Downloading originals stuck
It’s been more than a week that my photos are stuck at downloading originals (from iCloud). It did download the majority at first but now it’s stuck at the same number.
iPhone 13 Pro, iOS 16
It’s been more than a week that my photos are stuck at downloading originals (from iCloud). It did download the majority at first but now it’s stuck at the same number.
iPhone 13 Pro, iOS 16
Select all photos using [command] + [a], then right-click any photo and select [Play Slideshow] from the menu options. For me, all the originals that were stuck at downloading were forced to complete.
Select all photos using [command] + [a], then right-click any photo and select [Play Slideshow] from the menu options. For me, all the originals that were stuck at downloading were forced to complete.
I had the same problem. Photos just stopped downloading originals at a point. Pause/resume did not work, nor restarting Photos, killing the photo library demon processes, logging out or even rebooting macOS.
I finally noticed that the disk space was rather low, so presumably the function stopped for this reason without further information on the cause. After freeing some space it automatically continued downloading until all originals were stored locally.
Apple should add an informative message in Photos when this happens.
PS: Sorry, I just saw that your question is about iOS Photos, whereas my problem was with macOS. But maybe the underlying reason is similar.
I am having the same issue on a MBP M1 Max newly configured with 14.2 and now 14.2.1. Downloading originals is not working and at the bottom of my photos library it is stuck at Downloading 42,822 originals. No amount of pausing and resuming or restarting fixes it. Selecting photos and playing a slideshow forces photos to download but this is not the way it should be working. Something in Sonoma Photos or in iCloud seems to be borked. I provided feedback here Feedback - Photos - Apple
and here Feedback - iCloud - Apple
. Older macOS devices seem to work fine.
Same on factory formatted iPhone 12 Pro, iOS 17.2.1. Stuck at 32,226. No progress in 12 hours, and the last time it changed at all was by only 15.
I am looking at the network activity and there's nothing that looks like a sustained file transfer most of the time.
I have tried
Size of library is around ~ 40,000 items, so it's not even synced the majority yet. It's been 2 days since I've started syncing the library from scratch (with download originals on) on a factory-reset phone.
Maybe it's getting hung up on organizing the library (faces/places/memories/other structures)? I'm at a loss.
It’s still stuck on downloading originals. 2 photos out of 40 thousand. I get the strange error message that an internet connection is required.
I have the same issue with any idevice I restore. For example, an iPad that works before, it works flawless, but with my iPhone 13 Pro, that I have restored to test, it doesn’t work and with a new Apple TV it’s the same. The photos app is completely stuck. I have opened a case with Apple, I hope they can fix it soon.
This works flawlessly.
This worked for me, thanks!
Do you have an update on this? I have already spoken with a senior advisor and haven't gotten far. I do see that this is an issue others are having (Dec).
I did it the first time and in downloaded all but 8. I repaired the library for the second time and it finally worked. I also think Apple did something on their end because I was having the same issue with my iPad. My iPad is almost done downloading all of my originals, and hopefully everything goes without any problems. It seems that finally this nightmare has come to an end.
That you so much for following up. It would've taken me wayyy too long to even think to repair the photo library after the latest update.
This worked for me. Thanks Montaz! Mine was stuck at 17 downloads, for a week. No progress after resets, library repairs and many angry stares.
Did this simple trick now I've got no stuck downloads.
Thanks!
Hello chaiban,
"When there are one or more items that can't upload to iCloud Photos, Photos automatically creates a Smart Album named Unable to Upload." You can check this the photos album. If there are photos or videos in this album, try editing each affected item, then check to see if they uploaded to iCloud. Customers can learn photo editing basics in the this article: Edit photos and videos on iPhone - Apple Support
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities, and have a great day!
On mac i did as stated here and everything worked. I took some photos and videos on my iPhone. They appeared on the Mac and the originals loaded. But you still need time to make sure that there will be no mistakes the next day.
Thanks! That worked on the mac I'm borrowing to do this (as windows iCloud mysteriously hasn't worked since 2018). Surprised it didn't crash when selecting all, as it does on my iPhone
LOL. Thanks. You're smarter than certain software developers.
Downloading originals stuck