Monterey screensaver not working

I spoke with Apple Support yesterday ( props to the very patient Lloyd in Michigan) and he spent a lot of time trying to work through the photo -scrolling -screen saver problem.

it is DEFINITELY an Apple issue, not a user error and those of us affected have to wait for the techies to come through with a fix and an update for Monterey.

MacOS Monterey has newly been released and there are still bugs Apple need to spot and fix. That is why SharePlay and Universal control aren’t available yet. They will probably fix this bug sometime soon (hopefully).

This is really just unbelievable…

a few years ago, we lost the ability to use the back arrow to see the pictures that had been previously displayed in the screensaver.

in the last one or two versions of OS I had a new bug where unmodified originals are displayed in the screensaver. The only work around is to periodically export the entire photo collection to a folder and use that as the source.

And now, I’ve foolishly upgraded yet again hoping these issues might be resolved, but instead we’ve hit a new low where the screensaver simply doesn’t work at all!

Hard to believe that Apple seems unable to get something so basic right. Might be time to invest in a 3rd party screen saver, or maybe get off of Apple entirely.

Since my update to Monterey, my screensaver (using a file of photos on my desktop as the source) goes to black.

I thought it was only me experiencing this issue and tried everything. Now I realize it's a universal problem.

Please update with a fix ASAP.

Having the same issue. I upgraded my Intel iMac 27" 2019 to Monterey from Big Sur yesterday so it would have the same OS as my new MacBook M1 Pro (which shipped with Monterey but needed to update to version 12.01).

I am able to see my photo library/folder structure and select it as a source for the Photo Wall screen saver but when I preview or wait the allotted time for screen saver to start, I just get a completely black screen. As others have noted all screen saver options past "Monterey" seem to be working just fine. I do not have this issue selecting and displaying photo library screen savers on my MacBook M1 Pro.

ADDITIONALLY...I have about 148,000 pictures and videos in my system Photo Library. After upgrading to Monterey, it insisted on "restoring" all those photos from iCloud even though I never changed the preference to "Download Originals to this Mac." I never recall previously having to restore/re-download all my pictures just from updating the operating system. This is a huge PITA given the size of my photo library and took around 18 hours (thankfully I have a fast internet connection!)

Really hope they get both bugs fixed soon because I do not want to go through this again with the next OS update.

I found a solution on my Mac M1. I had a folder called iLifemediabrowser left over from the older iLife suite. When that is put into your library/application support/ directory the photos screensaver now works. Not sure if you can still install this folder. This folder contains a series of plugins. I have had this folder for may years even after the iLife became obsolete.

debdoe53 wrote:

Upgraded from Big Slur to Monterey, now photo screen saver is no longer working. Please send the fix so I can see my grandchildren photos on the screen saver again. Thank you!

You have to wait for the next version of Monterey to see if the photo screen savers are fixed.

If this download provides the iLifemediabrowser folder then all the other iLife Suite files can be deleted leaving the iLifemediabrowser folder in the library/application support directory. That is the only file needed to support using your photos in the screensaver panel. I tested this on both Intel with Big Sur Mac and Silicone Mac with Monterey.

Assuming this iLife Suite solution works for everyone in the discussion I applaud the solution. Well done! But it is still at best a work-around. Apple needs to fix the actual problem at the next MacOS official upgrade to fix the problem for everyone else.

When i try to install it using the link above, it tells me it cannot install because I already have a newer version of the program, however searching for ilife doesn't turn up anything. Any suggestions?

I was afraid this might happen. I guess the file I have was left over and never deleted years ago when iLife apps got updated or deleted. Not sure how to get this file unless it is copied from someone else's Mac.

Monterey not only turned my photo screensaver black with just a clock but duplicated files in my cloud and caused some PowerPoints files to lose photos embedded within the PowerPoint files and in addition, it duplicated the PP files with some extra naming convention. Has anyone seen this issue?

I feel all of the posters' disappointment and have very similar issues.

The albums I carefully - and painstakingly - created in the Photos app have mostly disappeared, along with my projects and slideshows. Most of my library photos, previously edited, have been duplicated, (and triplicated, and up to 5 times replicated!). Most have reverted back to the way I shot them. You know, originally taken upside down then color-corrected, framed, identified, etc. 

It’s very frustrating to have done all of that work over the years and see this happen. 

Calls to Apple get me nowhere in terms of finding a solution. They apologize, but can’t take me back to what was. I keep missing calls due to the fact they put me on hold and unexpectedly disconnect.

I miss seeing my favorite photos scroll on my computer screensaver. It, too, is blank.

"What does that have to do with the problem of Monterey screensavers not being able to use any image files in it's themes, regardless of where they are located, i.e. Photos library or in a folder on the hard drive).

"You should start your own topic..."

Okay. Done!

Have you read the previous posts in this topic stating that it's a known bug and we'll have to use a non photo screensaver until Apple fixes it and hopefully includes a fix in the next Monterey update?