Both methods simply hang up or days. Won't update to iCloud, and when hardwired, the finder sync method hangs up at step 4 every time. Indicates the issue might be in the photos app or the data within. I'll never know. Advice?
Mac mini 2018 or later
Which system version are you having installed on your Mac and your iPhone?
Are you trying to sync photos from the iPhone too the Mac or from the Mac to the iPhone, or both?
How many photos are in your Photos Library? For a large Photos Library the first iCloud syncing may take more than a week without any visible progress. Toggling iCloud Photos on and off will just slow the upload down, because it will start over and upload the complete library again. You can check on your iCloud webpage at www.icloud.com, which photos and videos are already in iCloud Photos. This will tell you, if the iPhone and the Mac have uploaded the photos to iCloud and if the problem is the download from iCloud. What does the status bar in Photos show, when you are trying to sync with iCloud Photos? It will depend on your system version, where this status is shown. See: About the status bar in Photos for macOS - Apple Support
The syncing with the Finder will not work, if you are using iCloud Photos on the iPhone and the originals of the Photos are iCloud and not on your iPhone. Pick one method and stick with it.
Which system version are you having installed on your Mac and your iPhone?
Are you trying to sync photos from the iPhone too the Mac or from the Mac to the iPhone, or both?
How many photos are in your Photos Library? For a large Photos Library the first iCloud syncing may take more than a week without any visible progress. Toggling iCloud Photos on and off will just slow the upload down, because it will start over and upload the complete library again. You can check on your iCloud webpage at www.icloud.com, which photos and videos are already in iCloud Photos. This will tell you, if the iPhone and the Mac have uploaded the photos to iCloud and if the problem is the download from iCloud. What does the status bar in Photos show, when you are trying to sync with iCloud Photos? It will depend on your system version, where this status is shown. See: About the status bar in Photos for macOS - Apple Support
The syncing with the Finder will not work, if you are using iCloud Photos on the iPhone and the originals of the Photos are iCloud and not on your iPhone. Pick one method and stick with it.
Photos will not sync with iPhone either through iCloud or through finder.
