Big Sur upgrade changed my Photo files

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Level 1

6 points

Big Sur upgrade changed my Photo files

When I upgraded to Big Sur, my Mac Photo files were changed, and then could only be opened by a computer running Big Sur - Apple should not be allowed to do this, as my 2 other Mac Airs running Catalina could no longer access my Photos file. Why do they constantly change the files??

But the other issue I'm having is, I can no longer sync my iPhone 11 running iOS 15.2.1. Whenever I attempt to sync, the iPhone connects and backs up, but halts the syncing process at that point and does not sync Photos or Music. I have since updated my two Mac Airs to Big Sur, and can access my photos on them once again, but they too will not sync with my phone. I suspect there is a problem with the Big Sur photos file now that it is changed. Anybody else had this problem?

iMac 27″, macOS 11.6

Posted on Jan 17, 2022 8:57 AM

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Answer 1

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Old Toad

Level 10

207,667 points

Jan 17, 2022 9:58 AM in response to Drogchute

Both iPhoto and Photos have never been backward compatible, never. It's nothing new. You'll either have to upgrade your other Macs or return your iMac to Big Sur and restoring your data files from your Time Machine or clone backup.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

207,667 points

Jan 17, 2022 10:42 AM in response to Drogchute

If you originally synced the photos with your iPhone with iTunes or the Finder (with the introduction of Photos) you can only change them with iTunes or the Finder.

To get automatic syncing between the iPhone and your Photos library they need to be configured as follows:

System Photos Library:

And the iPhone:

This will automatically add any photos taken on the iPhone or other devices that are signed into the same AppleID account to the library. However, any photos added to a library from another source will have to be saved from the My Photo Stream to the iPhone.

Or you can use the iCloud Library syncing feature. That will require purchasing enough iCloud Drive space to house the resulting library.

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Answer 3

Drogchute Author

Level 1

6 points

Jan 17, 2022 10:09 AM in response to Old Toad

Thank you, but that's not the issue now. All my Macs are now running Big Sur and can access my Photos files (I have not been using iPhoto for many years). The real issue is not being able to sync my Photos with my iPhone - on any of my Macs. The Finder sees the iPhone, and when I open it, I can set up all the sync parameters, and it backs up my phone, but stops when it gets to moving photos from my Photos file to my phone - it just sits with a moving crosshatch that never does anything no matter how long I wait. I am assuming the sync process is not able to access my Photos file correctly. I can open my Photos on any of my Macs without a problem - they just won't sync with my phone.

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Big Sur upgrade changed my Photo files

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