I have tried using Windows Photos (which in Windows 11 connects to iCloud). I have also tried simply copying and pasting. “An unexpected error is keeping you from copying the file.” And “availability status: syncing.”
Windows, Windows 10
Greetings Edison53,
To clarify, are you needing to download or upload your photos to iCloud? In either case, we'd like to provide you with a few steps that may be able to assist you:
"Download your photos and videos from iCloud Photos
In iCloud for Windows 11.1 or later
New photos and videos you add to iCloud Photos are shown on your PC automatically. To download the file from iCloud when you view it, double-click its thumbnail. You can also keep your photos downloaded on your PC with these steps:
If you change a photo or video on another device or on iCloud.com, it updates automatically on your PC.
In older versions of iCloud for Windows
New photos and videos you add to iCloud Photos will automatically download to your PC. You can also download older photos and videos with these steps:
Your photos and videos download to the location you set in iCloud Photos Options.
In iCloud for Windows 10 or later, if you change a photo or video on another device or on iCloud.com, it updates automatically on your PC.
Upload your photos and videos to iCloud Photos
You can upload your photos and videos from your PC to iCloud Photos when you follow these steps:
In iCloud for Windows 10 or later
You can view the photos and videos you uploaded in the Photos app on iCloud.com and on all your Apple devices.
In older versions of iCloud for Windows
You can view the photos and videos you uploaded in the Photos app on iCloud.com and on all your Apple devices."
More details found here: Set up and use iCloud Photos on your Windows PC
Cheers!
Greetings Edison53,
To clarify, are you needing to download or upload your photos to iCloud? In either case, we'd like to provide you with a few steps that may be able to assist you:
"Download your photos and videos from iCloud Photos
In iCloud for Windows 11.1 or later
New photos and videos you add to iCloud Photos are shown on your PC automatically. To download the file from iCloud when you view it, double-click its thumbnail. You can also keep your photos downloaded on your PC with these steps:
If you change a photo or video on another device or on iCloud.com, it updates automatically on your PC.
In older versions of iCloud for Windows
New photos and videos you add to iCloud Photos will automatically download to your PC. You can also download older photos and videos with these steps:
Your photos and videos download to the location you set in iCloud Photos Options.
In iCloud for Windows 10 or later, if you change a photo or video on another device or on iCloud.com, it updates automatically on your PC.
Upload your photos and videos to iCloud Photos
You can upload your photos and videos from your PC to iCloud Photos when you follow these steps:
In iCloud for Windows 10 or later
You can view the photos and videos you uploaded in the Photos app on iCloud.com and on all your Apple devices.
In older versions of iCloud for Windows
You can view the photos and videos you uploaded in the Photos app on iCloud.com and on all your Apple devices."
More details found here: Set up and use iCloud Photos on your Windows PC
Cheers!
Now well into third hour of Apple phone support, because they couldn’t figure out a simple way to do this other than using the browser. Then 7,000 of my photos were lost (not deleted, lost). Spent 90 minutes on phone trying to recover them but am informed there is no way to do that. I had seen, elsewhere, the instructions above about saving photos to this device (ie my PC) but although the PC says they are there (more than 9000 files), I cannot open them because they are supposedly syncing, which they are not. To sum up, tried to backup iCloud to avoid losing photos — and lost 7000 of them!
Can’t copy iCloud Photos to PC
