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Can Photo library created with Monterey be opened with Big Sur?

I had Monterey installed but have reverted to Big Sur. My Photos library won't open the library created with Monterey. It insists I upgrade Photos to open. Does this mean I have to revert back to/reinstall Monterey to access the photos?

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Feb 8, 2022 8:17 AM

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Posted on Feb 9, 2022 3:08 AM

The format of the Monterey Library is different from Big Sur. Photos 6 on Big Sur will not be able to read it.


if you have been using iCloud Photos an your Library is in iCloud you can create a new Big Sur version of the library by creating a new, empty Library on your Big Sur Mac and let the library download from iCloud Photos. It is the only safe and lossless way to downgrade a Photos Library to an older system version.


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Feb 9, 2022 3:08 AM in response to Crich52

The format of the Monterey Library is different from Big Sur. Photos 6 on Big Sur will not be able to read it.


if you have been using iCloud Photos an your Library is in iCloud you can create a new Big Sur version of the library by creating a new, empty Library on your Big Sur Mac and let the library download from iCloud Photos. It is the only safe and lossless way to downgrade a Photos Library to an older system version.


Feb 8, 2022 9:01 AM in response to Crich52

Usually (always?) macOS & Photos upgrades updates also the Photos library (at least if the user opens it).


You could restore the old Photos library from a backup. You do have a backup?


Or install Monterey on another internal or external volume, export images and movies out and import to a Big Sur Photos library. Yes, that is a major hassle.


Or bite the bullet and upgrade back to Monterey. Last autumn I reverted to Big Sur from Monterey (despite carefully pre-testing all my mission critical apps on an external Monterey volume. But I digress...) but I am very soon going back to Monterey. Thanks to Carbon Copy Cloner backup(s), this was quite easy and fast.

Can Photo library created with Monterey be opened with Big Sur?

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