iCloud Photos Library no longer synching to iMac but to everything else

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iCloud Photos Library no longer synching to iMac but to everything else

All photos and videos in the Photos Library in iCloud are synching to my iPhone, iPad, Macbook Pro, and Air but not to my iMac (since last week). The photo count is 11,044 on the iMac, about 1,200 less than on the other devices and "Updating..." is displayed under the photo count numbers. There are also about 400 videos in the library, which is just under 100 GB in size.

It appears that some process is looping in the iMac Photo app - what can be done to refresh/reboot/reinstall it without affecting the content of the iCloud library? The iMac (late 2014) is running Big Sur 11.7.4 as are the Macbooks (mid 2013).

Earlier Mac models

Posted on Mar 20, 2023 3:15 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Bill_T1

Community Specialist

Mar 21, 2023 7:30 PM in response to tandlj

Hi tandlj,

Another step you can try is testing in safe mode. Follow the guide at How to use safe mode on your Mac for the steps to complete that test as well as subsequent recommendations based on the results.

If none of the actions suggested or that you mentioned have helped, reach out to Apple Support to investigate further.

Regards.

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Answer 2

destiny241

Community Specialist

Mar 21, 2023 2:50 PM in response to tandlj

Hello tandlj,

If you haven't yet, we'd recommend to quit the Photos app (which will pause the upload to iCloud), then to restart your iMac to refresh it and test it further.

You can use these steps to close the Photos app:

Go to the Photos app
Go to the Photos menu
Select Quit Photos.

After this, go to the Apple menu > Restart to reboot normally.

Should the issue persist, are you using any VPNs or security software on this Mac? As these are known to cause connection issues: Check VPN (Virtual Private Network) and third-party software to help resolve network connectivity issues - Apple Support

Hoping to hear how it goes.

Take care.

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Answer 3

tandlj Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 21, 2023 4:59 PM in response to destiny241

Thank you very much, Destiny241.

I should have mentioned that I have done all those things you suggest before posting here. In fact, I also did a PRAM and SMC reset and kept Photos running (and the iMac from sleeping) for more than 24 hrs.

Something I read elsewhere seemed to suggest that there were two separate iCloud repositories, one for my personal photo library and one for shared photo albums. To test this, I added, on my iPad, a photo from my personal library to a shared album (created by someone else) and then checked the Shared Album on the iMac - the new photo had been added and was displayed. I wonder if this tells me that it isn't the iCloud synching but the Photo app on the iMac that's playing up,perhaps even only my personal Photolibrary?

There appear, to my mind, the options of deleting and reinstalling the Photo app, or to do the same with just the Photolibrary file - would either of those be safe with regard to keeping all my pictures in the iCloud repository for them?

Thank you in advance for your asistance!

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Answer 4

tandlj Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 23, 2023 8:52 PM in response to Bill_T1

Thank you, Bill_T1.

Safe mode didn't make a difference but on the Apple Support pages, I found out about an Apple Photo Repair Tool, which I ran and which appears to have fixed the issue. All photos and videos are synched and displayed on the iMac exactly as on all the other devices linked to my iCloud.

Very grateful for this outcome and your and destiny241 assistance! Thank you, Joseph

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iCloud Photos Library no longer synching to iMac but to everything else

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