photo_metadata_examples.zip

The first image, 2021-05-18 17.06.14.jpg, is in "panorama" mode and has GPS information that macOS Preview/Photos can parse

The second, 2021-05-18 17.06.27.jpg, is in normal mode and does not

Thanks

D.

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Answer 7

outs1der Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 2, 2021 6:14 AM in response to Matti Haveri

Thanks! Looks like the -overwrite_original_in_place flag is default anyway, and -m -P seem sensible.

Now the challenge is how to get this change to be reflected in the files in Photos. If I carry out the rebuild on the file in the Masters tree, it updates the file but Photos still can't read the location data (presumably unless I re-import).

D.

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Answer 8

outs1der Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 3, 2021 5:08 AM in response to Matti Haveri

Ah yes you are correct about the -overwrite_original_in_place flag.

Was hoping to avoid re-importing, as I have about a thousand affected photos. I thought maybe "rebuilding" the Photos library would re-read the metadata, but no such luck.

Seems like not much point contacting Nokia if the problem is fixed with more recent versions of macOS as you suggest.

Thanks again for the help!

D.

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Location metadata not visible for photos from Android phone

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