Photos is Using Significant Energy since change to iCloud Photos

Question

Level 1

67 points

Photos is Using Significant Energy since change to iCloud Photos

This may have been covered elsewhere, but my search results don't show the issue directly.

A couple of weeks ago, I changed to using iCloud Photos. I was running low on space on my iPhone 12Pro, and could never seem to get things synced properly with my MacBookPro 16" (2019 model).

Now, nearly a week after the change, my MacBook continues to say that Photos is Using Significant Energy, even though all the photos are synced. Is this normal? Will it go away eventually? The Photos app is closed, and the process is still running but does NOT show significant usage. (I have ~30,000 photos and 700 videos, but most of them have been there for years!).

In addition, I notice that on my phone, some photos will open immediately, while others will require a download of the image first. I thought this was an issue only with older photos that were only in the cloud... but it has happened even on pictures taken on my phone/camera during my vacation just two weeks ago!?

Thanks for any thoughts!

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 12.5

Posted on Aug 19, 2022 12:42 PM

Reply

Answer 1

bryanr14

Community Specialist

Aug 21, 2022 9:53 AM in response to Eli Sherer

Hello Eli Sherer,

Thank you for reaching out in Apple Support Communities. We understand that the Photos app is using significant energy on your Mac. We'll be happy to help.

Since the Photos app is not running in the background and it's not opened, we recommend to restart the Mac in safe mode. This helps to verify your startup disk, deletes some system caches and more. This is a step that may help resolve your issue. Here's how to restart your Mac in safe mode:

How to use safe mode

Determine whether you're using a Mac with Apple silicon, then follow the appropriate steps:

Apple silicon

Shut down your Mac.
Turn on your Mac and continue to press and hold the power button until you see the startup options window.
Select your startup disk, then press and hold the Shift key while clicking “Continue in Safe Mode.”
Log in to your Mac. You might be asked to log in again.

Intel processor

Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key as your Mac starts up.
Release the key when you see the login window, then log in to your Mac.
You might be asked to log in again. On either the first or second login window, you should see ”Safe Boot” in the upper-right corner of the window.

These steps are outlined in this helpful article: How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

Once the Mac is in safe mode, please restart it as normal and test to see if Photos continue to use significant energy.

We look forward to hearing back from you with an update.

Kind regards.

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Answer 2

ASTRO24

Community Specialist

Aug 23, 2022 7:37 AM in response to Eli Sherer

Eli Sherer,

This may occur if you have Optimize iPhone Storage enabled to preserve your iPhone storage. First, check that you have available storage on iPhone. There should be several GBs available for a larger photo library. If there is limited space, some photos may not be available to add to your device. Learn how to manage your iPhone photo storage and use Optimize iPhone Storage with Manage your photo and video storage.

Regards.

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Answer 3

joe_g78

Community Specialist

Aug 23, 2022 12:10 PM in response to Eli Sherer

Hi Eli Sherer,

Based on this thread, at this point you will be more likely to find a resolution by contacting Apple Support.

Thank you.

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Answer 4

Eli Sherer Author

Level 1

67 points

Aug 23, 2022 6:26 AM in response to bryanr14

Thank you very much! This seems to have cured the high usage issue!

The second question now is focused on iCloud Photos as a feature/function: On my phone, now that I am using iCloud Photos, some photos will open immediately, while others will require a download of the image first. I thought this was an issue only with older photos that were only in the cloud... but it has happened even on pictures taken on my phone/camera during my vacation just two weeks ago!?

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