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Zzyxer Author

Level 1

5 points

Photos never downloads iCloud originals

I have struggled with obtaining my original photos from iCloud for years. No device I had had enough storage to hold them all (SSD, external drives are too tricky with slow transfer speeds). I finally splurged for a 4TB 14" MBP with the hopes of downloading my entire 2.2TB iCloud (1.6TB are photos). Photos continues to be stuck on downloading originals, and the number almost never changes, even with a gigabit ethernet connection. I do see all the thumbnails and can download the photo individually to see it after clicking on a thumbnail.

This is clearly a problem that has been going on for years if the forums are any indication, and I have experienced it as well. Is there anyone that can provide a definite solution? I set up my new MBP as a new laptop, not an iCloud backup.

MacBook Pro, OS X 10.11

Posted on Jan 26, 2022 2:19 PM

Top-ranking reply

TonyCollinet

Level 7

23,966 points

Posted on Jan 26, 2022 3:10 PM

What does the sync status say at the bottom of the all photos view?

Just to check - you do have "download originals" selected in iCloud settings, don't you? (see screenshot)

Assuming you have, then 1.6 TB is a huge library, and iCloud sync is slow. For reference, my 50GB library took 48 hours, and it seems not to be limited by your internet speed, but by apple servers. If your sync goes at the same speed, you could be looking at 32 times mine - or about 2 months....24/7.

Leave your mac on 24/7, photos open, and connected to power. You also need to disable sleep. Don't be surprised if the status indication doesn't change for long periods.

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Photos never downloads iCloud originals

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